Today In History – This Day In History Funny Events

Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from April 680 until his death in November 683. His appointment by his father Mu'awiya I was the first hereditary succession to the caliphate in Islamic history. His caliphate was marked by the death of Muhammad's grandson Husayn ibn Ali and the start of the crisis known as the Second Fitna.

Yazid I's army kills 11,000 people of Medina including notable Sahabas in Battle of al-Harrah.

The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture.

The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert, and soon gain control of most of Anatolia.

Ladislaus IV, also known as Ladislaus the Cuman, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a chieftain from the pagan Cumans who had settled in Hungary. At the age of seven, he married Elisabeth, a daughter of King Charles I of Sicily. Ladislaus was only 9 when a rebellious lord, Joachim Gutkeled, kidnapped and imprisoned him.

Ladislaus IV of Hungary and Rudolf I of Germany defeat Ottokar II of Bohemia in the Battle on the Marchfeld near Dürnkrut in (then) Moravia.

Alauddin Khalji, was the Sultan of Delhi from 1296 until his death in 1316. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes in the Delhi Sultanate, related to revenues, price controls, and society. He also successfully fended off several Mongol invasions of India.

Alauddin Khalji captures Chittorgarh.

The Hundred Years' War was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a claim to the French throne made by Edward III of England. The war grew into a broader military, economic, and political struggle involving factions from across Western Europe, fuelled by emerging nationalism on both sides. The periodisation of the war typically charts it as taking place over 116 years. However, it was an intermittent conflict which was frequently interrupted by external factors, such as the Black Death, and several years of truces.

Hundred Years' War: The military supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow and armoured knights is established at the Battle of Crécy.

The Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs was fought between the Old Swiss Confederacy and French mercenaries, on the banks of the river Birs. The battle took place on 26 August 1444 and was part of the Old Zürich War. The site of the battle was near Münchenstein, Switzerland, just over 1 km outside the city walls of Basel, today within Basel's St-Alban district.

Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs: A vastly outnumbered force of Swiss Confederates is defeated by the Dauphin Louis (future Louis XI of France) and his army of 'Armagnacs' near Basel.

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspired by models from classical antiquity and had a lasting influence on Western art. Michelangelo's creative abilities and mastery in a range of artistic arenas define him as an archetypal Renaissance man, along with his rival and elder contemporary, Leonardo da Vinci. Given the sheer volume of surviving correspondence, sketches, and reminiscences, Michelangelo is one of the best-documented artists of the 16th century. He was lauded by contemporary biographers as the most accomplished artist of his era.

Michelangelo is commissioned to carve the Pietà.

Francisco de Orellana was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. In one of the most improbably successful voyages in known history, Orellana managed to sail the length of the Amazon, arriving at the river's mouth on 24 August 1542. He and his party sailed along the Atlantic coast until reaching Cubagua Island, near the coast of Venezuela.

Francisco de Orellana navigated the Amazon River, reaching the Atlantic Ocean.

Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 1517. The Lutheran Churches adhere to the Bible and the Ecumenical Creeds, with Lutheran doctrine being explicated in the Book of Concord. Lutherans hold themselves to be in continuity with the apostolic church and affirm the writings of the Church Fathers and the first four ecumenical councils.

The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded in Philadelphia.

Captain James Cook was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer who led three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans between 1768 and 1779. He completed the first recorded circumnavigation of the main islands of New Zealand, and was the first recorded European to visit the east coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands.

Captain James Cook sets sail from England on board HMS Endeavour.

Triglav, with an elevation of 2,863.65 metres, is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the Slovene nation, appearing on the coat of arms and flag of Slovenia. It is the centrepiece of Triglav National Park, Slovenia's only national park. Triglav was also the highest peak in Yugoslavia before Slovenia's independence in 1991.

The first recorded ascent of Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Declaration of Human and Civic Rights". Inspired by Enlightenment philosophers, the declaration was a core statement of the values of the French Revolution and had a significant impact on the development of popular conceptions of individual liberty and democracy in Europe and worldwide.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is approved by the National Constituent Assembly of France.

John Fitch was an American inventor, clockmaker, entrepreneur, and engineer. He was most famous for operating the first steamboat service in the United States. The first boat, 45 feet long, was tested on the Delaware River by Fitch and his design assistant Steven Pagano.

John Fitch is granted a United States patent for the steamboat.

Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, KOM, OM was a Spanish military officer and a viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Although born Jacques de Liniers in France, he is more widely known by the Spanish form of his name.

The former viceroy Santiago de Liniers of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata is executed after the defeat of his counter-revolution.

In the War of the Sixth Coalition, sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Sardinia, and a number of German States defeated France and drove Napoleon into exile on Elba. After the disastrous French invasion of Russia of 1812 in which they had been forced to support France, Prussia and Austria joined Russia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Portugal, and the rebels in Spain who were already at war with France. The invasion of Russia cost the French many seasoned soldiers, so Napoleon took action to engage "Marie-Louises", young conscripts who were barely familiar with military affairs; they were called up from October 1813 to 1815.

War of the Sixth Coalition: An impromptu battle takes place when French and Prussian-Russian forces accidentally run into each other near Liegnitz, Prussia (now Legnica, Poland).

The Chilean War of Independence was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Monarchy, ending the colonial period and initiating the formation of an independent republic.

Chilean War of Independence: Infighting between the rebel forces of José Miguel Carrera and Bernardo O'Higgins erupts in the Battle of Las Tres Acequias.

Between 20 May and 21 October 1883, the volcanic island of Krakatoa, located in the Sunda Strait, erupted. On 27 August, the island had its most significant eruption, which destroyed over 70% of the island and its surrounding archipelago, afterwards collapsing itself into a caldera. The 27 August eruption had an estimated Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6, and is one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in recorded history; the third explosion of that day, which occurred at 10:02 am, remains the loudest known sound in history.

The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa begins its final, paroxysmal, stage.

World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Main areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. There were important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 30 million military casualties, plus another 8 million civilian deaths from war-related causes and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.

World War I: The German colony of Togoland surrenders to French and British forces after a 20-day campaign.

World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Main areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. There were important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 30 million military casualties, plus another 8 million civilian deaths from war-related causes and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.

World War I: During the retreat from Mons, the British II Corps commanded by General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien fought a vigorous and successful defensive action at Le Cateau.

The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recognizing the right of women to vote. The amendment was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's suffrage in the United States, at both the state and national levels, and was part of the worldwide movement towards women's suffrage and part of the wider women's rights movement. The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878. However, a suffrage amendment did not pass the House of Representatives until May 21, 1919, which was quickly followed by the Senate, on June 4, 1919. It was then submitted to the states for ratification, achieving the requisite 36 ratifications to secure adoption, and thereby went into effect, on August 18, 1920. The Nineteenth Amendment's adoption was certified on August 26, 1920.

The 19th amendment to United States Constitution takes effect, giving women the right to vote.

The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between 15 May 1919 and 14 October 1922. This conflict was a part of the Turkish War of Independence.

Greco-Turkish War (1919-22): Turkish army launched what has come to be known to the Turks as the "Great Offensive" (Büyük Taarruz). The major Greek defense positions were overrun.

Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Chad has a population of 19 million, of which 1.6 million live in the capital and largest city of N'Djamena. With a total area of around 1,300,000 km2 (500,000 sq mi), Chad is the fifth-largest country in Africa and the twentieth largest nation by area.

Chad becomes the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.

Chortkiv is a city in Chortkiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Chortkiv Raion, housing the district's local administration buildings. Chortkiv hosts the administration of Chortkiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: 28,279.

At Chortkiv, the Ukrainian police and German Schutzpolizei deport two thousand Jews to Bełżec extermination camp. Five hundred of the sick and children are murdered on the spot. This continued until the next day.

World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris.

The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia, Zambia, and Angola from 26 August 1966 to 21 March 1990. It was fought between the South African Defence Force (SADF) and the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), an armed wing of the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO). The South African Border War was closely intertwined with the Angolan Civil War.

The South African Border War starts with the battle at Omugulugwombashe.

Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred throughout the Western world and aimed to increase women's equality by building on the feminist gains of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

A new feminist movement leads a nationwide Women's Strike for Equality.

The Charter of the French Language, also known as Bill 101, is a law in the Canadian province of Quebec defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is the central piece of legislation that forms Quebec's language policy and one of the three principal statutes upon which the cohesion of Quebec's society is based, along with the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Civil Code of Quebec. The charter also protects the Indigenous languages in Quebec.

The Charter of the French Language is adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec

A conclave was held on 25 and 26 August 1978 to elect a new pope to succeed Paul VI, who had died on 6 August 1978. Of the 114 eligible cardinal electors, all but three attended. On the fourth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Albino Luciani, the patriarch of Venice. After accepting his election, he took the name John Paul I.

Papal conclave: Albino Luciani is elected as Pope John Paul I.

The Harvey's Resort Hotel bombing took place on August 26–27, 1980, when several men masquerading as photocopier deliverers planted an elaborately booby trapped bomb containing 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of dynamite at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, United States. During an attempt to disarm the bomb, it exploded, causing extensive damage to the hotel but no injuries or deaths. The total cost of the damage was estimated to be around $18 million. John Birges Sr. was convicted of having made the bomb with a goal of extorting money from the casino after having lost $750,000 there. He died in prison in 1996 at age 74.

After John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, in the United States, the FBI inadvertently detonates the bomb during its disarming.

The Beni Ali massacre took place in the mountain hamlet of Beni Ali, 40 miles (64 km) south of Algiers near Chrea, on 26 August 1997. Sixty-four or 100 people were killed in a terrorist attack. Three days later came the larger Rais massacre.

Beni Ali massacre occurs in Algeria, leaving 60 to 100 people dead.

The Second Chechen War took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russian Federation and the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 to April 2009.

Russia begins the Second Chechen War in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade.

On June 10, 1991, Jaycee Lee Dugard, an eleven-year-old girl, was abducted from a street while walking to a school bus stop in Meyers, California, United States. Searches began immediately after Dugard's disappearance, but no reliable leads were generated, even though several people witnessed the kidnapping. Dugard remained missing for over 18 years until 2009, when a convicted sex offender, Phillip Garrido, visited the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, accompanied by two adolescent girls, who were later discovered to be the biological daughters of Garrido and Dugard, on August 24 and 25 of that year. The unusual behavior of the trio sparked an investigation that led Garrido's parole officer, Edward Santos Jr, to order Garrido to take the two girls to a parole office in Concord, California, on August 26. Garrido was accompanied by a woman who was eventually identified as Dugard.

Kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard is discovered alive in California after being missing for over 18 years.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's all-new composite airliner, receives certification from the EASA and the FAA.

On the morning of August 26, 2015, news reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward, both employees of CBS affiliate WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, United States, were fatally shot while conducting a live television interview near Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta. They were interviewing Vicki Gardner, executive director of the local chamber of commerce, when all three were attacked by a gunman in a shooting. Parker, age 24, and Ward, age 27, died at the scene, while Gardner survived.

Two U.S. journalists are shot and killed by a disgruntled former coworker while conducting a live report in Moneta, Virginia.