1907 – United Parcel Service is founded by James E. Casey in Seattle, Washington
1949 – Riot prevents Paul Robeson from singing near Peekskill, New York
1968 – Police and anti-war demonstrators clash at Chicago’s Democratic National Convention
1970 – “I’ll Be There” single by The Jackson 5 is released (Billboard Song of the Year 1970)
2011 – 28th MTV Video Music Awards: Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber win
2016 – Canadian Open Women’s Golf at Priddis Green Country Club: Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand wins by four strokes over Kim Sei-young of South Korea
2017 – North Korea launches a missile that flies over Japan, and the country’s J-Alert warning system warns people to take cover
2018 – Chinese ride-sharing firm Didi Chuxing issues a public apology after a second Hitch passenger is killed within three months
Author: gil7
Today in History for 28th August 2026
Historical Events
1913 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands opens the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, an international law administrative building housing the Permanent Court of Arbitration
1967 – Asif Iqbal and Intikhab Alam make a 190-run stand for the 9th wicket against England
1977 – NY Yankee Ron Guidry faces just 28 batters in 1-0 win over Texas Rangers
2009 – Noel Gallagher, the guitarist of the British pop-rock band Oasis, quits the band, citing an inability to be with his brother Liam
2017 – North Korea launches a missile that flies over Japan, and the country’s J-Alert warning system warns people to take cover
Famous Birthdays
1828 – William Alexander Hammond, American military physician and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Annapolis, Maryland (d. 1900)
1892 – Elizabeth Hirsh Fleisher, American architect (Parkway House), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1975)
1915 – Max Robertson, British sports commentator (BBC Radio), born in Dacca, Bengal (d. 2009)
1966 – Jerry Fehily, Irish drummer (Hothouse Flowers – “Don’t Go”; “Thing Of Beauty”), born in Cork, Ireland
1970 – Rick Recht, Jewish-American rock singer-songwriter (“Tear Down The Walls”), born in St. Louis, Missouri
Famous Deaths
1798 – James Wilson, One of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signatory of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, dies at 55
1927 – Li Dazhao [Ta-chao], Chinese intellectual, revolutionary and co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party with Chen Duxiu, executed as a political prisoner at 37
1937 – Frederick Burr Opper, American pioneering cartoonist (Happy Hooligan), dies at 80
2013 – Rob du Bois, Dutch composer, dies at 79
2025 – Randy Boone, American actor (Cimarron Strip, The Virginian), dies at 83
Famous Deaths for 27th August 2026
1508 – Hieronymus Münzer, German humanist, geographer and physician, toured and wrote about the Iberian peninsula, dies
1664 – Francisco Zurbarán, Spanish painter, dies at 65
1950 – Cesare Pavese, Italian writer (Fuoco Grande), commits suicide at 41
1984 – Bernard Youens [Popley], British actor (Coronation Street, Somewhere in Politics), dies from a heart attack at 69
1991 – Teddy Stauffer, Swiss bandleader “Germany’s swing-king”, dies at 82
1991 – Vince Taylor [Brian Holden], British rock and roll singer (Brand New Cadillac), dies of lung cancer at 52
1995 – Dick Bentley, Australian comedian and actor (The Glums), dies at 88
2015 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball center (Philadelphia 76ers, NJ Nets; NBA breaking a backboard rule), dies of a heart attack at 58
2020 – David Bryant, English lawn bowler (World Outdoor C’ship singles 1966, 80, 88; 4 x C’wealth Games gold singles), dies at 88
2023 – Franne Lee (née Newman), American Tony Award-winning costume designer (Sweeny Todd; SNL, 1975-80), dies at 81
Historical Events for 27th August 2026
1569 – Pope Pius V names Cosimo I de’Medici, Duke of Florence as Grand Duke of Tuscany
1626 – Battle of Lutter: Catholic League defeats Danish King Christian IV
1928 – US National Championship Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Defending champion Helen Wills defeats fellow American Helen Jacobs 6–2, 6–1 for her 5th of 7 US singles crowns
1934 – Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin, and Yip Harburg’s musical “Life Begins at 8:40,” starring Ray Bolger and Luella Gear, opens at the Winter Garden Theatre, NYC, and runs for 237 performances
1950 – First transmission of a TV program from continental Europe airs on the BBC
1960 – Anita Lonsbrough swims a 200 m breaststroke world and Olympic record of 2:49.5
1972 – The Grateful Dead holds a benefit concert for the Springfield Creamery (a yogurt company owned by writer Ken Kesey’s brother) at the Old Renaissance Faire Grounds in Veneta, Oregon
1984 – The USSR performs an underground nuclear test
Today in History for 27th August 2026
Historical Events
1628 – Java: Sultan Agung of Mataram attacks Batavia
1914 – US war reporter Richard H. Davis visits Leuven in Belgium
1955 – Sandy Koufax fans 14 Reds as both teams combine for a record 23 strikeouts
1961 – Francis the Talking Mule is a mystery guest on “What’s My Line”
1965 – The Beatles spend an evening with Elvis Presley at his Los Angeles, California, home
Famous Birthdays
1896 – Leon Theremin, Russian-Soviet electronic musical instruments inventor, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1993)
1908 – Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th US President (Democrat: 1963-69), born in Stonewall, Texas (d. 1973)
1930 – John Daly, British trade union leader (National and Local Government Officers’ Association (NALGO)), born in Clerkenwell, England (d. 1999)
1947 – Barbara Bach [Goldbach], American actress (The Spy Who Loved Me, Force 10 from Navarone), born in Queens, New York
1973 – Dietmar Hamann, German soccer midfielder (59 caps; Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Manchester City), born in Waldsassen, Germany
Famous Deaths
1981 – Joan Edwards, American pop singer on radio (Your Hit Parade) and television (Joan Edwards Show), dies of a heart attack at 62
2008 – Del Martin [Dorothy Taliaferro], American lesbian activist who was part of the first legal same-sex marriage in California, dies at 87
2010 – Corinne Day, British fashion photographer known for shooting Face magazine’s “3rd Summer of Love” cover, dies of cancer at 48
2015 – George Cleve, Austrian-American conductor (Winnipeg Symphony, 1968-70; San Jose Symphony, 1972-92; San Francisco Midsummer Mozart Festival, 1974-2015), dies of liver failure at 79
2025 – (Randall) “Duke” Cunningham, American Navy fighter pilot (Vietnam) and Republican politician (US Representative from California, 1991-2005) who was convicted of accepting bribes, dies at 83
Famous Deaths for 26th August 2026
1278 – Ottokar II, King of Bohemia (1253-78), dies in battle
1921 – Ludwig Thoma, German writer, dies at 54
1937 – Andrew Mellon, American banker (Mellon Bank), industrialist and Secretary of the Treasury (1921-32), dies at 82
1949 – Nico van Suchtelen, Dutch writer and publisher, dies at 70
1974 – Charles Lindbergh, American aviator who was 1st to fly solo across the Atlantic, dies of lymphoma at 72
1977 – Heinz Röttger, German composer (Phaeton), and music director (Landestheater Dessau, 1954-77), dies at 67
1980 – Jimmy Forrest, American jazz saxophonist (Night Train), dies at 60
1987 – John Goddard, West Indian cricket all-rounder and captain (27 Tests @ 30.67; 33 wickets; Barbados), dies at 68
1989 – Irving Stone, American writer (Love is Eternal, Lust for Life), dies at 86
2007 – Edward Brandt Jr., American physician and public health official, dies at 74
Historical Events for 26th August 2026
1691 – Charles Perrault’s poem “The Marquise of Salusses or the Patience of Griselidis” is read aloud at the French Academy and later attached to his “Tales of Mother Goose” (1697)
1937 – General Franco’s Nationalist troops conquer Santander during the Spanish Civil War
1956 – Yankees announce the purchase of outfielder Enos Slaughter from Kansas City
1967 – Dutch Second Chamber demands US stop bombing North Vietnam
1977 – Ian Dury releases the single “Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll”
2004 – An American 1-2-3 in the 200 m medals at the Athens Olympics; Shawn Crawford wins gold in 19.79 ahead of Bernard Williams and Justin Gatlin
2011 – The 787 Dreamliner, Boeing’s all-new composite airliner, receives certification from the EASA and the FAA
2015 – WDBJ TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward are fatally shot live on TV by an ex-colleague in Moneta, Virginia
Today in History for 26th August 2026
Historical Events
1903 – Phillies walk 17 Dodgers in a game
1990 – Two murdered college students are found in Gainesville, Florida
2013 – All 25,000 applicants to the University of Liberia fail their university entrance examination
2020 – At least 100 people are killed in flash floods in the city of Charikar, Afghanistan, with 500 houses destroyed
2025 – American pop superstar Taylor Swift (35) and American NFL football player Travis Kelce (35) reveal their marriage engagement in social media post, garnering 1.2 million ‘likes’ in under 10 minutes
Famous Birthdays
1808 – Benjamin Grubb Humphreys, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Claiborne County, Mississippi (d. 1882)
1908 – Walter Bruno Henning, German scholar and linguist specializing in Iranian languages, born in Ragnit, East Prussia, German Empire (d. 1967)
1941 – Barbet Schroeder, Iranian-Swiss director (Barfly, Single White Female, More), born in Tehran, Iran
1962 – Bob Mionske, American cyclist and attorney, born in Evanston and Illinois
1977 – Saeko Chiba, Japanese singer and voice actor (Chrono Crusade, Code Geass), born in Tokyo, Japan
Famous Deaths
1849 – Jacques- Féréol Mazas, French composer, conductor and violinist, dies at 66
1863 – John Bz. Floyd, American Governor (Virginia), Secretary of War (1857-60) and Confederate general, dies of failing health at 57
1937 – Andrew Mellon, American banker (Mellon Bank), industrialist and Secretary of the Treasury (1921-32), dies at 82
2007 – Roy McLean, South African cricket batsman (40 Tests, 5 x 100, HS 142; Natal), dies at 77
2023 – John Kezdy, American punk-rock guitarist and singer (The Effigies), and later prosecuting attorney, dies from injuries sustained in a bicycle crash at 64
Famous Deaths for 25th August 2026
1868 – Henry P Scholte, Dutch/US vicar (Iowa), dies at 62
1936 – Grigory Zinoviev [Hirsch Apfelbaum], Russian revolutionary, Communist International chairman (1919-26), and anti-Stalinist politician, executed on treason charges during Stalin’s ‘Great Purge’ at 52
1957 – Leo Perutz, Austrian writer and mathematician, dies at 74
1969 – Helen Blair Bartlett, American geologist credited with inventing the insulation for spark plugs, dies at 67
1995 – Doug Stegmeyer, American rock bassist (Billy Joel Band, 1976-87), dies of a self-inflicted gun wound at 43
1998 – Lewis F. Powell Jr., American Supreme Court justice (1972-87), dies at 90
2008 – Marpessa Dawn, American-French actress (Black Orpheus), dies of a heart attack at 74
2008 – John Thoday, British geneticist, dies at 91
2016 – Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer, dies at 86
2023 – Tony Roberts, American College Football HOF broadcaster (play-by-play announcer Notre Dame Fighting Irish football 1980-2006), dies at 94
Historical Events for 25th August 2026
1425 – Countess Jacoba of Bavaria escapes from jail
1814 – British forces destroy the Library of Congress, which contains 3,000 books (War of 1812)
1835 – The New York Sun publishes the Great Moon Hoax story about John Herschel, who claimed he had discovered life, landscapes, and fantastical creatures on the Moon through a powerful telescope
1936 – Three Braves hit twice in an inning, each getting two hits
1950 – “Rashomon,” a Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune and Machiko Kyō, is released (Honorary Academy Award 1952)
1960 – AFL begins placing players’ names on the backs of their jerseys
1980 – MLB Texas Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins is arrested for possession of drugs
2003 – Tłı̨chǫ land claims agreement is signed between the Tłı̨chǫ First Nations and the Canadian federal government in Rae-Edzo (now called Behchokǫ̀)