August 26 in History

1498 – Michelangelo began his work by carving the Pieta, depicting the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion.

1789 – The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was approved by the National Constituent Assembly of France.

1791 – John Fitch was granted a United States patent (# X00028) for the steamboat.

1883 (Volcano Eruption & Tsunami), Krakatoa began. It was one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in recorded history, with at over 36,000 deaths being attributed to the eruption itself and the tsunamis it created. Small eruptions, mostly of mud, continued into October 1883.

1918 – Lightnin’ (Broadway Play) Opened on August 26, 1918, and closed on August 27, 1921

#1 Hit August 26, 1967 – September 22, 1967: Bobbie Gentry – Ode to Billie Joe

1968 – Dan Bankhead became the first African-American to pitch in a major-league baseball game.

#1 Hit August 26, 1972 – September 15, 1972: Looking Glass – Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)

1976 – While camping in Allagash, Maine, Jim Weiner, Jack Weiner, Charles Foltz, and Charles Rak claimed to have been abducted by ‘four-fingered beings’ that performed experiments on them, including alien probing.

#1 Hit August 26, 1978 – September 8, 1978: Frankie Valli – Grease

1978 – Pope John Paul I was elected.

#1 Hit August 26, 1995 – September 1, 1995: Seal – Kiss From A Rose

#1 Hit August 26, 2000 – September 15, 2000: Janet Jackson – Doesn’t Really Matter