1346 Battle of Crécy, south of Calais in northern France; Edward III’s English longbows defeat Philip VI’s army, cannons used for first time in battle
1682 English astronomer Edmond Halley first observes the comet named after him
1873 First free kindergarten in the U.S. started by Susan Blow in Carondelet, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri
1924 The Catastrophe of Smyrna: known as the Asia Minor Catastrophe to Greeks. The Ottoman army expels Greeks and other non-Turks from Asia Minor. (August 13 OS)
1937 General Franco’s Nationalist troops conquer Santander during the Spanish Civil War
1959 British Motor Corporation introduces the Morris Mini-Minor, designed by Alec Issigonis, it was only 10 ft long but seated 4 passengers
1996 US President Bill Clinton signs welfare reform into law, representing major shift in welfare policy
Aug 26 in Film & TV
1951 Film “An American In Paris” with music by George Gershwin, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron premieres in London (Academy Awards Best Picture, 1952)
Aug 26 in Music
1968 “Hey Jude” single released by the Beatles in US (Billboard Song of the Year 1968, Billboard 10th biggest song of all time 2013)
Aug 26 in Sport
1971 Bobby Orr signs a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins worth one million dollars, the first million dollar contract in NHL history
2016 San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick kneels in protest during the US national anthem at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium while playing against the San Diego Chargers, objecting to racial injustice and police brutality in the US
Would you believe this fact about today? Would You Believe?
All 25,000 applicants to the University of Liberia fail their university entrance examination
