A birthday on the globe
26 August on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 26 August, the English Wikipedia lists 61 events and 201 births. 41 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; five more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 26 August through the years
The Earth on 26 August
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in August 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 26 August the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 10.4° north. In London, the day lasts about 14 hours.
Beyond 80° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 80° south it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · Paisley, Renfrewshire
1928
At a cafe in Paisley, Scotland, a woman found the remains of a snail in her bottle of ginger beer, giving rise to the landmark civil-action case Donoghue v Stevenson.
On the map: Paisley, Renfrewshire.
Europe · Triglav
1778
The first recorded ascent of Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia.
On the map: Triglav.
Europe · Munich Olympic Stadium
1972
The Games of the XX Olympiad open in Munich, West Germany.
On the map: Munich Olympic Stadium.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Romanian and Chinese.
Europe · August 1978 conclave
1978
Papal conclave: Albino Luciani is elected as Pope John Paul I.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “August 1978 conclave”.
Latin America · Guayaquil
1542
A year and a half after leaving Guayaquil on the Pacific coast, Francisco de Orellana finishes his overland journey across South America and reaches the mouth of the Amazon River on the Atlantic coast.
On the map: Guayaquil.
North America · Philadelphia
1748
The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded in Philadelphia.
On the map: Philadelphia.
North America · Quincy Market
1826
Quincy Market in Boston, Massachusetts, opened as a replacement for an overcrowded market in Faneuil Hall.
On the map: Quincy Market.
26 August
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Chinese and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Chinese · Athens
2004
At the Athens Olympic Games, the Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Chen Shih-hsin wins Taiwan's first Olympic gold medal in the women's first weight category (49 kg); later, the male athlete Chu Mu-yen also wins gold in the men's first weight category (58 kg).
On the map: Athens.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Chinese.
26 August
Born on 26 August#
The English Wikipedia lists 201 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 26 August
1910
Mother Teresa, Albanian-Indian nun, missionary, Catholic saint, and Nobel Prize laureate (died 1997)
Place of birth: Skopje.
Born on 26 August
1743
Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist and biologist (died 1794)
Place of birth: Paris.
Born on 26 August
1880
Guillaume Apollinaire, Italian-French author, poet, playwright, and critic (died 1918)
Place of birth: Rome.
Born on 26 August
1914
Julio Cortázar, Belgian-Argentinian author and translator (died 1984)
Place of birth: Brussels.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1904
Christopher Isherwood, English-American author and academic (died 1986)
Place of birth: Cheshire.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1966
Shirley Manson, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress
Place of birth: Edinburgh.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1986
Colin Kazim-Richards, Turkish footballer
Place of birth: Leytonstone.
26 August
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 26 August through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 26 August
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 15 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 683
The Battle of al-Harrah concludes, with Yazid I's army killing 11,000 people of the city of Medina.
Asia · Battle of al-HarraWikipedia: Battle of al-Harra - 1071
The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert, and soon gain control of most of Anatolia.
Asia · Battle of ManzikertWikipedia: Battle of Manzikert - 1278
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.
Europe · Battle on the MarchfeldWikipedia: Battle on the Marchfeld - 1303
Chittorgarh falls to the Delhi Sultanate.
Asia · Siege of ChittorgarhWikipedia: Siege of Chittorgarh - 1346
Hundred Years' War: At the Battle of Crécy, an English army easily defeats a French one twice its size.
Europe · Battle of CrécyWikipedia: Battle of Crécy - 1366
The Byzantine Empire retakes Gallipoli with the help of the Savoyard Crusade.
Asia · GeliboluWikipedia: Byzantine Empire - 1444
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.
Europe · Battle of St. Jakob an der BirsWikipedia: Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs - 1542
A year and a half after leaving Guayaquil on the Pacific coast, Francisco de Orellana finishes his overland journey across South America and reaches the mouth of the Amazon River on the Atlantic coast.
Latin America · GuayaquilWikipedia: Guayaquil - 1642
Dutch–Portuguese War: Second Battle of San Salvador: The Dutch force the Spanish garrison at San Salvador (modern day Keelung, Taiwan) to surrender, ending the short-lived Spanish colony on Formosa and replacing it with a new Dutch administration.
Asia · Battle of San SalvadorWikipedia: Dutch–Portuguese War - 1648
The Fronde: First Fronde: In the wake of the successful Battle of Lens, Cardinal Mazarin, Chief Minister of France, suddenly orders the arrest of the leaders of the Parlement of Paris, provoking the rest of Paris to break into insurrection and barricade the streets the next day.
Europe · Battle of LensWikipedia: Battle of Lens - 1748
The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded in Philadelphia.
North America · PhiladelphiaWikipedia: Lutheranism - 1767
Jesuits all over Chile are arrested as the Spanish Empire suppresses the Society of Jesus.
Europe · Spanish EmpireWikipedia: Suppression of the Society of Jesus - 1768
Captain James Cook sets sail from England on board HMS Endeavour, starting his first voyage of discovery.
no place on the mapWikipedia: James Cook - 1778
The first recorded ascent of Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia.
Europe · TriglavWikipedia: Triglav - 1789
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is approved by the National Constituent Assembly of France.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen - 1791
John Fitch is granted a United States patent for the steamboat.
no place on the mapWikipedia: John Fitch - 1810
The former viceroy Santiago de Liniers of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata is executed after the defeat of his counter-revolution.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires - 1813
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).
Europe · Battle of the KatzbachWikipedia: War of the Sixth Coalition - 1814
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.
Latin America · Battle of Las Tres AcequiasWikipedia: Chilean War of Independence - 1826
Quincy Market in Boston, Massachusetts, opened as a replacement for an overcrowded market in Faneuil Hall.
North America · Quincy MarketWikipedia: Quincy Market - 1833
The great 1833 Kathmandu–Bihar earthquake causes major damage in Nepal, northern India and Tibet, killing a total of 500 people.
Asia · 1833 Bihar–Nepal earthquakeWikipedia: 1833 Bihar–Nepal earthquake - 1849
President Faustin Soulouque of the First Republic of Haiti has the Senate and Chamber of Deputies proclaim him the Emperor of Haiti, abolishing the Republic and inaugurating the Second Empire of Haiti.
Latin America · Second Empire of HaitiWikipedia: Faustin Soulouque - 1863
The Swedish-language liberal newspaper Helsingfors Dagblad proposes the current blue-and-white cross flag as the flag of Finland.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Flag of Finland - 1883
The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa begins its final, paroxysmal, stage.
Asia · 1883 eruption of KrakatoaWikipedia: 1883 eruption of Krakatoa - 1914
World War I: As the British Expeditionary Force and French Fifth Army began their retreat from Mons, the British II Corps delayed the pursuing Germans at the Battle of Le Cateau long enough for the main force to escape.
Europe · Great RetreatWikipedia: World War I - 1914
World War I: During the retreat from Mons, the British II Corps commanded by General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien fights a vigorous and successful defensive action at Le Cateau.
Europe · Battle of MonsWikipedia: Battle of Mons - 1914
World War I: The German colony of Togoland surrenders to French and British forces after a 20-day campaign. Togoland is the first German colony to fall to Allied hands in World War I.
Africa · TogolandWikipedia: World War I - 1920
The 19th amendment to United States Constitution, giving women the right to vote, is certified.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution - 1922
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.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Great Offensive - 1928
At a cafe in Paisley, Scotland, a woman found the remains of a snail in her bottle of ginger beer, giving rise to the landmark civil-action case Donoghue v Stevenson.
Britain & Ireland · Paisley, RenfrewshireWikipedia: Paisley, Renfrewshire - 1936
Spanish Civil War: Santander falls to the Nationalists and the Republican Interprovincial Council is dissolved.
Europe · Battle of SantanderWikipedia: Battle of Santander - 1940
The 1940 New England hurricane formed over the Atlantic Ocean; it would go on to cause widespread damage despite never making landfall in the United States.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1940 New England hurricane - 1940
World War II: Chad becomes the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.
Africa · ChadWikipedia: World War II - 1942
The Holocaust in Ukraine: 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.
Europe · ChortkivWikipedia: The Holocaust in Ukraine - 1944
World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris.
Europe · Liberation of ParisWikipedia: Liberation of Paris - 1955
Pather Panchali, the first film in The Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray, was released and went on to win many Indian and international film awards.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pather Panchali - 1959
The Coatzacoalcos earthquake struck near the Mexican state of Veracruz, killing 25 people.
Latin America · 1959 Coatzacoalcos earthquakeWikipedia: 1959 Coatzacoalcos earthquake - 1966
The South African Border War starts with the battle at Omugulugwombashe.
Africa · OmugulugwombasheWikipedia: South African Border War - 1968
The Beatles released "Hey Jude", which became the then-longest single to top the UK charts.
no place on the mapWikipedia: The Beatles - 1968
The U.S. Democratic Party's National Convention opened in Chicago, sparking four days of clashes between anti-Vietnam War protesters and police.
North America · ChicagoWikipedia: 1968 Democratic National Convention protests - 1969
Aeroflot Flight 1770 crashes while landing at Vnukovo International Airport, killing 16.
Europe · 1969 Vnukovo Airport Il-18 crashWikipedia: 1969 Vnukovo Airport Il-18 crash - 1970
The fiftieth anniversary of American women being able to vote is marked by a nationwide Women's Strike for Equality.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Women's Strike for Equality - 1972
The Games of the XX Olympiad open in Munich, West Germany.
Europe · Munich Olympic StadiumWikipedia: 1972 Summer Olympics - 1977
The Charter of the French Language is adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Charter of the French Language - 1978
Papal conclave: Albino Luciani is elected as Pope John Paul I.
Europe · August 1978 conclaveWikipedia: August 1978 conclave - 1980
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.
North America · Harvey's Resort Hotel bombingWikipedia: Harvey's Resort Hotel bombing - 1981
Aeropesca Flight 221 crashes in Colombia's Huila Department, killing all 50 people on board.
Latin America · Aeropesca Flight 221Wikipedia: Aeropesca Flight 221 - 1993
Sakha Avia Flight 301 crashes on approach to Aldan Airport, killing all 24 aboard.
Asia · Aldan AirportWikipedia: Sakha Avia Flight 301 - 1997
Beni Ali massacre occurs in Algeria, leaving 60 to 100 people dead.
Africa · AlgeriaWikipedia: Beni Ali massacre - 1998
The first flight of the Boeing Delta III ends in disaster 75 seconds after liftoff, resulting in the loss of the Galaxy X communications satellite.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Delta III - 1999
Russia begins the Second Chechen War in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Second Chechen War - 2003
A Beechcraft 1900 operating as Colgan Air Flight 9446 crashes after taking off from Barnstable Municipal Airport in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, killing both pilots on board.
North America · Colgan Air Flight 9446Wikipedia: Colgan Air Flight 9446 - 2008
After a ceasefire was reached in the Russo-Georgian War, Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Asia · Russo-Georgian WarWikipedia: Russo-Georgian War - 2009
Kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard is discovered alive in California after being missing for over 18 years. Her captors, Phillip and Nancy Garrido, are apprehended.
North America · Kidnapping of Jaycee DugardWikipedia: Kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard - 2011
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's all-new composite airliner, receives certification from the EASA and the FAA.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Boeing 787 Dreamliner - 2014
The Jay Report into the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal is published.
Britain & Ireland · Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandalWikipedia: Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal - 2015
Two U.S. journalists are shot and killed by a disgruntled former coworker while conducting a live report in Moneta, Virginia.
North America · Murders of Alison Parker and Adam WardWikipedia: Murders of Alison Parker and Adam Ward - 2018
Three people are killed and eleven wounded during a mass shooting at a Madden NFL '19 video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida.
North America · 2018 Jacksonville Landing shootingWikipedia: 2018 Jacksonville Landing shooting - 2021
During the 2021 Kabul airlift, a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport kills 13 US military personnel and at least 169 Afghan civilians.
Asia · 2021 Kabul airport attackWikipedia: 2021 Kabul airlift - 2023
Exactly five years after the 2018 Jacksonville Landing shooting, there is another shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, leaving three people dead.
North America · 2023 Jacksonville shootingWikipedia: 2018 Jacksonville Landing shooting - 2026
A series of large flash floods and debris flows along the Nepal–Tibet border and the Trishuli River, believed to have been caused by glacier collapse, stuck and destroyed numerous settlements, including the Gyirong checkpoint, and killed over 1,400 people, with over 5,800 reported missing.
Asia · 2026 Nepal–Tibet floodsWikipedia: 2026 Nepal–Tibet floods
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Chinese and were translated for this page.
- 2004
At the Athens Olympic Games, the Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Chen Shih-hsin wins Taiwan's first Olympic gold medal in the women's first weight category (49 kg); later, the male athlete Chu Mu-yen also wins gold in the men's first weight category (58 kg).
Who was born on 26 August
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 201 are shown.
- 1910
Mother Teresa, Albanian-Indian nun, missionary, Catholic saint, and Nobel Prize laureate (died 1997)
SkopjeWikipedia: Mother Teresa - 1743
Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist and biologist (died 1794)
- 1980
Chris Pine, American actor
Los AngelesWikipedia: Chris Pine - 1880
Guillaume Apollinaire, Italian-French author, poet, playwright, and critic (died 1918)
- 1676
Robert Walpole, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1745)
HoughtonWikipedia: Robert Walpole - 1914
Julio Cortázar, Belgian-Argentinian author and translator (died 1984)
BrusselsWikipedia: Julio Cortázar - 1882
James Franck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1964)
HamburgWikipedia: James Franck - 1918
Katherine Johnson, American physicist and mathematician (died 2020)
White Sulphur SpringsWikipedia: Katherine Johnson - 1980
Macaulay Culkin, American actor
New York CityWikipedia: Macaulay Culkin - 1970
Melissa McCarthy, American actress, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
PlainfieldWikipedia: Melissa McCarthy - 1819
Albert, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom (died 1861)
Schloss RosenauWikipedia: Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - 1897
Yun Posun, South Korean activist and politician, 2nd President of South Korea (died 1990)
- 1971
Thalía, Mexican-American singer-songwriter and actress
Mexico CityWikipedia: Thalía - 1728
Johann Heinrich Lambert, Swiss mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (died 1777)
- 1920
Prem Tinsulanonda, Thai general and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Thailand (died 2019)
SongkhlaWikipedia: Prem Tinsulanonda - 1951
Edward Witten, American physicist and academic
BaltimoreWikipedia: Edward Witten - 1952
Michael Jeter, American actor (died 2003)
LawrenceburgWikipedia: Michael Jeter - 1964
Mehriban Aliyeva, 1st Vice President of Azerbaijan, goodwill ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO
- 1873
Lee de Forest, American engineer and academic, invented the Audion tube (died 1961)
Council BluffsWikipedia: Lee de Forest - 1991
Dylan O'Brien, American actor
New York CityWikipedia: Dylan O'Brien - 1936
Benedict Anderson, American political scientist and academic (died 2015)
KunmingWikipedia: Benedict Anderson - 1993
Keke Palmer, American actress and singer
HarveyWikipedia: Keke Palmer - 1875
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Scottish-Canadian historian and politician, 15th Governor General of Canada (died 1940)
- 1904
Christopher Isherwood, English-American author and academic (died 1986)
CheshireWikipedia: Christopher Isherwood - 1906
Albert Sabin, Polish-American physician and virologist, developed the polio vaccine (died 1993)
BiałystokWikipedia: Albert Sabin - 1596
Frederick V, Elector Palatine, Bohemian king (died 1632)
DeinschwangWikipedia: Frederick V of the Palatinate - 1885
Jules Romains, French author and poet (died 1972)
Saint-Julien-ChapteuilWikipedia: Jules Romains - 1967
Michael Gove, Scottish journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Education
EdinburghWikipedia: Michael Gove - 1988
Lars Stindl, German footballer
WaghäuselWikipedia: Lars Stindl - 1935
Geraldine Ferraro, American lawyer and politician (died 2011)
NewburghWikipedia: Geraldine Ferraro - 1957
Dr. Alban, Swedish musician
EnuguWikipedia: Dr. Alban - 1898
Peggy Guggenheim, American-Italian art collector and philanthropist (died 1979)
New York CityWikipedia: Peggy Guggenheim - 1944
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
HertfordshireWikipedia: Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester - 1966
Shirley Manson, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress
EdinburghWikipedia: Shirley Manson - 1986
Cassie Ventura, American singer, dancer, actress and model
New LondonWikipedia: Cassie Ventura - 1901
Chen Yi, Chinese general and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China (died 1972)
Lezhi CountyWikipedia: Chen Yi - 1941
Barbara Ehrenreich, American activist, journalist and author (died 2022)
- 1953
David Hurley, Australian general and politician, 27th Governor General of Australia
WollongongWikipedia: David Hurley - 1976
Mike Colter, American actor
ColumbiaWikipedia: Mike Colter - 1941
Barbet Schroeder, French-Swiss director and producer
- 1901
Maxwell D. Taylor, American general and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Vietnam (died 1987)
KeytesvilleWikipedia: Maxwell D. Taylor - 1986
Colin Kazim-Richards, Turkish footballer
LeytonstoneWikipedia: Colin Kazim-Richards - 1990
Irina-Camelia Begu, Romanian tennis player
BucharestWikipedia: Irina-Camelia Begu - 1998
Jeon Soyeon, Korean rapper and record producer
SeoulWikipedia: Soyeon - 1956
Brett Cullen, American actor
HoustonWikipedia: Brett Cullen - 1991
Jessie Diggins, American cross-country skier
Saint PaulWikipedia: Jessie Diggins - 1981
Vangelis Moras, Greek footballer
LarissaWikipedia: Vangelis Moras - 1983
Mattia Cassani, Italian footballer
BorgomaneroWikipedia: Mattia Cassani - 1985
Hugo Duminil-Copin, French mathematician (Fields Medal 2022)
Châtenay-MalabryWikipedia: Hugo Duminil-Copin - 1792
Manuel Oribe, Uruguayan soldier and politician, 4th President of Uruguay (died 1857)
MontevideoWikipedia: Manuel Oribe - 1923
Wolfgang Sawallisch, German pianist and conductor (died 2013)
- 1982
John Mulaney, American comedian, actor, writer, and producer
ChicagoWikipedia: John Mulaney - 1921
Benjamin C. Bradlee, American journalist and author (died 2014)
- 1944
Maureen Tucker, American singer-songwriter and drummer
New York CityWikipedia: Moe Tucker - 1960
Branford Marsalis, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader
New OrleansWikipedia: Branford Marsalis - 1962
Roger Kingdom, American hurdler
ViennaWikipedia: Roger Kingdom - 1901
Hans Kammler, German SS officer and engineer (died 1945)
SzczecinWikipedia: Hans Kammler - 1925
Pyotr Todorovsky, Ukrainian-Russian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (died 2013)
BobrynetsWikipedia: Pyotr Todorovsky - 1935
Karen Spärck Jones, English computer scientist and academic (died 2007)
HuddersfieldWikipedia: Karen Spärck Jones - 1940
Don LaFontaine, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2008)
What is celebrated on 26 August
- Christian feast day: Alexander of Bergamo (Roman Catholic Church)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá
- Christian feast day: Jeanne-Elisabeth Bichier des Ages
- Christian feast day: Blessed John Paul I
- Christian feast day: Blessed Lavrentia Herasymiv
- Christian feast day: Mariam Baouardy (Melkite Greek Catholic Church)
- Christian feast day: Melchizedek
- Christian feast day: Our Lady of Częstochowa
- Christian feast day: Simplicius, Constantius and Victorinus
- Christian feast day: Teresa Jornet Ibars
- Christian feast day: August 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Heroes' Day (Namibia)
- International Dog Day, an observance promoting dog adoption and animal welfare (2004).
- Repentance Day (Papua New Guinea)
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.