Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 August 26

The Battle of Crécy, as depicted in Jean Froissart's Chronicles

The Battle of Crécy was fought on 26 August 1346 in north-east France during the Hundred Years' War. It resulted in a victory for a greatly outnumbered English army led by King Edward III over the French led by King Philip VI and heavy loss of life among the French. The English prepared a defensive position on a hillside near Crécy-en-Ponthieu. After the French mercenary crossbowmen were routed by English longbowmen, French cavalry made repeated charges. They had to force their way uphill over muddy ground across pits dug by the English, while taking heavy casualties from the longbowmen. The ensuing hand-to-hand combat against the English men-at-arms was described as "murderous, without pity, cruel, and very horrible". The French charges continued late into the night, all with the same fierce fighting, until the French were repulsed. The battle established the effectiveness of the longbow as a dominant weapon on the Western European battlefield. (Full article...)

Stanisław Kot

• ... that as a minister of the Polish government-in-exile during World War II, Stanisław Kot (pictured) composed the first Polish public statement about the Katyn massacre?
• ... that the American Surety Building, built at a time when skyscrapers were generally criticized, has been called an "outstandingly fine early skyscraper"?
• ... that Arab cryptologist Ibn 'Adlan wrote about the cryptanalysis of ciphers with no space symbol, three centuries before it was first done in the West by G. B. Porta?
• ... that in a 1949 war plan, the United States targeted 70 Soviet cities with 133 nuclear weapons, of which eight would be dropped on Moscow and seven on Leningrad?
• ... that two stanzas from the hymn "O Jesu Christe, wahres Licht", written by Johann Heermann during the Thirty Years' War, were used in Mendelssohn's oratorio Paulus?
• ... that American historian and author Mary Henderson Eastman promoted both Native American rights and Black slavery?
• ... that although registered nurses in Hong Kong are legally required to undergo only three years of training, bachelor's degrees in nursing are five years in length?
• ... that Kanye West recorded part of a track from Jesus Is King as a Voice Memo on his iPhone?

Takuma Sato

• The Africa Regional Certification Commission declares that wild polio has been eliminated in Africa.
• Two bombings in Jolo, Philippines, kill 15 people and wound 75 others.
• In motorsport, Takuma Sato (pictured) wins the Indianapolis 500.
• In association football, the UEFA Champions League concludes, with Bayern Munich defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the final.

August 26: Heroes' Day and Herero Day in Namibia; Women's Equality Day in the United States

Bomb explosion at Harvey's Resort Hotel after a failed disarming

• 683 – Second Fitna: The Battle of al-Harra was fought between Umayyad forces and the rebel defenders of Medina at a lava field northeast of the city.
• 1071 – Byzantine–Seljuq wars: Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan captured Byzantine emperor Romanos IV at the Battle of Manzikert.
• 1914 – First World War: The German colony of Togoland surrendered to French and British forces after a 20-day campaign.
• 1970 – Betty Friedan and the National Organization for Women organized the Women's Strike for Equality in New York City, in which 50,000 women protested the continuing lack of gender equality.
• 1980 – A bomb was planted at Harvey's Resort Hotel (detonation pictured) in Stateline, Nevada, which the FBI later described as the most complex improvised explosive device ever created.