What happened on August 26 ?

1469 - Ferdinand II of Naples (d. 1496)

1540 - King Magnus of Livonia (d. 1583)

1676 - Robert Walpole, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1745)

1694 - Elisha Williams, American rector of Yale College (d. 1755)

1736 - Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Isle, French chemist (d. 1790)

1743 - Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist (d. 1794)

1775 - William Joseph Behr, German writer (d. 1851)

1789 - Abbas Mirza, Prince of Persia (d. 1833)

1792 - Manuel Oribe, Uruguayan political figure (d. 1857)

1850 - Charles Robert Richet, French physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)

1862 - Herbert Booth, the third son of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1926)

1873 - Lee DeForest, American inventor (d. 1961)

1874 - Zona Gale, American novelist (d. 1938)

1875 - John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Scottish novelist, Governor General of Canada (d. 1940)

1880 - Guillaume Apollinaire, French poet and art critic (d. 1918)

1882 - James Franck, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)

1896 - Ivan Mihailov, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1990)

1897 - Yoon Boseon, President of South Korea (d. 1990)

1898 - Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector (d. 1979)

1900 - Hellmuth Walter, German engineer and inventor (d. 1980)

1901 - Maxwell Taylor, American general (d. 1987)

1901 - Chen Yi, Chinese communist military commander and politician (d. 1972)

1904 - Christopher Isherwood, English-born writer (d. 1986)

1906 - Albert Sabin, American polio researcher (d. 1993)

1909 - Jim Davis, American actor (d. 1981)

1914 - Julio Cortázar, Argentine writer (d. 1984)

1921 - Benjamin Bradlee, American journalist

1922 - Irving R. Levine, American journalist

1923 - Wolfgang Sawallisch, German conductor and pianist

1934 - Tom Heinsohn, American basketball player and commentator

1935 - Geraldine Ferraro, U.S. Vice Presidential candidate

1936 - Yvette Vickers, American actress

1940 - Don LaFontaine, American voice actor

1941 - Barbet Schroeder, Swiss film director

1941 - Akiko Wakabayashi, Japanese actress

1942 - Vic Dana, American singer

1942 - Dennis Turner, British politician

1944 - Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester

1944 - Maureen Tucker, American musician (The Velvet Underground)

1945 - Tom Ridge, first United States Secretary of Homeland Security

1946 - Valerie Simpson, American singer

1946 - Mark Snow, American composer

1946 - Zhou Ji, Education Minister of the People's Republic of China

1952 - Michael Jeter, American actor (d. 2003)

1952 - Will Shortz, New York Times crossword editor

1953 - Pat Sharkey, Irish footballer

1954 - Efren Reyes, World Pool Player

1956 - Brett Cullen, American actor

1957 - Dr. Alban, Nigerian singer

1960 - Branford Marsalis, American saxophonist and bandleader

1965 - Chris Burke, American actor

1965 - Jon Hensley, American actor

1966 - Jacques Brinkman, Dutch field hockey player

1966 - Shirley Manson, Scottish singer

1971 - Thalía, Mexican singer and actress

1977 - Saeko Chiba, Japanese seiyuu

1979 - Jamal Lewis, American football player

1980 - Macaulay Culkin, American actor

1982 - Petey Williams, Canadian professional wrestler

1993 - Keke Palmer, American actress