1907: Harry Houdini escapes from chains underwater in 57 seconds, at Aquatic Park in San Francisco, California.
1942: World War II: The beginning of the Holocaust in western Ukraine. At 2.30 am the German security police evicted Jews from their houses, divided them into groups of 120, packed them in freight cars and deported 2000 to Belzec death camp. 500 of the sick, along with children, were murdered on the spot.
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1944: The National Council of Nigeria and Camerouns (NCNC) was established. Personalities like Herbert Macaulay, JO Lucas, Nnamdi Azikwe, AW Howells, LP Ojukwu, LA Onajobi, Alex Taylor, E A. Akerele, DA Alakija and JIC Taylor were founding members and officers.
1959: British car manufacturers Austin and Morris launched a small family car – the ‘Mini’.
1975: Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I—who steered his country into the mainstream of African politics after World War II and oversaw its entrance into the League of Nations and the United Nations—died at age 83, possibly assassinated.
1977: The National Assembly of Quebec adopts Bill 101, Charter of the French Language, making French the official language of the Canadian province.
1978: First German to go into Space
Sigmund Jähn, a pilot from the East German Air Force joined the crew of Soyuz 31, a Soviet manned space flight to the Salyut 6 space station.
1978: John Paul I
Albino Luciani elected to the Papacy and chooses the name Pope John Paul I; his 33-day reign is among the shortest in Papal history after he died of heart attack.
2016: At an NFL preseason game on August 26, 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick remains seated as other players stand to observe the national anthem. This simple action, which Kaepernick makes no attempt to broadcast to the public, gives rise to a controversy that will bring to light the racial tensions within American sports, determine the fate of Kaepernick’s football career and reverberate across the sporting world for years to come.
When he continued to sit, despite wearing his uniform, for the third preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on August 26, only a single reporter noticed. Asked about it after the game, Kaepernick responded, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: August 26
Dr. Alban Nwapa, 67 years
Alban Uzoma Nwapa better known by his stage name Dr. Alban was born on 26 August 1957. He is a Nigerian-born Swedish musician and producer with his own record label, Dr. Records. His music can best be described as Eurodance/hip-hop reggae in a dancehall style. He has sold an estimated 16 million records worldwide and is most famous for his worldwide 1992 hit “It’s My Life”, from the album One Love.
Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997)
Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu), missionary, Nobel Prize laureate for her work in the slums of Calcutta.
Mother Teresa was a famous Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity which is a religious congregation that is Roman Catholic and active in 133 countries with over four thousand sisters. They are responsible for homes and hospices for those with tuberculosis, leprosy and HIV/AIDS as well as running soup kitchens, counseling programs for families, orphanages and schools. Those working for her missionaries must accept the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and to give to those who are poor.
She was beatified in late 2003 and has only one miracle needed before she can be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
There are those who criticize her for not giving pain killers or medical care to people with the notion that their suffering will bring them closer to Jesus. Some have also stated she misused charitable money and had too close of a relationship with dictators. In 1983 while visiting the Pope she suffered a heart attack. It was followed by a second one six years later and then she received a pacemaker. At the time she attempted to resign from head of the Missionaries of Charity but was voted to stay on.
She finally stepped down in March of 1997 and then passed away the fifth of the following September at the age of 87. She received a state funeral as the Indian government wished to show gratitude for all of her work with the poor.
