Today in History, August 26th

Every day is flush with history. August 26^th is certainly no exception.

55 B.C. - Roman forces under the command of Julius Caesar invade Britain

580 - Toilet paper is invented by the Chinese

1498 - Michelangelo was commissioned to create the "Pieta."

1629 - The Massachusetts Company stockholders agree to emigrate under the Cambridge Agreement

1634 - Emperor Ferdinand II and Spain beat Sweden and German Protestants in the Battle at Nordlingen Bavarian

1745 - Treaty signed between Hannover, Prussia, and England

1791 - John Fitch grants the patent for his working steamboat to the United States

1842 - The U.S. Congress establishes the first fiscal year to begin on July 1^st

1843 - The typewriter is patented by Charles Thurber

1846 - The first mayor of Yerba Buena (San Francisco) is appointed - W.A. Bartlett

1847 - Liberia is awarded status as an independent republic

1873 - The first public kindergarten opens in St. Louis, Missouri

1883 - Approximately 36,000 die as a result of the tremendous eruption and explosion of Krakatau

1894 - The Social-Democratic Worker's party (SDAP) forms

1895 - At Niagara Falls, Electric Central gives first steam

1896 - An insurrection began against the Spanish government in the Philippines

1907 - At Aquatic Park, Houdini escapes from chains underwater in 57 seconds

1914 - In Galicia, the Russian army attacks the Austrian army

1920 - The 19th amendment to theU.S. Constitution, that which prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in the voting booth, went into effect (granting women's suffrage).

1929 - The first roller coaster in the United States is built

1934 - Adolf Hitler demanded that France turn over their Saar region to Germany

1937 - Santander is defeated by Franco's troops, and Japan blockades all Chinese shipping

1938 - The Arabians fight British troops in Palestine

1939 - Reds beat Brooklyn Dodgers in the first major league baseball telecast on W2XBS New York