THURSDAY, Aug. 27, 2026

479 B.C.-Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Plataea, Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by a Greek army under Pausanias; a double victory with the success at Mycale that ends the Persian invasion

663-Battle of Baekgang: Tang Chinese and Silla Korean forces defeat Baekje Korean forces and their Yamato Japanese allies on the Geum River in Korea, the last Japanese invasion of Korea for 900 years

1789-French National Assembly issues the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen"

1883-Krakatoa volcano, located west of Java in Indonesia, erupts with a force of 200 megatons of TNT, killing approximately 36,000 people

1928-Kellogg-Briand Pact, 60 nations agree to condemn the "recourse to war for the solution of international controversies"

1979-Lord Mountbatten, first Earl Mountbatten of Burma, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and last Viceroy of India, is killed along with three companions, two of whom are children, by the IRA when his boat is blown up near Sligo, Ireland

2001-Angelina Jolie is named a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva

2008-U.S. Senator Barack Obama becomes the first African American to be nominated by a major political party for President of the United States, by the Democratic Party