Today is Wednesday, August 26, the 238th day of 2009. There are 127 days left in the year.
55 B.C. _ Roman forces under Julius Caesar invade Britain
1791 _ John Fitch grants U.S. patent for his working steamboat
1907 _ Houdini escapes from chains underwater at Aquatic Park in 57 seconds
1914 _ Germans defeat Russians in Battle of Tannenberg
1920 _ 19th amendment passes-women's suffrage granted (about time!)
1942 _ 7,000 Jews rounded up in Vichy Free Zone of France
1957 _ USSR announces successful test of intercontinental ballistic missile
1961 _ Official International Hockey Hall of Fame opens in Toronto
1972 _ Summer Olympics open in Munich, West Germany
1974 _ Soyuz 15 carries two cosmonauts to space station Salyut 3