Today in History - History - August 26th

1346Battle of Crécy, south of Calais in northern France; Edward III's English longbows defeat Philip VI's army, cannons used for first time in battle

1979Beth Daniel wins LPGA Patty Berg Golf Classic

1964LBJ nominated at Democratic convention in Atlantic City, NJ

1971Bobby Orr signs a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins worth one million dollars, the first million dollar contract in NHL history

1985Balt Oriole Eddie Murray knocks in 9 RBIs in a game vs California Angels

1498Michelangelo is commissioned to carve the Pietà.

1984Betsy King wins LPGA Columbia Savings Golf Classic

1962Mickey Wright wins LPGA Salt Lake City Golf Open

1907Harry Houdini escapes from chains underwater at Aquatic Park in 57 sec

1996President Bill Clinton signs welfare reform into law, representing major shift in US welfare policy

1957Rick Hansen, Port Alberni British Columbia, Canadian paraplegic athlete (3 gold medals)

1910Mother Teresa, [Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu], Skopje Ottoman Empire, nun and Founder of Missionaries of Charity (Nobel Peace Prize 1979)

1980Macaulay Culkin, NYC, actor (Home Alone, My Girl, Richie Rich)

1845Mary Ann Nichols, English victim of Jack the Ripper (d. 1888)

1926Poet Arna Bontemps (24) weds fellow Seventh-Day Adventist Alberta Johnson

1965Mobster and nbi informant Henry Hill (22) weds Karen Friedman in North Carolina

1910William James, American psychologist and philosopher (Pragmatism), dies at 68

1974Charles Lindbergh, US aviator, dies at 72