August 26th

August 26 is the 239th day of the year.  There are 127 days remaining until the end of the year.

580 Chinese invent toilet paper

1498 Michelangelo is commissioned to carve the Pieta. Here’s his carving of the "peter" instead.

1873 1st kindergarten public school opens in St. Louis, and surprisingly succeeds despite a teacher named Susan Blow. With the profound emphasis on history in St. Louis Public Schools, Blow Elementary is now more appropriately named Blow Middle School because everyone knows that middle school blows.

1920 The 19th amendment to United States Constitution takes effect, giving women the right to vote.

1929 1st US roller coaster is built as a piece of performance art depicting the state of the US economy

1937 Pumping to build Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay is finished, but the boys are still rarin’ to go.

1955 1st color telecast (NBC) of a tennis match (Davis Cup).  It’s basically a black screen with green dots.

1973 University of Texas (Arlington) is 1st accredited school to offer belly dancing–with Title IX, guys get to take the class too

1978 Ultra-liberal Albino Cardinal Luciani is elected to the Papacy as Pope John Paul I. Stay tuned for further developments.

1987 President Ronald Reagan proclaims September 11, 1987 as 9-1-1 Emergency Number Day.

1819 HRH Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom who was known to dress to the left, married his cousin, and became known for something else.

1904 Christopher Isherwood, gay English-born US author "Goodbye to Berlin", part of the basis for "Cabaret" 

1910 Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, probably gay, hastily beatified Albanian-born Indian Roman Catholic nun/Nobel laureate 

1949 Leon Redbone [Dickran Gobalian], maybe gay Cypriot-born/US singer/entertainer 

1952 Will Shortz, maybe gay US crossword puzzlemaster  (New York Times)

1952 Michael Jeter, gay US actor/AIDS victim 

1965 Chris Burke, maybe gay US actor/musician/Corky/lives with Downs Syndrome 

1968 Byron Lawson, maybe gay Canadian actor 

1969 Adrian Young, US drummer of No Doubt 

1969 Jorge Sanz [Miranda], Spanish actor 

1975 John Cabrera, maybe gay US actor/director/writer 

1976 Alejandro Montes, maybe gay Chilean actor 

1976 Mike Colter, maybe gay US actor 

1977 John Hensley, maybe gay US actor/Nip/Tuck 

1980 Macaulay Culkin, US actor 

1980 Chris Pine, US actor/New Captain Kirk 

1723 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, maybe gay Dutch microbiologist “friend” of artist Johannes Vermeer, sees the mystery of everything in great detail.