Maximilian Kolbe, Polish martyr and saint (born 1894)

Maximilian Maria Kolbe was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar, priest, missionary, and martyr. He volunteered to die in place of a man named Franciszek Gajowniczek in the German death camp of Auschwitz, located in German-occupied Poland during World War II. He had been active in promoting the veneration of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, founding and supervising the monastery of Niepokalanów near Warsaw, operating an amateur-radio station (SP3RN), and founding or running several other organizations and publications.

August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 139 days remain until the end of the year.