From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
April 26 is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 249 days remaining until the end of the year.
1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ) ascends Mont Ventoux .1478 – The Pazzi attack Lorenzo de' Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in the Duomo of Florence .1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon , Warwickshire , England (date of actual birth is unknown).1607 – English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry , Virginia .1721 – A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz .1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France , as part of a reconciliary gesture with the factions of the Ancien Régime and to eventually consolidate his own rule.1803 – Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle , France; the event convinces European science that meteors exist.1805 – First Barbary War : United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon .1865 – American Civil War : Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina . Also the date of Confederate Memorial Day for two states.1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth , assassin of President Lincoln , in Virginia .
1923 – The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey .1925 – Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic .1933 – The Gestapo , the official secret police force of Nazi Germany , is established.1937 – Spanish Civil War : Guernica (or Gernika in Basque ), Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe .1942 – Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1549 Chinese miners dead.1943 – The Easter Riots break out in Uppsala , Sweden .1944 – Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt .1944 – Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete .
1945 – World War II : Battle of Bautzen – last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht .1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army are liberated in Baguio City and they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita .
1946 – Naperville train disaster kills 47.1954 – The Geneva Conference , an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea , begins.1956 – SS Ideal X , the world's first successful container ship , leaves Port Newark , New Jersey for Houston , Texas .1958 – Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 's Royal Blue Washington, D.C. , to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives .1960 – Forced out by the April Revolution , President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after twelve years of dictatorial rule.1962 – NASA 's Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon .1963 – In Libya , amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya ) and allows for female participation in elections.1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania .1965 – A Rolling Stones concert in London, Ontario is shut down by police after 15 minutes due to rioting.1966 – An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 destroys Tashkent .1966 – A new government is formed in the Republic of Congo , led by Ambroise Noumazalaye .
1970 – The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force.1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world's first human open fetal surgery .1982 – Fifty-seven people are killed by former police officer Woo Bum-kon in a shooting spree in Gyeongsangnam-do , South Korea .1986 – A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine ), creating the world's worst nuclear disaster .
1989 – The deadliest tornado in world history strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.1989 – People's Daily People's Daily editorial of April 26 which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests 1991 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States . Before the outbreak's end, Andover, Kansas , would record the year's only F5 tornado (see Andover, Kansas Tornado Outbreak ).1994 – China Airlines Flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board.2002 – Robert Steinhäuser infiltrates and kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt , Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.2005 – Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon , ending its 29-year military domination of that country (Syrian occupation of Lebanon ).
121 – Marcus Aurelius , Roman emperor (d. 180)1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo , Italian painter (d. 1600)1564 – William Shakespeare , English poet, playwright and actor (d. 1616)1575 – Marie de' Medici , Italian wife of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)1648 – Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)1697 – Adam Falckenhagen , German lute player and composer (d. 1754)1710 – Thomas Reid , Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1796)1718 – Esek Hopkins , American commander (d. 1802)1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch , German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1853)1782 – Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (d. 1866)1785 – John James Audubon , French-American ornithologist and painter (d. 1851)1787 – Ludwig Uhland , German poet, philologist, and historian (d. 1862)1798 – Eugène Delacroix , French painter (d. 1863)1801 – Ambrose Dudley Mann , American politician, 1st United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1889)1804 – Charles Goodyear , American politician (d. 1876)1822 – Frederick Law Olmsted , American journalist and designer, co-designed Central Park (d. 1903)1826 – George Hull Ward , American general (d. 1863)1826 – Ambrose R. Wright , American general and politician (d. 1872)
1834 – Charles Farrar Browne , American author (d. 1867)1856 – Joseph Ward , New Zealand politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)1862 – Edmund C. Tarbell , American painter (d. 1938)1876 – Ernst Felle , German rower (d. 1959)1878 – Rafael Guízar Valencia , Mexican bishop and saint (d. 1938)1879 – Owen Willans Richardson , English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)1886 – Ma Rainey , American singer (d. 1939)1886 – Ğabdulla Tuqay , Russian poet (d. 1913)
1889 – Anita Loos , American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)1889 – Ludwig Wittgenstein , Austrian-English philosopher (d. 1951)
1894 – Rudolf Hess , Egyptian-German politician (d. 1987)1896 – Ruut Tarmo , Estonian actor and director (d. 1967)1896 – Ernst Udet , German colonel and pilot (d. 1941)
1897 – Eddie Eagan , American boxer and bobsledder (d. 1967)1897 – Douglas Sirk , German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
1898 – Vicente Aleixandre , Spanish poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)1898 – John Grierson , Scottish director and producer (d. 1972)
1900 – Charles Francis Richter , American seismologist and physicist (d. 1985)1900 – Hack Wilson , American baseball player (d. 1948)
1904 – Paul-Émile Léger , Canadian cardinal (d. 1991)1910 – Tomoyuki Tanaka , Japanese screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)1911 – Marianne Hoppe , German actress (d. 2002)1912 – A. E. van Vogt , Canadian-American author (d. 2000)1914 – Charlie Chester , English radio and television host (d. 1997)1914 – Bernard Malamud , American author (d. 1986)
1914 – James Rouse , American real estate developer, founded The Rouse Company (d. 1996)
1916 – Morris West , Australian author and playwright (d. 1999)1916 – Vic Perrin , American actor (d. 1989)
1916 – George Tuska , American illustrator (d. 2009)
1916 – Ken Wallis , English pilot and commander (d. 2013)
1917 – Sal Maglie , American baseball player (d. 1992)1917 – I. M. Pei , Chinese-American architect, designed the National Gallery of Art and Bank of China Tower
1917 – Virgil Trucks , American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
1918 – Fanny Blankers-Koen , Dutch runner (d. 2004)1918 – Stafford Repp , American actor (d. 1974)
1921 – Jimmy Giuffre , American clarinet player, and saxophonist, and composer (d. 2008)1922 – J. C. Holt , British historian and academic (d. 2014)1922 – Jeanne Sauvé , Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Governor General of Canada (d. 1993)
1922 – Margaret Scott , South African-Australian ballerina and choreographer
1924 – Browning Ross , American runner (d. 1998)1925 – Gerard Cafesjian , American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)1925 – Jørgen Ingmann , Danish singer (Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann )
1926 – David Coleman , English sportscaster (d. 2013)1926 – J. B. Hutto , American singer and guitarist (d. 1983)
1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl , German illustrator (d. 2003)
1927 – Jack Douglas , English actor (d. 2008)1929 – Richard Mitchell , American author and educator (d. 2002)1930 – Roger Moens , Belgian runner1931 – Bernie Brillstein , American talent agent and producer (d. 2008)1932 – Israr Ahmed , Indian-Pakistani theologian, philosopher, and scholar (d. 2010)1932 – Frank D'Rone , American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
1932 – Francis Lai , French accordion player and composer
1932 – Michael Smith , English-Canadian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
1933 – Carol Burnett , American actress and singer1933 – Aleksandr Chuchelov , Estonian sailor
1933 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos , Puerto Rican general (d. 2005)
1933 – Arno Allan Penzias , German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1935 – Patricia Reilly Giff , American author and educator1937 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise , French motorcycle racer and race car driver1938 – Duane Eddy , American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor1938 – Willie Wood , Scottish bowler
1940 – Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari , Indian cleric and politician (d. 2014)1940 – Giorgio Moroder , Italian singer-songwriter and producer
1940 – Cliff Watson , English rugby player
1941 – Claudine Auger , French model and actress1941 – Claudine Clark , American singer-songwriter
1941 – Robin Jacob , English judge and academic
1941 – John Mitchell , American composer
1942 – Svyatoslav Belza , Russian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2014)1942 – Sharon Carstairs , Canadian politician
1942 – Michael Kergin , Canadian diplomat
1942 – Bobby Rydell , American singer and actor
1942 – Jadwiga Staniszkis , Polish sociologist
1943 – Gary Wright , American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Spooky Tooth )1943 – Peter Zumthor , Swiss architect, designed the Therme Vals
1944 – Richard Bradshaw , English conductor (d. 2007)1944 – Roger Coulam , English keyboard player (Blue Mink )
1944 – Amien Rais , Indonesian politician
1945 – Howard Davies , English director and producer1945 – Dick Johnson , Australian race car driver
1945 – Sylvain Simard , Canadian academic and politician
1946 – Ralph Coates , English footballer (d. 2010)1946 – Marilyn Nelson , American poet and author
1947 – Warren Clarke , English actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)1949 – Carlos Bianchi , Argentinian footballer and manager1949 – Jerry Blackwell , American wrestler (d. 1995)
1949 – Dominic Sena , American director and screenwriter
1951 – John Battle , English politician1952 – Spice Williams-Crosby , American actress1953 – Nancy Lenehan , American actress1953 – David Reddaway , Canadian-English diplomat
1953 – Linda Thompson , American lawyer
1954 – Tatyana Fomina , Estonian chess player1954 – Alan Hinkes , English mountaineer and explorer
1955 – Kurt Bodewig , German politician1955 – Mike Scott , American baseball player
1956 – Koo Stark , American actress1957 – Michel Barrette , Canadian comedian and actor1957 – Diane Hébert , Canadian medical patient (d. 2008)
1957 – Edwina Hart , Welsh politician
1958 – John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute , Scottish race car driver1958 – Giancarlo Esposito , American actor, director, and producer
1958 – Jeffrey Guterman , American psychotherapist, author, and educator
1958 – Georgios Kostikos , Greek footballer, coach, and manager
1959 – John Corabi , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Mötley Crüe , Angora , The Scream , Union , and Brides of Destruction )1959 – Thanasis Papakonstantinou , Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player
1960 – Steve Lombardozzi , American baseball player and coach1960 – Roger Taylor , English drummer (Duran Duran and Arcadia )
1961 – Joan Chen , Chinese actress, director, producer, and screenwriter1961 – Chris Mars , American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer (The Replacements and Golden Smog )
1962 – Colin Anderson , English footballer1962 – Michael Damian , American actor, singer and producer
1962 – Debra Wilson , American actress
1963 – Jet Li , Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor, and producer1963 – Colin Scotts , Australian-American football player
1963 – Mark Serwotka , British General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
1964 – Rebecka Törnqvist , Swedish singer1965 – Susannah Harker , English actress1965 – Kevin James , American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1967 – Kane , Spanish-American wrestler and actor1967 – Marianne Jean-Baptiste , English actress and singer
1967 – Tõnu Tõniste , Estonian sailor
1967 – Toomas Tõniste , Estonian sailor and politician
1969 – Teresa Lewis , American murderer (d. 2010)1970 – Dean Austin , English footballer and manager1970 – Melania Trump , Slovenian-American model and jewelry designer
1970 – Tionne Watkins , American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (TLC )
1971 – Jay DeMarcus , American bass player, songwriter, and producer (Rascal Flatts and East to West )1972 – Kiko , Spanish footballer1972 – Jason Bargwanna , Australian race car driver
1972 – Natrone Means , American football player and coach
1972 – Avi Nimni , Israeli footballer and manager
1973 – Geoff Blum , American baseball player and sportscaster1973 – Jules Naudet , French-American director and producer
1973 – Chris Perry , English footballer
1973 – Óscar García Junyent , Spanish footballer and coach
1974 – Shondrella Avery , American actress1974 – Ivana Miličević , Bosnian-American actress
1974 – Adil Ray , English actor and radio host
1975 – Joey Jordison , American drummer, songwriter, and producer (Slipknot and Murderdolls )1975 – Nerina Pallot , English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1975 – India Summer , American porn actress and model
1976 – Luigi Panarelli , Italian footballer1976 – Václav Varaďa , Czech ice hockey player
1977 – Jason Earles , American actor1977 – Kosuke Fukudome , Japanese baseball player
1977 – Roxana Saberi , American journalist
1977 – Tom Welling , American actor, director, and producer
1978 – Avant , American singer-songwriter1978 – Joe Crede , American baseball player
1978 – Stana Katic , Canadian actress
1978 – Tyler Labine , Canadian actor
1978 – Peter Madsen , Danish footballer
1979 – Ariane Moffatt , Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist1979 – Janne Wirman , Finnish keyboard player (Children of Bodom , Warmen , and Masterplan )
1980 – Jordana Brewster , Panamanian-American actress1980 – Marlon King , English footballer
1980 – Anna Mucha , Polish actress
1980 – Channing Tatum , American actor and producer
1980 – Marnette Patterson , American actress
1981 – Matthieu Delpierre , French footballer1981 – Ms. Dynamite , English rapper and producer
1981 – Caro Emerald , Dutch singer
1981 – Sandra Schmitt , German skier (d. 2000)
1982 – Brock Gillespie , American basketball player1982 – Joanne Gobure , Nauruan poet
1982 – Jon Lee , English singer and actor (S Club )
1982 – Cooper Wallace , American football player
1982 – Novlene Williams-Mills , Jamaican sprinter
1983 – José María López , Argentine race car driver1983 – Jessica Lynch , American soldier and educator
1985 – Nam Gyu-ri , South Korean singer and actress (SeeYa )1985 – John Isner , American tennis player
1985 – Andrea Koch Benvenuto , Chilean tennis player
1986 – Lior Refaelov , Israeli footballer1986 – Yuliya Zaripova , Russian runner
1987 – Jorge Andújar Moreno , Spanish footballer1987 – Jessica Lee Rose , American-New Zealand actress
1988 – Kimber James , American porn actress1988 – Hazel Ann Mendoza , Spanish-Filipino actress
1988 – Manuel Viniegra , Mexican footballer
1989 – Daesung , South Korean singer-songwriter and actor (Big Bang )1990 – Jonathan dos Santos , Mexican footballer1990 – Karty , Indian actor and dancer1990 – See More Business , Irish race horse (d. 2014)
1990 – Nevin Spence , Irish rugby player (d. 2012)
1990 – Kim Yu-mi , South Korean model, Miss Korea 2012
1991 – Shahira Barry , Irish model1991 – Ignacio Lores Varela , Uruguayan footballer
1992 – Danielle Hope , English actress and singer1994 – Daniil Kvyat , Russian race car driver1995 – Daniel Padilla , Filipino actor and singer
499 – Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (b. 467)645 – Richarius , Frankish hermit and monk (b. 560)757 – Stephen II , pope of the Catholic Church (b. 715)1192 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1127)1444 – Robert Campin , Flemish painter (b. 1378)1476 – Simonetta Vespucci , Italian model (b. 1453)1478 – Giuliano de' Medici , Italian ruler (b. 1453)1489 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa , Japanese shogun (b. 1465)1716 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers , English jurist and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1651)1717 – Samuel Bellamy , English pirate (b. 1689)1784 – Nano Nagle , Irish nun, founded the Presentation Sisters (b. 1718)1789 – Petr Ivanovich Panin , Russian general (b. 1721)1865 – John Wilkes Booth , American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1838)1881 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen , German general (b. 1815)1892 – Provo Wallis , Canadian-English admiral (b. 1791)1895 – Eric Stenbock , Estonian-English author and poet (b. 1860)1910 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson , Norwegian author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1832)1915 – John Bunny , American actor (b. 1863)1920 – Srinivasa Ramanujan , Indian mathematician (b. 1887)1932 – William Lockwood , English cricketer (b. 1868)1936 – Tammany Young , American actor (b. 1886)1940 – Carl Bosch , German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)1944 – Violette Morris , French footballer, shot putter, and discus thrower (b. 1893)1945 – Sigmund Rascher , German physician (b. 1909)1945 – Pavlo Skoropadskyi , German-Ukrainian general and politician, Hetman of Ukraine (b. 1871)
1946 – James Larkin White , American miner, explorer, and park ranger (b. 1882)1950 – George Murray Hulbert , American politician (b. 1881)1951 – Arnold Sommerfeld , German physicist (b. 1868)1956 – Edward Arnold , American actor (b. 1890)1957 – Gichin Funakoshi , Japanese martial artist, founded Shotokan (b. 1868)1964 – E. J. Pratt , Canadian poet (b. 1882)1968 – John Heartfield , German illustrator (b. 1891)1969 – Morihei Ueshiba , Japanese martial artist, founded aikido (b. 1883)1970 – Erik Bergman , Swedish minister (b. 1886)1970 – Charles January , American soccer player (b. 1888)
1970 – Gypsy Rose Lee , American actress, dancer, and playwright (b. 1911)
1973 – Irene Ryan , American actress (b. 1902)1976 – Sidney Franklin , American bullfighter (b. 1903)1976 – Sid James , South African-English actor (b. 1913)
1976 – Armstrong Sperry , American author and illustrator (b. 1897)
1980 – Cicely Courtneidge , Australian-English actress (b. 1893)1981 – Jim Davis , American actor (b. 1909)1981 – Herb Voland , American actor (b. 1918)
1984 – Count Basie , American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1904)1986 – Broderick Crawford , American actor (b. 1911)1986 – Bessie Love , American actress (b. 1898)
1986 – Dechko Uzunov , Bulgarian painter (b. 1899)
1987 – Shankar , Indian composer and conductor (b. 1922)1987 – John Silkin , English politician (b. 1923)
1989 – Lucille Ball , American actress and producer (b. 1911)1991 – Leo Arnaud , French-American composer and conductor (b. 1904)1991 – Carmine Coppola , American composer and conductor (b. 1910)
1991 – A. B. Guthrie, Jr. , American author and screenwriter (b. 1901)
1991 – Richard Hatfield , Canadian politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1931)
1991 – Emily McLaughlin , American actress (b. 1928)
1994 – Mas Oyama , Japanese martial artist, founded Kyokushin kaikan (b. 1927)1996 – Stirling Silliphant , American screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)1999 – Adrian Borland , English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Sound and The Outsiders ) (b. 1957)1999 – Jill Dando , English journalist (b. 1961)
2003 – Rosemary Brown , Canadian politician (b. 1930)2003 – Yun Hyon-seok , South Korean poet and author (b. 1984)
2003 – Edward Max Nicholson , Irish environmentalist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b. 1904)
2003 – Peter Stone , American screenwriter (b. 1930)
2004 – Hubert Selby, Jr. , American author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1928)2005 – Mason Adams , American actor (b. 1919)2005 – Maria Schell , Austrian-Swiss actress (b. 1926)
2005 – Augusto Roa Bastos , Paraguayan author (b. 1917)
2007 – Jack Valenti , American businessman, created the MPAA film rating system (b. 1921)2009 – Hans Holzer , Austrian-American paranormal investigator and author (b. 1920)2010 – Urs Felber , Swiss businessman (b. 1942)2011 – Phoebe Snow , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Sisters of Glory ) (b. 1950)2012 – Pete Fornatale , American radio host (b. 1945)2012 – Ardian Klosi , Albanian publicist (b. 1957)
2012 – Ted Newall , Canadian businessman (b. 1935)
2012 – Terence Spinks , English boxer (b. 1938)
2012 – Margie Stewart , American model and actress (b. 1919)
2013 – Jacqueline Brookes , American actress (b. 1930)2013 – William L. Guy , American politician, 26th Governor of North Dakota (b. 1919)
2013 – George Jones , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)
2013 – Marion Rushing , American football player (b. 1936)
2013 – Mary Thom , American journalist (b. 1944)
2013 – Jim Tucker , American journalist and author (b. 1934)
2014 – William Ash , American-English pilot and author (b. 1917)2014 – Gerald Guralnik , American physicist and academic (b. 1936)
2014 – Michael Heisley , American businessman (b. 1937)
2014 – Lee Marshall , American wrestling announcer and actor (b. 1946)
2014 – Antonio Pica , Spanish actor (b. 1933)
2014 – DJ Rashad , American DJ and producer (b. 1979)
2014 – Paul Robeson, Jr. , American historian and author (b. 1927)
2014 – W. E. "Pete" Snelson , American soldier, journalist, and politician (b. 1923)
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Reactor No. 4 with its enclosing sarcophagus.
