What happened on April 26? There are more than 256 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About April 26
April 26 is the 117th day of the year 2024. There are 249 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday. This day falls under the 17th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Vicksburg, Pennsylvania 17883 sunrise occured at 06:10 AM and sunset occured at 08:01 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Taurus. The modern birthstone for this month is Diamond while the mystical birthstone is Opal.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 278 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For April 26
- 1336Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux
- 1478The Pazzi attack Lorenzo de' Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in the Duomo of Florence.
- 1607English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia.
- 1802Napoleon 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 Regime and to eventually consolidate his own rule.
- 1803Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European science that meteors exist.
- 1805First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon.
- 1865American 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 most states.
- 1865Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Lincoln, in Virginia.
- 1923The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey.
- 1925Paul 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.
- 1926Spanish tonadilla singer Raquel Meller appears on the cover of Time magazine.
- 1928Los Angeles City Hall dedicated.
- 1933The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established.
- 1937Spanish Civil War: Guernica (or Gernika in Basque), Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
- 1942Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1549 Chinese miners dead.
- 1944Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt.
- 1945World War II: Battle of Bautzen – last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.
- 1945World 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 was liberated in Baguio City and they fought against the Japanese forces under by General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
- 1946Naperville train disaster kills 47.
- 1954The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
- 1956First container ship left Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas.
- 1958Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
- 1960Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after twelve years of dictatorial rule.
- 1962NASA’s Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.
- 1963In 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.
- 1964Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.
- 1965A Rolling Stones concert in London, Ontario is shut down by police after 15 minutes due to rioting.
- 1966An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 destroys Tashkent.
- 1966A new government is formed in the Republic of Congo, led by Ambroise Noumazalaye.
- 1970The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force.
- 1981Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world’s first human open fetal surgery.
- 198257 people are killed by former police officer Woo Bum-kon in a shooting spree in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea.
- 1986A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), creating the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
- 1989People’s Daily publishes the People’s Daily editorial of April 26 which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests
- 1989The deadliest tornado in world history strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.
- 1991Seventy 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).
- 1994China Airlines flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board.
- 2002Robert Steinhäuser infiltrates and kills 17 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.
- 2005Under 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 ).
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Who Were Born On April 26?
- 121Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (d. 180)
- 570Muhammed, founder of Islam, according to the Shi'a sect. Other sources suggest April 20. (d. 632)
- 1538Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (d. 1600)
- 1573Marie de' Medici, wife of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)
- 1648King Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)
- 1662Maria Luisa of Orleans, queen consort of Spain (d. 1689)
- 1710Thomas Reid, British philosopher (d. 1796)
- 1711David Hume,Scottish philosopher (d. 1776). The date is Old Style. He was born on 7th of May under Gregorian Calender.
- 1718Esek Hopkins, Commander of the US Navy during the Revolutionary War (d. 1802)
- 1774Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist (d. 1853)
- 1782Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, Queen Consort of the French (d. 1866)
- 1785John James Audubon, French-American naturalist and illustrator (d. 1851)
- 1787Ludwig Uhland, German poet (d. 1862)
- 1798Eugène Delacroix, French painter (d. 1863)
- 1801Ambrose Dudley Mann, American diplomat (d. 1889)
- 1804Charles Goodyear, American politician (d. 1876)
- 1812Alfred Krupp, German industrialist (d. 1887)
- 1822Frederick Law Olmsted, American landscape architect (d. 1903)
- 1826Ambrose R. Wright, American Civil War General (d. 1872)
- 1826George Hull Ward, American general (d. 1863)
- 1856Sir Joseph Ward, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
- 1878Saint Rafael Guízar Valencia, Mexican Catholic bishop (d. 1938)
- 1879Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
- 1886Gabdulla Tuqay, Tatar poet (d. 1913)
- 1886Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939)
- 1888Anita Loos, American writer (d. 1981)
- 1889Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1951)
- 1894Rudolf Hess, Nazi official (d. 1987)
- 1896Ernst Udet, WWI pilot and film actor, Luftwaffe officer (d. 1941)
- 1897Douglas Sirk, German-born film director (d. 1987)
- 1897Eddie Eagan, American sportsman (d. 1967)
- 1898John Grierson, British filmmaker (d. 1972)
- 1898Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1984)
- 1900Charles Richter, American geophysicist (d. 1985)
- 1900Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)
- 1904Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian cardinal and archbishop (d. 1991)
- 1910Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese movie producer and creator of Godzilla (d. 1997)
- 1911Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002)
- 1912A. E. van Vogt, Canadian writer (d. 2000)
- 1914Bernard Malamud, American author (d. 1986)
- 1914Charlie Chester, British comedian (d. 1997)
- 1914James W. Rouse, American investor (d. 1996)
- 1916George Tuska, American comic book illustrator (d. 2009)
- 1916Morris West, Australian writer (d. 1999)
- 1916Vic Perrin, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1917I.M. Pei, Chinese-born architect
- 1917Sal Maglie, American baseball player (d. 1992)
- 1918Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (d. 2004)
- 1918Stafford Repp, American actor (d. 1974)
- 1922Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian politician (d. 1993)
- 1924Browning Ross, American long-distance running Olympian (d. 1998)
- 1925Jørgen Ingmann, Danish musician
- 1926David Coleman, British TV sports broadcaster
- 1926Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator (d. 2003)
- 1927Jack Douglas, British actor (d. 2008)
- 1929Richard Mitchell, American author and professor (d. 2002)
- 1930Roger Moens, Belgian athlete
- 1932Francis Lai, French film music composer
- 1932Israr Ahmed, Pakistani Muslim religious scholar (d. 2010)
- 1932Michael Smith, British-born chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2000)
- 1933Arno Allan Penzias, German-born physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1933Carol Burnett, American comedian
- 1933Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican activist (d. 2005)
- 1938Duane Eddy, American musician
- 1938Wolf Kahler, German actor
- 1940Cliff Watson, British rugby league footballer
- 1940Giorgio Moroder, Italian composer
- 1941Claudine Clark, American R&B singer-composer
- 1941John Mitchell, American composer
- 1942Bobby Rydell, American singer
- 1942Claudine Auger, French actress
- 1942Jadwiga Staniszkis, Polish sociologist
- 1942Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat
- 1943Gary Wright, American singer
- 1943Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect
- 1944Amien Rais, Indonesian politician
- 1945Sylvain Simard, Canadian politician
- 1947Warren Clarke, British actor
- 1949Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer
- 1949Dominic Sena, American film director
- 1949Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (d. 1995)
- 1952Spice Williams-Crosby, American actress and stunt performer
- 1953Nancy Lenehan, American actress
- 1954Alan Hinkes, British mountaineer
- 1955Kurt Bodewig, German politician
- 1955Mike Scott, American baseball player
- 1956Koo Stark, American actress
- 1958Georgios Kostikos, Greek footballer
- 1958Giancarlo Esposito, American actor
- 1958Jeffrey Guterman, American mental health counselor
- 1958John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute
- 1959John Corabi, American musician
- 1959Thanassis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer and songwriter
- 1960Roger Taylor, British musician (Duran Duran)
- 1960Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player
- 1961Anthony Cumia, American radio personality (The Opie and Anthony Show)
- 1961Chris Mars, American rock drummer (The Replacements)
- 1961Joan Chen, Chinese-born actress
- 1962Colin Anderson, British footballer
- 1962Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
- 1962Michael Damian, American actor, singer and producer
- 1963Colin Scotts, Australian-born American football player
- 1963Li Lianjie/Jet Li, Chinese martial artist and actor
- 1965Kevin James, American comedian
- 1966Yoshihiro Togashi, Manga artist who created YuYu Hakusho
- 1967Glenn Jacobs, American professional wrestler
- 1967Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Academy Award nominated British actress
- 1969Teresa Lewis, American murderer (d. 2010)
- 1970Melania Trump, Slovenian model
- 1970Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, American singer (TLC)
- 1971Jay DeMarcus, American bassist (Rascal Flatts)
- 1971Shondrella Avery, American actress
- 1972Avi Nimni, Israeli Footballer
- 1972Jason Bargwanna, Australian racing driver
- 1972Kiko Narváez, Spanish footballer
- 1973Chris Perry, British footballer
- 1974Adil Ray, British radio presenter (BBC Asian Network)
- 1974Ivana Milicevic, Croatian-American actress
- 1975Nathan “Joey” Jordison, American musician (Slipknot)
- 1975Nerina Pallot, British singer
- 1976Luigi Panarelli, Italian footballer
- 1976Václav Varada, Czech ice hockey player
- 1977Chris Johnston, Irish rugby player
- 1977Jason Earles, American actor
- 1977Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player
- 1977Tom Welling, American actor
- 1978Avant, American singer
- 1978Joe Crede, American baseball player
- 1978Peter Madsen, Danish footballer
- 1978Stana Katic, Canadian actress
- 1978Tyler Labine, Canadian actor
- 1979Ariane Moffatt, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1979Janne Wirman, Finnish musician (Children of Bodom)
- 1980Anna Mucha, Polish actress
- 1980Channing Tatum, American actor
- 1980Jordana Brewster, American actress
- 1980Marlon King, Jamaican footballer
- 1980Marnette Patterson, American actress
- 1981Matthieu Delpierre, French footballer
- 1981Ms. Dynamite, British musician
- 1982Brock Gillespie, American basketball player
- 1982Cooper Wallace, American football player
- 1982Joanne Gobure, Nauruan poet
- 1982Jon Lee, British singer (S Club)
- 1983Jessica Lynch, American P.O.W.
- 1983José María López, Argentine racing driver
- 1985John Isner, American tennis player
- 1985Nam Gyu-Ri, Korean singer (See Ya)
- 1987Jarmila Gajdošová, Slovakian/Australian tennis player
- 1987Jessica Lee Rose, American/New Zealand actress
- 1988Kimber James, American pornographic actress
- 1989Daesung, Korean singer (Big Bang)
- 1991Ignacio Lores Varela, Uruguayan footballer
- 1992Danielle Hope, English actress and singer
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Who Died On April 26?
- 1192Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1127)
- 1444Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b. 1378)
- 1476Simonetta Vespucci, inspiration of Botticelli (b. 1453)
- 1478Giuliano di Piero de' Medici, ruler of Florence (assassinated) (b. 1453)
- 1489Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (b. 1465)
- 1716John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1651)
- 1784Nano Nagle, Irish convent founder (b. 1718)
- 1789Count Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian soldier (b. 1721)
- 1852Charles Athanase Walckenaer, French naturalist (b. 25 December 1771)
- 1865John Wilkes Booth, American assassin (b. 1838)
- 1881Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (b. 1815)
- 1892Sir Provo Wallis, British Admiral and naval hero (b. 1791)
- 1910Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (b. 1832)
- 1915John Bunny, silent film comedian (b. 1863)
- 1920Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (b. 1887)
- 1932William Lockwood, British cricketer (b. 1868)
- 1936Tammany Young, American actor (b. 1886)
- 1938Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (b. 1859)
- 1940Carl Bosch, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1874)
- 1944Violette Morris, French athlete (b. 1893)
- 1945Pavlo Skoropadsky, Ukrainian politician and general (b. 1871)
- 1945Sigmund Rascher, Nazi doctor (b. 1909)
- 1946Jim White, discoverer of Carlsbad Caverns (b. 1882)
- 1950G. Murray Hulbert, American politician (b. 1881)
- 1951Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist (b. 1868)
- 1956Edward Arnold, American actor (b. 1890)
- 1957Gichin Funakoshi, Father of Japanese Shotokan Karatedo (b. 1868)
- 1964E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet born Newfoundland (b. 1882)
- 1968John Heartfield, German artist (b. 1891)
- 1969Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist and founder of aikido (b. 1883)
- 1970Erik Bergman, Lutheran pastor (b. 1886)
- 1970Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress (b. 1911)
- 1972Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (b. 1892)
- 1973Irene Ryan, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1976Sid James, South African–born British comedian (b. 1913)
- 1980Cicely Courtneidge, British actress and comedian (b. 1893)
- 1981Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
- 1984William “Count” Basie, American musician and composer (b. 1904)
- 1986Bessie Love, American actress (b. 1898)
- 1986Broderick Crawford, American actor (b. 1911)
- 1986Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (b. 1899)
- 1987John Ernest Silkin, British politician (b. 1923)
- 1987Shankar, Of Noted Bollywood Music Director Duo Shankar-Jaikishan (b. 1922)
- 1989Lucille Ball, American actress and comedian (b. 1911)
- 1991Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor, father of Francis Ford Coppola(b. 1910)
- 1991Emily McLaughlin, American actress (b. 1928)
- 1991Leo Arnaud, French-American composer (b. 1904)
- 1991Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician (b. 1931)
- 1994Masutatsu Oyama, Founder of Japanese Kyokushin Karate (b. 1927)
- 1996Stirling Silliphant, American writer and producer (b. 1918)
- 1999Adrian Borland, British musician (The Sound) (b. 1957)
- 1999Jill Dando, British television presenter (b. 1961)
- 2002Robert Steinhäuser German spree killer (b. 1983)
- 2003Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist (b. 1904)
- 2003Peter Stone, American writer (b. 1930)
- 2003Rosemary Brown, Canadian politician (b. 1930)
- 2004Hubert Selby Jr., American author (b. 1928)
- 2005Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan author (b. 1917)
- 2005Maria Schell, Swiss-Austrian actress (b. 1926)
- 2005Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919)
- 2007Jack Valenti, American political advisor and film executive (b. 1921)
- 2009Hans Holzer, American paranormal researcher (b. 1920)
- 2010Urs Felber, Swiss industrialist (b. 1942)
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