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.
Events
- 1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends of Mont Ventoux
- 1478 – The Pazzi attack Lorenzo de' Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in the Duomo of Florence.
- 1607 – English colonists of the Jamestown settlement make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia.
- 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 Regime and to eventually consolidate his own rule.
- 1805 – United States Marines captured Derne, Tripoli 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.
- 1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Lincoln, in Virginia.
- 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, Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
- 1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen – last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.
- 1946 – Father Divine, a controversial religious leader who claims to be God, marries the much-younger Edna Rose Ritchings, a celebrated anniversary in the International Peace Mission movement.
- 1954 – The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
- 1956 – First container ship left Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas
- 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
- 1982 – 57 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.
- 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 – A China Airlines Airbus A300-600R crashes at Nagoya Airport, Japan killing all but seven passengers, with a death toll amounting to 264. See also China Airlines flight 140.
- 1994 – Physicists announce first evidence of the top quark subatomic particle.
- 2002 – Robert Steinhäuser infiltrates and kills 17 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.
- 2007 – Queen's Pier is officially closed by the Hong Kong Government, after a bitter struggle by conservationists, in order to facilitate land reclamation in Hong Kong's Central district
- 2007 – Bronze Night in Tallinn
Births
- 121 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (d. 180)
- 570 – Muhammed, founder of Islam, according to the Shi'a sect. Other sources suggest April 20. (d. 632)
- 1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (d. 1600)
- 1564 – William Shakespeare, English poet and playwright (baptism) (d. 1616)
- 1573 – Marie de' Medici, wife of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)
- 1648 – King Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)
- 1662 – Maria Luisa of Orleans, queen consort of Spain (d. 1689)
- 1710 – Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher (d. 1796)
- 1718 – Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (d. 1802)
- 1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist (d. 1853)
- 1782 – Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, queen of France (d. 1866)
- 1785 – John James Audubon, French-American naturalist and illustrator (d. 1851)
- 1787 – Ludwig Uhland, German poet (d. 1862)
- 1798 – James Beckwourth, American explorer (d. 1867)
- 1798 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter (d. 1863)
- 1801 – Ambrose Dudley Mann, American diplomat (d. 1889)
- 1804 – Charles Goodyear, American politician (d. 1876)
- 1812 – Alfred Krupp, German industrialist (d. 1887)
- 1822 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American landscape architect (d. 1903)
- 1826 – George Hull Ward, American general (d. 1863)
- 1826 – Ambrose R. Wright, American Civil War General (d. 1872)
- 1856 – Sir Joseph Ward, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
- 1878 – Saint Rafael Guízar Valencia, Mexican Catholic bishop (d. 1938)
- 1879 – Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
- 1886 – Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939)
- 1886 – Ğabdulla Tuqay, Tatar poet (d. 1913)
- 1888 – Anita Loos, American writer (d. 1981)
- 1889 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1951)
- 1894 – Rudolf Hess, Nazi official (d. 1987)
- 1896 – Ernst Udet, WWI pilot and film actor, Luftwaffe officer (d. 1941)
- 1897 – Eddie Eagan, American sportsman (d. 1967)
- 1897 – Douglas Sirk, German-born film director (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1984)
- 1898 – John Grierson, Scottish filmmaker (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Charles Richter, American geophysicist (d. 1985)
- 1900 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)
- 1904 – Paul-Émile Léger, Quebec cardinal and archbishop (d. 1991)
- 1910 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese movie producer and creator of Godzilla (d. 1997)
- 1911 – Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002)
- 1912 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian writer (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Bernard Malamud, American author (d. 1986)
- 1914 – James W. Rouse, American investor (d. 1996)
- 1916 – Morris West, Australian writer (d. 1999)
- 1916 – Vic Perrin, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1916 – George Tuska, American comic book illustrator (d. 2009)
- 1917 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player (d. 1992)
- 1917 – I.M. Pei, Chinese-born architect
- 1918 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (d. 2004)
- 1918 – Stafford Repp, American actor (d. 1974)
- 1922 – Jeanne Sauvé, French Canadian politician (d. 1993)
- 1924 – H. Browning Ross, American long-distance running Olympian (d. 1998)
- 1925 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish musician
- 1926 – David Coleman, British TV sports broadcaster
- 1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Jack Douglas, English actor (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Richard Mitchell, American author and professor (d. 2002)
- 1930 – Roger Moens, Belgian athlete
- 1932 – Francis Lai, French film music composer
- 1932 – Michael Smith, English-born chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2000)
- 1933 – Carol Burnett, American comedian
- 1933 – Arno Allan Penzias, German-born physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1933 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican activist (d. 2005)
- 1938 – Duane Eddy, American musician
- 1940 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian composer
- 1940 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league footballer
- 1941 – Claudine Clark, American R&B singer-composer
- 1941 – John Mitchell, American composer
- 1942 – Claudine Auger, French actress
- 1942 – Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat
- 1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer
- 1943 – Gary Wright, American singer
- 1943 – Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect
- 1944 – Amien Rais, Indonesian politician
- 1945 – Sylvain Simard, Quebec politician
- 1946 – Wolf Kahler, German actor
- 1947 – Warren Clarke, English actor
- 1949 – Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer
- 1949 – Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (d. 1995)
- 1949 – Dominic Sena, American film director
- 1954 – Alan Hinkes, British mountaineer
- 1955 – Mike Scott, American baseball player
- 1956 – Koo Stark, American actress
- 1958 – John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute
- 1958 – Giancarlo Esposito, American actor
- 1958 – Jeffrey Guterman, American mental health counselor
- 1959 – John Corabi, American musician
- 1959 – Thanassis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer and songwriter
- 1960 – Roger Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran)
- 1960 – Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player
- 1961 – Joan Chen, Chinese-born actress
- 1961 – Anthony Cumia, American radio personality (The Opie and Anthony Show)
- 1961 – Chris Mars, American rock drummer (The Replacements)
- 1962 – Colin Anderson, English footballer
- 1962 – Michael Damian, American actor, singer and producer
- 1962 – Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
- 1963 – Li Lianjie/Jet Li, Chinese martial artist and actor
- 1963 – Colin Scotts, Australian-born American football player
- 1965 – Kevin James, American comedian
- 1966 – Yoshihiro Togashi, Mangaka who created YuYu Hakusho
- 1967 – Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Academy Award nominated British actress
- 1967 – Glenn Jacobs, American professional wrestler
- 1970 – Melania Trump, Slovenian model
- 1970 – Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, American singer (TLC)
- 1971 – Shondrella Avery, American actress
- 1971 – Jay DeMarcus, American bassist (Rascal Flatts)
- 1972 – Jason Bargwanna, Australian racing driver
- 1972 – Kiko Narváez, Spanish footballer
- 1972 – Avi Nimni, Israeli Footballer
- 1973 – Chris Perry, English footballer
- 1974 – Ivana Milicevic, Croatian-American actress
- 1974 – Adil Ray, English radio presenter (BBC Asian Network)
- 1975 – Nathan "Joey" Jordison, American musician (Slipknot)
- 1975 – Nerina Pallot, British singer
- 1976 – Luigi Panarelli, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Vaclav Varada, Czech ice hockey player
- 1977 – Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player
- 1977 – Chris Johnston, Irish rugby player
- 1977 – Tom Welling, American actor
- 1978 – Avant, American singer
- 1978 – Joe Crede, American baseball player
- 1978 – Peter Madsen, Danish footballer
- 1978 – Tyler Labine, Canadian actor
- 1978 – Stana Katic, Canadian actress
- 1979 – Ariane Moffatt, Quebec singer and songwriter
- 1979 – Janne Wirman, Finnish musician (Children of Bodom)
- 1980 – Jordana Brewster, American actress
- 1980 – Marlon King, Jamaican footballer
- 1980 – Anna Mucha, Polish actress
- 1980 – Channing Tatum, American actor
- 1980 – Marnette Patterson, American actress, famous YouTube star LG15: The Resistance
- 1981 – Matthieu Delpierre, French footballer
- 1981 – Ms. Dynamite, English musician
- 1982 – Joanne Gobure, Nauruan poet
- 1982 – Brock Gillespie, American basketball player
- 1982 – Jon Lee, British singer (S Club)
- 1982 – Cooper Wallace, American football player
- 1983 – José María López, Argentine racing driver
- 1983 – Jessica Lynch, American P.O.W.
- 1985 – John Isner, American Tennis player
- 1985 – Nam Gyu-Ri, Korean singer (See Ya)
- 1987 – Jarmila Groth, Australian tennis player
- 1987 – Jessica Lee Rose, American-born New Zealand actress, YouTube star lonelygirl15
- 1989 – Daesung, Korean singer (Big Bang)
Deaths
- 1192 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1127)
- 1444 – Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b. 1378)
- 1476 – Simonetta Vespucci, inspiration of Botticelli (b. 1453)
- 1478 – Giuliano di Piero de' Medici, ruler of Florence (assassinated) (b. 1453)
- 1489 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (b. 1465)
- 1716 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1651)
- 1784 – Nano Nagle, Irish convent founder (b. 1718)
- 1789 – Count Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian soldier (b. 1721)
- 1852 – Charles Athanase Walckenaer, French naturalist (b. 25 December 1771)
- 1865 – John Wilkes Booth, America's first successful presidential assassin (b. 1838)
- 1881 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (b. 1815)
- 1892 – Sir Provo Wallis, British Admiral and naval hero (b. 1791)
- 1910 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (b. 1832)
- 1915 – John Bunny, silent film comedian (b. 1863)
- 1920 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (b. 1887)
- 1932 – William Lockwood, English cricketer (b. 1868)
- 1936 – Tammany Young, American actor (b. 1886)
- 1938 – Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (b. 1859)
- 1940 – Carl Bosch, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1874)
- 1944 – Violette Morris, French athlete (b. 1893)
- 1945 – Pavlo Skoropadsky, Ukrainian politician and general (b. 1871)
- 1945 – Sigmund Rascher, Nazi doctor (b. 1909)
- 1946 – Jim White, discoverer of Carlsbad Caverns (b. 1882)
- 1950 – G. Murray Hulbert, American politician (b. 1881)
- 1951 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist (b. 1868)
- 1956 – Edward Arnold, American actor (b. 1890)
- 1957 – Gichin Funakoshi, Father of Japanese Shotokan Karatedo (b. 1868)
- 1964 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet born Newfoundland (b. 1882)
- 1968 – John Heartfield, German artist (b. 1891)
- 1969 – Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist and founder of aikido (b. 1883)
- 1970 – Erik Bergman, Lutheran pastor (b. 1886)
- 1970 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress (b. 1911)
- 1972 – Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (b. 1892)
- 1973 – Irene Ryan, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1976 – Sid James, South African–born British comedian (b. 1913)
- 1980 – Cicely Courtneidge, English actress and comedian (b. 1893)
- 1981 – Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
- 1984 – Count Basie, American musician and composer (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Broderick Crawford, American actor (stroke) (b. 1911)
- 1986 – Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (b. 1899)
- 1986 – Bessie Love, American actress (b. 1898)
- 1987 – John Ernest Silkin, British politician (b. 1923)
- 1987 – Shankar, Of Noted Bollywood Music Director Duo Shankar-Jaikishan (b. 1922)
- 1989 – Lucille Ball, American actress and comedian (b. 1911)
- 1991 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer (b. 1904)
- 1991 – Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor, father of Francis Ford Coppola(b. 1910)
- 1991 – Emily McLaughlin, American actress (b. 1928)
- 1991 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician (b. 1931)
- 1994 – Masutatsu Oyama, Founder of Japanese Kyokushin Karate (b. 1927)
- 1996 – Stirling Silliphant, American writer and producer (b. 1918)
- 1999 – Adrian Borland, English musician (The Sound) (b. 1957)
- 1999 – Jill Dando, British television presenter (b. 1961)
- 2002 – Robert Steinhäuser German spree killer (b. 1983)
- 2003 – Rosemary Brown, Canadian politician (b. 1930)
- 2003 – Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist (b. 1904)
- 2003 – Peter Stone, American writer (b. 1930)
- 2004 – Hubert Selby Jr., American author (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919)
- 2005 – Maria Schell, Swiss-Austrian actress (b. 1926)
- 2005 – Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan author (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Jack Valenti, American political advisor and film executive (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances
In the Roman Catholic Church:
In the Russian Orthodox Church:
External links
