On This Day in History — April 26

Highlights of April 26

• 2017 — The Shandong was launched for the People's Liberation Army Navy, China's first domestically built aircraft carrier. Read more
• 2007 — Controversy surrounding the relocation of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn, a Soviet Red Army World War II memorial in Tallinn, Estonia, erupted into mass protests and riots. Read more
• 2002 — An expelled student murdered sixteen people and wounded seven others before committing suicide at the Gutenberg-Gymnasium Erfurt in Erfurt, Germany. Read more
• 1999 — The CIH virus activated widely, damaging hundreds of thousands of computers and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Read more
• 1994 — Just before landing at Nagoya Airport, Japan, the copilot of China Airlines Flight 140 inadvertently triggered the takeoff/go-around switch, causing the aircraft to crash and killing 264 of the 271 people on board. Read more
• 1989 — An editorial was published in the People's Daily denouncing the growing unrest in Tiananmen Square in Beijing which would remain contentious through the remainder of the protests. Read more
• 1989 — A tornado struck the Manikganj District of Bangladesh and killed an estimated 1,300 people, making it the deadliest tornado in history. Read more
• 1986 — The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (pictured) near Chernobyl, Ukrainian SSR, suffered a steam explosion, resulting in a fire, a nuclear meltdown, and the evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people around Europe. Read more
• 1970 — The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) came into being when the WIPO Convention entered into force. Read more
• 1964 — Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania with Julius Nyerere as its first president. Read more
• 1958 — Service ended on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue Line, one of the first major electrified train lines in the U.S. (steam train pictured). Read more
• 1944 — World War II: U.S. Navy submarines began attacks on Japan's Take Ichi convoy as it sailed in waters between Taiwan and the Philippines, eventually sinking four vessels and killing more than 4,000 troops. Read more
• 1941 — Boris Kidrič and Edvard Kardelj founded the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation, the main anti-fascist Slovene civil-resistance and political organization during World War II. Read more
• 1937 — Spanish Civil War: The Bombing of Guernica by the Condor Legion of the Luftwaffe resulted in a devastating firestorm that caused widespread destruction and civilian deaths and inspired one of Pablo Picasso's most famous paintings. Read more
• 1933 — The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, was established. Read more
• 1915 — First World War: Britain, France and Russia signed a secret treaty promising territory to Italy if it joined the war on their side. Read more
• 1865 — U.S. Army soldiers cornered and fatally shot John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, ending a twelve-day manhunt. Read more
• 1803 — Thousands of meteor fragments fell over L'Aigle, France, becoming a milestone in the understanding of meteorites. Read more
• 1777 — American Revolutionary War: Sixteen-year-old Sybil Ludington allegedly rode forty miles (64 km) through the night to warn militiamen under her father Henry's command that British troops were planning to invade Danbury, Connecticut. Read more
• 1478 — In a conspiracy to replace the Medici family as rulers of the Republic of Florence, the Pazzi family attacked Lorenzo de' Medici (pictured) and killed his brother Giuliano at Florence Cathedral. Read more

Events

• 2025 — A car ramming attack at a Lapu-Lapu Day festival kills 11 people and injures at least 30 in Vancouver, Canada. Read more
• 2015 — Nursultan Nazarbayev is re-elected President of Kazakhstan with 97.7% of the vote, one of the biggest vote shares in Kazakhstan's history. Read more
• 2015 — Peaceful protesters install the first anti-monument in Mexico, Antimonumento +43, as a call for justice and remembrance to commemorate the 2014 Iguala mass kidnapping, later inspiring similar memorials elsewhere in the country and Latin America. Read more
• 2005 — Cedar Revolution: 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). Read more
• 2002 — Robert Steinhäuser kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany, before committing suicide. Read more
• 1999 — Outbreak of CIH computer virus. Read more
• 1994 — China Airlines Flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board. Read more
• 1994 — South Africa begins its first multiracial election, which is won by Nelson Mandela's African National Congress. Read more
• 1993 — The Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on mission STS-55 to conduct experiments aboard the Spacelab module. Read more
• 1991 — Fifty-five tornadoes break out in the central United States. Before the outbreak's end, Andover, Kansas, would record the year's only F5 tornado. Read more
• 1989 — The deadliest known tornado strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless. Read more
• 1989 — People's Daily publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests. Read more
• 1986 — The Chernobyl disaster occurs in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Read more
• 1981 — Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world's first human open fetal surgery. Read more
• 1970 — The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force. Read more
• 1966 — The magnitude 5.1 Tashkent earthquake affects the largest city in Soviet Central Asia with a maximum MSK intensity of VII (Very strong). Tashkent is mostly destroyed and 15–200 are killed. Read more
• 1966 — A new government is formed in the Republic of the Congo, led by Ambroise Noumazalaye. Read more
• 1964 — Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form the United Republic of Tanzania. Read more
• 1963 — In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allow for female participation in elections. Read more
• 1962 — NASA's Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon. Read more
• 1962 — The British space programme launches its first satellite, the Ariel 1. Read more
• 1960 — Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after 12 years of dictatorial rule. Read more
• 1958 — Final 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. Read more
• 1956 — SS Ideal X, the world's first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey, for Houston, Texas. Read more
• 1954 — The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins. Read more
• 1954 — The first clinical trials of Jonas Salk's polio vaccine begin in Fairfax County, Virginia. Read more
• 1945 — World War II: Battle of Bautzen: Last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht. Read more
• 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 liberate Baguio as they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita. Read more
• 1944 — Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete. Read more
• 1943 — The Easter Riots break out in Uppsala, Sweden. Read more
• 1942 — Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1,549 Chinese miners dead. Read more
• 1937 — Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by the German Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria. Read more
• 1933 — The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established by Hermann Göring. Read more
• 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. Read more
• 1923 — The Duke of York (the future King George VI) weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey. Read more
• 1920 — Ice hockey makes its Olympic debut at the Antwerp Games with center Frank Fredrickson scoring seven goals in Canada's 12–1 drubbing of Sweden in the gold medal match. Read more
• 1916 — Easter Rising: Battle of Mount Street Bridge. Read more
• 1915 — World War I: Italy secretly signs the Treaty of London pledging to join the Allied Powers. Read more
• 1903 — Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded. Read more
• 1900 — Fires destroy Canadian cities Ottawa and Hull, reducing them to ashes in 12 hours. Twelve thousand people are left without a home. Read more
• 1865 — Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, in Virginia. Read more
• 1805 — First Barbary War: United States Marines capture Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon. Read more
• 1803 — Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist. Read more
• 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. Read more
• 1794 — Battle of Beaumont during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. Read more
• 1777 — Sybil Ludington, aged 16, allegedly rides 40 miles (64 km) to alert American colonial forces to the approach of British regular forces. Read more
• 1721 — A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz. Read more
• 1607 — The Virginia Company colonists make landfall at Cape Henry. Read more
• 1564 — Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of birth is unknown). Read more
• 1478 — The Pazzi family attack on Lorenzo de' Medici in order to displace the ruling Medici family kills his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral. Read more
• 1336 — Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux. Read more
• 1326 — The kingdom of France and the kingdom of Scotland agree on a treaty of mutual aid at Corbeil. Read more
• 1289 — Following weeks of bombardment, the city of Tripoli falls to the Mamluks under Qalawun. The Mamluks massacre all men they find and enslave the women and children. Read more

Born on April 26

• 2005 — Alex Sarr, French basketball player Read more
• 2001 — Thiago Almada, Argentine footballer Read more
• 1997 — Kirill Kaprizov, Russian ice hockey player Read more
• 1997 — Amber Midthunder, American actress Read more
• 1997 — Calvin Verdonk, Indonesian footballer Read more
• 1996 — Jordan Pefok, American footballer Read more
• 1994 — Daniil Kvyat, Russian racing driver Read more
• 1994 — Odysseas Vlachodimos, Greek international footballer Read more
• 1992 — Aaron Judge, American baseball player Read more
• 1992 — Delon Wright, American basketball player Read more
• 1991 — Peter Handscomb, Australian cricketer Read more
• 1991 — Isaac Liu, New Zealand rugby league player Read more
• 1990 — Jonathan dos Santos, Mexican footballer Read more
• 1990 — Mitch Rein, Australian rugby league player Read more
• 1990 — Nevin Spence, Northern Irish rugby player (died 2012) Read more
• 1990 — Joey Wendle, American baseball player Read more
• 1989 — Melvin Ingram, American football player Read more
• 1989 — Kang Daesung, South Korean singer Read more
• 1987 — Jorge Andújar Moreno, Spanish footballer Read more
• 1986 — Lior Refaelov, Israeli footballer Read more
• 1986 — Yuliya Zaripova, Russian runner Read more
• 1985 — John Isner, American tennis player Read more
• 1983 — José María López, Argentinian racing driver Read more
• 1983 — Jessica Lynch, American soldier Read more
• 1982 — Novlene Williams-Mills, Jamaican sprinter Read more
• 1981 — Caro Emerald, Dutch pop and jazz singer Read more
• 1981 — Ms. Dynamite, English rapper and producer Read more
• 1981 — Sandra Schmitt, German skier (died 2000) Read more
• 1980 — Jordana Brewster, Panamanian-American actress Read more
• 1980 — Marlon King, English footballer Read more
• 1980 — Anna Mucha, Polish actress and journalist Read more
• 1980 — Channing Tatum, American actor and producer Read more
• 1978 — Stana Katic, Canadian actress Read more
• 1978 — Peter Madsen, Danish footballer Read more
• 1977 — Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian astronaut Read more
• 1977 — Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player Read more
• 1977 — Roxana Saberi, American journalist and author Read more
• 1977 — Tom Welling, American actor Read more
• 1976 — Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player Read more
• 1975 — Joey Jordison, American musician and songwriter (died 2021) Read more

Died on April 26

• 2023 — Jerry Apodaca, American politician, 24th Governor of New Mexico (born 1934) Read more
• 2022 — Klaus Schulze, German composer and musician (born 1947) Read more
• 2017 — Jonathan Demme, American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter (born 1944) Read more
• 2016 — Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (born 1937) Read more
• 2015 — Jayne Meadows, American actress (born 1919) Read more
• 2015 — Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1930) Read more
• 2014 — Gerald Guralnik, American physicist and academic (born 1936) Read more
• 2014 — Paul Robeson, Jr., American historian and author (born 1927) Read more
• 2014 — DJ Rashad, American electronic musician, producer and DJ (born 1979) Read more
• 2013 — Jacqueline Brookes, American actress and educator (born 1930) Read more
• 2013 — George Jones, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1931) Read more
• 2013 — Earl Silverman, Canadian men's rights advocate (born 1948) Read more
• 2012 — Terence Spinks, English boxer and trainer (born 1938) Read more
• 2011 — Phoebe Snow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1950) Read more
• 2010 — Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian graphic designer and academic (born 1930) Read more
• 2010 — Urs Felber, Swiss engineer and businessman (born 1942) Read more
• 2009 — Hans Holzer, Austrian-American paranormal investigator and author (born 1920) Read more
• 2008 — Árpád Orbán, Hungarian footballer (born 1938) Read more
• 2007 — Jack Valenti, American businessman, created the MPAA film rating system (born 1921) Read more
• 2005 — Mason Adams, American actor (born 1919) Read more
• 2005 — Elisabeth Domitien, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (born 1925) Read more
• 2005 — Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (born 1926) Read more
• 2005 — Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan journalist, author, and academic (born 1917) Read more
• 2004 — Hubert Selby, Jr., American author, poet, and screenwriter (born 1928) Read more
• 2003 — Rosemary Brown, Jamaican-Canadian academic and politician (born 1930) Read more
• 2003 — Yun Hyon-seok, South Korean poet and author (born 1984) Read more
• 2003 — Edward Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (born 1904) Read more
• 1999 — Adrian Borland, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1957) Read more
• 1999 — Jill Dando, English journalist and television personality (born 1961) Read more
• 1996 — Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (born 1918) Read more
• 1994 — Masutatsu Ōyama, Japanese martial artist, founded Kyokushin kaikan (born 1923) Read more
• 1991 — Leo Arnaud, French-American composer and conductor (born 1904) Read more
• 1991 — Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (born 1910) Read more
• 1991 — A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist and historian, (born 1901) Read more
• 1991 — Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (born 1931) Read more
• 1989 — Lucille Ball, American model, actress, comedian, and producer (born 1911) Read more
• 1987 — Shankar, Indian composer and conductor (born 1922) Read more
• 1987 — John Silkin, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (born 1923) Read more
• 1986 — Broderick Crawford, American actor (born 1911) Read more
• 1986 — Bessie Love, American actress (born 1898) Read more

Holidays & observances

Chernobyl disaster related observances: Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy (Belarus); Chernobyl disaster related observances: Memorial Day of Radiation Accidents and Catastrophes (Russia); Christian feast day: Aldobrandesca (or Alda); Christian feast day: Lucidius of Verona; Christian feast day: Our Lady of Good Counsel; Christian feast day: Pope Anacletus and Marcellinus; Christian feast day: Rafael Arnáiz Barón; Christian feast day: Riquier; Christian feast day: Paschasius Radbertus; Christian feast day: Robert Hunt (Episcopal Church (USA)); Christian feast day: Blessed Stanisław Kubista; Christian feast day: Stephen of Perm, see also Old Permic Alphabet Day; Christian feast day: Trudpert; Christian feast day: April 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Confederate Memorial Day (Florida, United States); Union Day (Tanzania); World Intellectual Property Day

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