April 26
Events
Pre-1600
- 1336 - Francesco Petrarca ascends Mont Ventoux.
- 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.
- 1564 - Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England.
1601–1900
- 1607 - The Virginia Company colonists make landfall at Cape Henry.
- 1721 - A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz.
- 1777 - Sybil Ludington, aged 16, allegedly rode to alert American colonial forces to the approach of British regular forces
- 1794 - Battle of Beaumont during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
- 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.
- 1803 - Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist.
- 1805 - First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon.
- 1865 - Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, in Virginia.
- 1900 - Fires destroy Canadian cities Ottawa and Hull, reducing them to ashes in 12 hours. Twelve thousand people are left without a home.
1901–present
- 1903 - Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded.
- 1915 - World War I: Italy secretly signs the Treaty of London pledging to join the Allied Powers.
- 1916 - Easter Rising: Battle of Mount Street Bridge.
- 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.
- 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 by Hermann Göring.
- 1937 - Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by the German Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria.
- 1942 - Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1,549 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 liberate Baguio as they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
- 1954 - The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
- 1954 - The first clinical trials of Jonas Salk's polio vaccine begin in Fairfax County, Virginia.
- 1956 -, 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 from 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 12 years of dictatorial rule.
- 1962 - NASA's Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.
- 1962 - The British space programme launches its first satellite, the Ariel 1.
- 1963 - In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya into one national unity and allows for female participation in elections.
- 1964 - Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form the United Republic of Tanzania.
- 1966 - The magnitude 5.1 Tashkent earthquake affects the largest city in Soviet Central Asia with a maximum MSK intensity of VII. Tashkent is mostly destroyed and 15–200 are killed.
- 1966 - A new government is formed in the Republic of the 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.
- 1986 - The Chernobyl disaster occurs in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
- 1989 - The deadliest known tornado strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.
- 1989 - People's Daily publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests.
- 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.
- 1993 - The Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on mission STS-55 to conduct experiments aboard the Spacelab module.
- 1994 - China Airlines Flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board.
- 1994 - South Africa begins its first multiracial election, which is won by Nelson Mandela's African National Congress.
- 1999 - Outbreak of CIH computer virus.
- 2002 - Robert Steinhäuser kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany before committing suicide.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2025 - A car ramming attack at a Lapu-Lapu Day festival kills 11 people and injures at least 30 in Vancouver, Canada.
Births
Pre-1600
- 121 - Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor
- 757 - Hisham I of Córdoba
- 764 - Al-Hadi, Abbasid caliph
- 1284 - Alice de Toeni, Countess of Warwick
- 1319 - John II of France
- 1538 - Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter and academic
- 1575 - Marie de' Medici, queen of Henry IV of France
1601–1900
- 1647 - William Ashhurst, English banker, Sheriff of London, Lord Mayor of London and politician
- 1648 - Peter II of Portugal
- 1697 - Adam Falckenhagen, German lute player and composer
- 1710 - Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher and academic
- 1718 - Esek Hopkins, American commander
- 1774 - Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist
- 1782 - Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily, Queen of France
- 1785 - John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter
- 1787 - Ludwig Uhland, German poet, philologist, and historian
- 1798 - Eugène Delacroix, French painter and lithographer
- 1801 - Ambrose Dudley Mann, American politician and diplomat, 1st United States Assistant Secretary of State
- 1804 - Charles Goodyear, American banker, lawyer, and politician
- 1822 - Frederick Law Olmsted, American journalist and designer, co-designed Central Park
- 1834 - Charles Farrar Browne, American author
- 1856 - Joseph Ward, Australian-New Zealand businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1862 - Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and educator
- 1865 - Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Finnish artist
- 1876 - Ernst Felle, German rower
- 1877 - James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales
- 1878 - Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Mexican bishop and saint
- 1879 - Eric Campbell, British actor
- 1879 - Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1886 - Ma Rainey, American singer-songwriter
- 1886 - Ğabdulla Tuqay, Russian poet and publicist
- 1889 - Anita Loos, American author, playwright, and screenwriter
- 1889 - Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-English philosopher and academic
- 1894 - Rudolf Hess, German politician and Deputy Führer in Nazi regime until 1941
- 1896 - Ruut Tarmo, Estonian actor and director
- 1896 - Ernst Udet, leading German fighter pilot in World War I and Chief of Procurement and Supply in the Luftwaffe
- 1897 - Eddie Eagan, American boxer and bobsledder
- 1897 - Douglas Sirk, German-American director and screenwriter
- 1898 - Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1898 - John Grierson, Scottish director and producer
- 1899 - Oscar Rabin, Latvian-English saxophonist and bandleader
- 1900 - Eva Aschoff, German bookbinder and calligrapher
- 1900 - Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist and physicist
- 1900 - Hack Wilson, American baseball player
1901–present
- 1904 - Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian cardinal
- 1904 - Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece
- 1905 - Jean Vigo, French director and screenwriter
- 1907 - Ilias Tsirimokos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece
- 1909 - Marianne Hoppe, German actress
- 1910 - Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese screenwriter and producer
- 1911 - Paul Verner, German soldier and politician
- 1912 - A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author
- 1914 - Bernard Malamud, American novelist and short story writer
- 1914 - James Rouse, American real estate developer
- 1916 - Eyvind Earle, American artist, author, and illustrator
- 1916 - Ken Wallis, English commander, engineer, and pilot
- 1916 - Morris West, Australian author and playwright
- 1917 - Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach
- 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
- 1918 - Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch sprinter and long jumper
- 1921 - Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer
- 1922 - J. C. Holt, English historian and academic
- 1922 - Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, Governor General of Canada
- 1922 - Margaret Scott, South African-Australian ballerina and choreographer
- 1924 - Browning Ross, American runner and soldier
- 1925 - Vladimir Boltyansky, Russian mathematician, educator and author
- 1925 - Gerard Cafesjian, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1925 - Michele Ferrero, Italian entrepreneur
- 1925 - Frank Hahn, British economist
- 1926 - David Coleman, British sports commentator and television presenter
- 1926 - Michael Mathias Prechtl, German soldier and illustrator
- 1927 - Jack Douglas, English actor
- 1927 - Anne McLaren, British scientist
- 1927 - Harry Gallatin, American basketball player and coach
- 1927 - Granny Hamner, American baseball player
- 1929 - Richard Mitchell, American author and educator
- 1930 - Roger Moens, Belgian runner and sportscaster
- 1931 - Paul Almond, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1931 - Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent and producer
- 1931 - John Cain Jr., Australian politician, 41st Premier of Victoria
- 1932 - Israr Ahmed, Indian-Pakistani theologian, philosopher, and scholar
- 1932 - Shirley Cawley, English long jumper
- 1932 - Frank D'Rone, American singer and guitarist
- 1932 - Francis Lai, French accordion player and composer
- 1932 - Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1933 - Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, and producer
- 1933 - Al McCoy, American sports announcer
- 1933 - Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican-American general
- 1933 - Arno Allan Penzias, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 - Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French racing driver and motorcycle racer
- 1938 - Duane Eddy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1938 - Maurice Williams, American doo-wop/R&B singer-songwriter
- 1940 - Giorgio Moroder, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1940 - Cliff Watson, English rugby league player
- 1940 - Tan Cheng Bock, Singaporean doctor and politician
- 1941 - Claudine Auger, French model and actress
- 1942 - Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic
- 1942 - Sharon Carstairs, Canadian lawyer and politician, Leader of the Government in the Senate
- 1942 - Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
- 1942 - Bobby Rydell, American singer and actor
- 1942 - Jadwiga Staniszkis, Polish sociologist, political scientist, and academic
- 1943 - Gary Wright, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1943 - Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect and academic, designed the Therme Vals
- 1944 - Richard Bradshaw, English conductor
- 1945 - Richard Armitage, American diplomat and government official
- 1945 - Howard Davies, English director and producer
- 1945 - Dick Johnson, Australian racing driver
- 1945 - Sylvain Simard, Canadian academic and politician
- 1946 - Ralph Coates, English international footballer
- 1946 - Marilyn Nelson, American poet and author
- 1946 - Alberto Quintano, Chilean footballer
- 1949 - Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1949 - Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler
- 1950 - Junko Ohashi, Japanese singer
- 1951 - John Battle, English politician
- 1954 - Tatyana Fomina, Estonian chess player
- 1954 - Alan Hinkes, English mountaineer and explorer
- 1955 - Kurt Bodewig, German politician
- 1956 - Koo Stark, American actress and photographer
- 1958 - John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, Scottish racing driver
- 1958 - Giancarlo Esposito, American actor, director, and producer
- 1958 - Georgios Kostikos, Greek footballer, coach, and manager
- 1959 - John Corabi, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1959 - Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rican politician
- 1960 - H. G. Carrillo, American writer and academic
- 1960 - Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player and coach
- 1960 - Roger Taylor, English drummer
- 1961 - Joan Chen, Chinese-American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 - Chris Mars, American artist
- 1962 - Colin Anderson, English footballer
- 1962 - Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
- 1963 - Jet Li, Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor, and producer
- 1963 - Colin Scotts, Australian-American football player
- 1963 - Cornelia Ullrich, German hurdler
- 1963 - Bill Wennington, Canadian basketball player
- 1965 - Susannah Harker, English actress
- 1965 - Kevin James, American actor and comedian
- 1967 - Glenn Thomas Jacobs, American professional wrestler, actor, businessman and politician
- 1967 - Marianne Jean-Baptiste, English actress and singer-songwriter
- 1967 - Toomas Tõniste, Estonian sailor and politician
- 1970 - Dean Austin, English footballer and manager
- 1970 - Melania Trump, Slovene-American model; 47th First Lady of the United States
- 1970 - Kristen R. Ghodsee, American ethnographer and academic
- 1970 - Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1971 - Naoki Tanaka, Japanese comedian and actor
- 1971 - Jay DeMarcus, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1972 - Jason Bargwanna, Australian racing driver
- 1972 - Kiko, Spanish footballer
- 1972 - Natrone Means, American football player and coach
- 1972 - Avi Nimni, Israeli footballer and manager
- 1973 - Geoff Blum, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1973 - Jules Naudet, French-American director and producer
- 1973 - Chris Perry, English footballer
- 1973 - Óscar, Spanish footballer and coach
- 1975 - Joey Jordison, American musician and songwriter
- 1975 - Rahul Verma, Indian social worker and activist
- 1976 - Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player
- 1977 - Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian astronaut
- 1977 - Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player
- 1977 - Roxana Saberi, American journalist and author
- 1977 - Tom Welling, American actor
- 1978 - Stana Katic, Canadian actress
- 1978 - Peter Madsen, Danish footballer
- 1980 - Jordana Brewster, Panamanian-American actress
- 1980 - Marlon King, English footballer
- 1980 - Anna Mucha, Polish actress and journalist
- 1980 - Channing Tatum, American actor and producer
- 1981 - Caro Emerald, Dutch pop and jazz singer
- 1981 - Ms. Dynamite, English rapper and producer
- 1981 - Sandra Schmitt, German skier
- 1982 - Novlene Williams-Mills, Jamaican sprinter
- 1983 - José María López, Argentinian racing driver
- 1983 - Jessica Lynch, American soldier
- 1985 - John Isner, American tennis player
- 1986 - Lior Refaelov, Israeli footballer
- 1986 - Yuliya Zaripova, Russian runner
- 1987 - Jorge Andújar Moreno, Spanish footballer
- 1989 - Melvin Ingram, American football player
- 1989 - Kang Daesung, South Korean singer
- 1990 - Jonathan dos Santos, Mexican footballer
- 1990 - Mitch Rein, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 - Nevin Spence, Northern Irish rugby player
- 1990 - Joey Wendle, American baseball player
- 1991 - Peter Handscomb, Australian cricketer
- 1991 - Isaac Liu, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1992 - Aaron Judge, American baseball player
- 1992 - Delon Wright, American basketball player
- 1994 - Daniil Kvyat, Russian racing driver
- 1994 - Odysseas Vlachodimos, Greek international footballer
- 1996 - Jordan Pefok, American footballer
- 1997 - Kirill Kaprizov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1997 - Amber Midthunder, American actress
- 1997 - Calvin Verdonk, Indonesian footballer
- 2001 - Thiago Almada, Argentine footballer
- 2005 - Alex Sarr, French basketball player