✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 116th day of the year

April 26

A look at April 26 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Yuliya Zaripova and Ludwig Wittgenstein, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2002

    Erfurt school massacre

    Robert Steinhäuser kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany, before committing suicide.

    2002 mass shooting in
  2. 1999

    CIH (computer virus)

    Outbreak of CIH computer virus.

    Windows 9x computer virus
  3. 1989

    Daulatpur–Saturia tornado

    The deadliest known tornado strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.

    1989 tornado in Bangladesh
  4. 1964

    Tanganyika (1961–1964)

    Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

    Country in East Africa
  5. 1958

    Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

    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.

    Rail system in the
  6. 1944

    World War II

    World War II: Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete.

    1939–1945 global conflict
  7. 1937

    Spanish Civil War

    Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by the German Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria.

    1936–1939 civil war in
  8. 1933

    Gestapo

    The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established by Hermann Göring.

    Secret police of Nazi
  9. 1915

    World War I

    World War I: Italy secretly signs the Treaty of London pledging to join the Allied Powers.

    1914–1918 global conflict
  10. 1803

    L'Aigle (meteorite)

    Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist.

    Meteorite that fell in
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Famous birthday twins

Born on April 26

Yuliya Zaripova

b. 1986

Russian runner

Ludwig Wittgenstein

b. 1889

Austrian-English philosopher and academic

Marlon King

b. 1980

English footballer

Jonathan dos Santos

b. 1990

Mexican footballer

AD 121

b. 121

Roman emperor

AD 757

b. 757

Calendar year

Eugène Delacroix

b. 1798

French painter and lithographer

Kane (wrestler)

b. 1967

American professional wrestler, actor, businessman and politician

Deaths

  • 2017Jonathan Demme, American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter
  • 1957Gichin Funakoshi, Japanese martial artist, founded Shotokan
  • 1945Sigmund Rascher, German physician and SS member, conductor of human experiments in the concentration camps
  • 1932Bill Lockwood (cricketer), English cricketer
  • 1910Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian-French author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 757AD 757, Calendar year

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

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