History of Today in India – 26 April

Explore the history of today 26 April in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 26 April 2026, 04:23 AM

📜 Important Events on 26 April in World History

26 Apr 2025: A car ramming attack at a Lapu-Lapu Day festival kills 11 people and injures at least 30 in Vancouver, Canada. Read more
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 2002: Robert Steinhäuser kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany, before committing suicide. Read more
26 Apr 1999: Outbreak of CIH computer virus. Read more
26 Apr 1994: China Airlines Flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board. Read more
26 Apr 1994: South Africa begins its first multiracial election, which is won by Nelson Mandela's African National Congress. Read more
26 Apr 1993: The Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on mission STS-55 to conduct experiments aboard the Spacelab module. Read more
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 1989: People's Daily publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests. Read more
26 Apr 1986: The Chernobyl disaster occurs in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Read more
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 1970: The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force. Read more
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 1966: A new government is formed in the Republic of the Congo, led by Ambroise Noumazalaye. Read more
26 Apr 1964: Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form the United Republic of Tanzania. Read more
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 1962: NASA's Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon. Read more
26 Apr 1962: The British space programme launches its first satellite, the Ariel 1. Read more
26 Apr 1960: Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after 12 years of dictatorial rule. Read more
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 1956: SS Ideal X, the world's first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey, for Houston, Texas. Read more
26 Apr 1954: The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins. Read more
26 Apr 1954: The first clinical trials of Jonas Salk's polio vaccine begin in Fairfax County, Virginia. Read more
26 Apr 1945: World War II: Battle of Bautzen: Last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht. Read more
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 1944: Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt. Read more
26 Apr 1944: Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete. Read more
26 Apr 1943: The Easter Riots break out in Uppsala, Sweden. Read more
26 Apr 1942: Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1,549 Chinese miners dead. Read more
26 Apr 1937: Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by the German Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria. Read more
26 Apr 1933: The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established by Hermann Göring. Read more
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 1923: The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey. Read more
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 1916: Easter Rising: Battle of Mount Street Bridge. Read more
26 Apr 1915: World War I: Italy secretly signs the Treaty of London pledging to join the Allied Powers. Read more
26 Apr 1903: Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded. Read more
26 Apr 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
26 Apr 1865: Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, in Virginia. Read more
26 Apr 1805: First Barbary War: United States Marines capture Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon. Read more
26 Apr 1803: Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist. Read more
26 Apr 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

🎂 Important Births on 26 April in World History

26 Apr 2005: Alex Sarr, French basketball player Alexandre Dam Sarr is a French professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Sarr played for the French youth national team and the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) prior to being selected second overall by the Wizards in the 2024 NBA draft. He is the younger brother of basketball player Olivier Sarr. Read more
26 Apr 2001: Thiago Almada, Argentine footballer Thiago Ezequiel Almada is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Argentina national team. Read more
26 Apr 1997: Kirill Kaprizov, Russian ice hockey player Kirill Olegovich Kaprizov is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a left winger and alternate captain for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Before joining the Wild, Kaprizov played for Metallurg Novokuznetsk, Salavat Yulaev Ufa and CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Kaprizov won the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2021, becoming the first Wild player to win the award. Fans have nicknamed him "Kirill the Thrill". Read more
26 Apr 1997: Amber Midthunder, American actress Amber Thunder Rose Midthunder is an American actress. Read more
26 Apr 1997: Calvin Verdonk, Indonesian footballer Calvin Ronald Verdonk is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back or centre-back for Ligue 1 club Lille. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Indonesia national team. Read more
26 Apr 1996: Jordan Pefok, American footballer Theoson-Jordan Siebatcheu, commonly known as Jordan Pefok, Jordan Siebatcheu, or just Jordan, is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Portuguese Primeira Liga club Tondela on loan from French club Reims. Read more
26 Apr 1994: Daniil Kvyat, Russian racing driver Daniil Vyacheslavovich Kvyat is a Russian racing driver who competes in Super GT for JLOC. Kvyat competed in Formula One from 2014 to 2020. Read more
26 Apr 1994: Odysseas Vlachodimos, Greek international footballer Odysseas Vlachodimos is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Sevilla, on loan from Premier League club Newcastle United. Born in Germany, he plays for the Greece national team. Read more
26 Apr 1992: Aaron Judge, American baseball player Aaron James Judge is an American professional baseball right fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a seven-time MLB All-Star and three-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) winner. He holds the AL record for most home runs in a season with 62. He stands 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall and weighs 282 pounds (128 kg), making him one of the tallest and largest players in MLB. He is considered by some to be among the best power hitters of all time. Read more
26 Apr 1992: Delon Wright, American basketball player Delon Reginald Wright is an American professional basketball player who last played for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the CC of San Francisco Rams and the Utah Utes, being a first-team all-conference player in the Pac-12 in 2014 and 2015. He also earned the Bob Cousy Award in 2015. Read more
26 Apr 1991: Peter Handscomb, Australian cricketer Peter Stephen Patrick Handscomb is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Victoria cricket team. Read more
26 Apr 1991: Isaac Liu, New Zealand rugby league player Isaac Liu is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a loose forward and prop forward for the Leigh Leopards in the Super league and New Zealand at international level. Read more
26 Apr 1990: Jonathan dos Santos, Mexican footballer Jonathan dos Santos Ramírez is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga MX club América. Read more
26 Apr 1990: Mitch Rein, Australian rugby league player Mitch Rein is a former Australian rugby league footballer who last played as a hooker for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL). Read more
26 Apr 1990: Nevin Spence, Northern Irish rugby player (died 2012) Nevin Spence was a Northern Irish rugby union player for Ulster in the Pro12. He played as a centre, but could also play wing. He was educated firstly at Dromore High School, where he was introduced to rugby, and then at Wallace High School. He played his club rugby with Ballynahinch. He was also a capable footballer, playing for the Northern Ireland U-16's. Read more
26 Apr 1990: Joey Wendle, American baseball player Joseph Patrick Wendle is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, and New York Mets. Wendle made his MLB debut in 2016 with the Athletics. He is one of the few MLB players to not use batting gloves. Read more
26 Apr 1989: Melvin Ingram, American football player Melvin Ingram III is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, earning All-American honors in 2011. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the first round with the 18th overall pick of the 2012 NFL draft. He has also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins. Read more
26 Apr 1989: Kang Daesung, South Korean singer Kang Dae-sung, better known mononymously as Daesung and his Japanese stage name D-Lite, is a South Korean singer who made his musical debut in 2006 as a member of the South Korean boy band Big Bang. He debuted as a solo artist in South Korea with the number one trot song "Look at Me, Gwisoon" in 2008. Since the inception of the Gaon Digital Chart in 2010, Daesung achieved two Top 10 songs, the digital single "Cotton Candy" and "Wings" from the BigBang album Alive (2012). Read more
26 Apr 1987: Jorge Andújar Moreno, Spanish footballer Jorge Andújar Moreno, known as Coke, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Read more
26 Apr 1986: Lior Refaelov, Israeli footballer Lior Refaelov is an Israeli former professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or as a winger. Read more
26 Apr 1986: Yuliya Zaripova, Russian runner Yuliya Mikhailovna Zaripova is a disgraced former Russian middle-distance runner who specialised in the 3000 metres steeplechase event. Read more
26 Apr 1985: John Isner, American tennis player John Robert Isner is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ever to play on the ATP Tour, Isner achieved his career-high singles ranking in July 2018 by virtue of his first Masters 1000 crown at the 2018 Miami Open and a semifinal appearance at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships. At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, Isner played the longest professional tennis match in history, requiring five sets and 183 games to defeat Nicolas Mahut in a match which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes, and was played over the course of three days. Isner holds the record for hitting the ATP's fastest official serve ever and third-fastest on record in tennis at 157.2 mph or 253 km/h during his first-round 2016 Davis Cup match. He has the most aces in the history of the ATP Tour, having served 14,470, as of August 31, 2023. Isner retired from professional tennis following the 2023 US Open. Read more
26 Apr 1983: José María López, Argentinian racing driver José María "Pechito" López is an Argentine race car driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Akkodis ASP. He is three-time World Touring Champion with Citroën in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and two-time World Endurance Champion with Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2020 and 2021, also becoming that last year the second Argentine driver to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans since José Froilán González in 1954. Read more
26 Apr 1983: Jessica Lynch, American soldier Jessica Dawn Lynch is an American teacher, actress, and former United States Army soldier who served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a private first class. Read more
26 Apr 1982: Novlene Williams-Mills, Jamaican sprinter Novlene Hilaire Williams-Mills is a retired Jamaican track and field athlete. She won the bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 2007 World Championships. She is also a three-time Olympic silver medallist in the 4 × 400 metres relay. In 2015 she won relay gold alongside her Jamaican teammates. Read more
26 Apr 1981: Caro Emerald, Dutch pop and jazz singer Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw, formerly known as Caro Emerald and lately part of the music project The Jordan, is a Dutch pop and jazz singer who mainly performs in English. Active since 2007, she rose to prominence in 2009 with debut single, "Back It Up". Follow-up single "A Night Like This" topped charts in several countries, including her native Netherlands. Read more
26 Apr 1981: Ms. Dynamite, English rapper and producer Naomi Arleen McLean-Daley, better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Read more
26 Apr 1981: Sandra Schmitt, German skier (died 2000) Sandra Schmitt was a German freestyle skier. In 1998, she came 9th in the Women's Moguls contest at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. She became the Women's Dual Moguls World Champion in 1999. Schmitt died with her parents in the Kaprun disaster on 11 November 2000. Read more
26 Apr 1980: Jordana Brewster, Panamanian-American actress Jordana Brewster is an American actress. She made her acting debut, three weeks after turning 15, in an episode of All My Children in 1995 and next took on the recurring role as Nikki Munson in As the World Turns, garnering a nomination for Outstanding Teen Performer at the 1997 Soap Opera Digest Award. Her first role in a feature film was in Robert Rodriguez's horror science fiction The Faculty (1998). Read more
26 Apr 1980: Marlon King, English footballer Marlon Francis King is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
26 Apr 1980: Anna Mucha, Polish actress and journalist Anna Maria Mucha is a Polish actress. She is best known to Western audiences as Danka Dresner in Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Schindler's List. In Poland, she is known for her regular role in the soap opera L for Love (2003–present). Read more
26 Apr 1980: Channing Tatum, American actor and producer Channing Matthew Tatum is an American actor and film producer. He made his film debut in the drama Coach Carter (2005), and had his breakthrough with the sports comedy film She's the Man (2006) and the dance film Step Up (2006). He rose to prominence for playing Duke in the action films G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) and G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), the title role in the comedy-drama films Magic Mike (2012), Magic Mike XXL (2015) and Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023), and an undercover cop in the action-comedy films 21 Jump Street (2012) and 22 Jump Street (2014). Read more
26 Apr 1978: Stana Katic, Canadian actress Stana Katić is a Canadian and American actress. She played Kate Beckett on the ABC television romantic crime series Castle (2009–2016) and FBI Special Agent Emily Byrne in the psychological thriller series Absentia (2017–2020). Read more
26 Apr 1978: Peter Madsen, Danish footballer Peter Planch Madsen is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
26 Apr 1977: Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is an Italian European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, former Italian Air Force pilot and engineer. She is the second of two women sent into space by ESA and the first from Italy. Cristoforetti holds the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight by a European astronaut, and she held the record for the longest single space flight by a woman until this was broken by Peggy Whitson in June 2017, and later by Christina Koch. She took command of ISS Expedition 68 on 28 September 2022. Read more
26 Apr 1977: Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player Kosuke Fukudome is a Japanese former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league from 1999 to 2007 and in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2008 to 2012 before returning to play in Japan from 2013 to 2022. He played primarily with the Chicago Cubs in MLB and had a long spanning career in the Nippon Professional Baseball with the Chunichi Dragons and Hanshin Tigers. Read more
26 Apr 1977: Roxana Saberi, American journalist and author Roxana Saberi is an American journalist who works as a correspondent for CBS News. In 2009, she was held prisoner in Iran's Evin Prison for 101 days under accusations of espionage. She subsequently wrote a book about the experience. Read more
26 Apr 1977: Tom Welling, American actor Thomas Joseph Welling is an American actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his role as Clark Kent in The WB superhero drama Smallville (2001–2011). He also co-starred in the third season of the Fox fantasy comedy-drama Lucifer as Lt. Marcus Pierce/Cain (2017–2018). Read more
26 Apr 1976: Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player Václav Varaďa is a Czech former professional ice hockey player and current coach. He formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) in a ten-year span. In his professional career, he has previously played for the Buffalo Sabres and the Ottawa Senators. Varaďa was known for his physicality in a third or fourth line role. Read more
26 Apr 1975: Joey Jordison, American musician and songwriter (died 2021) Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison was an American musician. He was the original drummer of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, and the guitarist for the horror punk supergroup Murderdolls. Read more
26 Apr 1975: Rahul Verma, Indian social worker and activist Rahul Verma is a humanitarian, spiritual worker, and a devoted follower of Neem Karoli Baba. He, along with his wife Tulika, founded the Uday Foundation—a nonprofit organization named after their son, who was born with multiple congenital defects. The New York Times has described him as a 'Man's Stand Against Junk Food as Diabetes Climbs Across India,' featuring his story on its front page. Read more
26 Apr 1973: Geoff Blum, American baseball player and sportscaster Geoffrey Edward Blum is an American former professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks. He is currently the TV color analyst for the Houston Astros. Read more
26 Apr 1973: Jules Naudet, French-American director and producer Jules Clément Naudet and Thomas Gédéon Naudet are French-American filmmakers. The brothers, residents of the United States since 1989 and citizens since 1999, were in New York City at the time of the September 11 attacks to film a documentary on members of the Engine 7, Ladder 1 firehouse in Lower Manhattan. Read more
26 Apr 1973: Chris Perry, English footballer Christopher John Perry is an English football coach, former footballer and pundit. Read more
26 Apr 1973: Óscar, Spanish footballer and coach Óscar García Junyent, known simply as Óscar as a player, is a Spanish former professional footballer. He is currently caretaker manager of Eredivisie club Ajax. Read more
26 Apr 1972: Jason Bargwanna, Australian racing driver Jason Eric Bargwanna is an Australian motor racing driver. Best known as a Supercars Championship competitor, Bargwanna raced in the series for 25 years, the pinnacle of which was winning, with Garth Tander, the 2000 Bathurst 1000 in a Garry Rogers Motorsport prepared Holden Commodore. Bargwanna was the Driving Standards Observer for the Supercars Championship from 2014 until 2016. Read more
26 Apr 1972: Kiko, Spanish footballer Francisco Miguel Narváez Machón, known as Kiko, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward, mostly for Atlético Madrid. Read more
26 Apr 1972: Natrone Means, American football player and coach Natrone Jermaine Means is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Carolina Panthers from 1993 to 2000. Read more
26 Apr 1972: Avi Nimni, Israeli footballer and manager Avi Nimni is an Israeli former professional footballer and Maccabi Tel Aviv's highest ever scorer. He is regarded as one of Maccabi Tel Aviv's greatest players ever. Until 2006, he served as the captain of the Israel national team. His number 8 shirt has become so symbolic that Maccabi Tel Aviv has retired the number at the end of his active football career. Read more
26 Apr 1971: Naoki Tanaka, Japanese comedian and actor Naoki Tanaka is a Japanese comedian, actor and television presenter, who is the leader and the boke of the owarai kombi Cocorico with his partner Shozo Endo. He has appeared in many television programmes and films. He is known for being a regular member of Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!, which he and Endo have worked on since 1997. Read more
26 Apr 1971: Jay DeMarcus, American bass player, songwriter, and producer Jay DeMarcus is an American musician, vocalist, record producer and songwriter. He is a member of the country music band Rascal Flatts. Read more
26 Apr 1970: Dean Austin, English footballer and manager Dean Barry Austin is an English football manager and former professional player who is head of recruitment at Coventry City. Read more
26 Apr 1970: Melania Trump, Slovene-American model; 47th First Lady of the United States Melania Knauss Trump is a Slovenian and American former model serving as the first lady of the United States since 2025, a role she previously held from 2017 to 2021 as the third wife of Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States. She is the first naturalized citizen and the first non-native English speaker to become first lady; the second foreign-born first lady, after Louisa Adams; the second Roman Catholic first lady, after Jacqueline Kennedy; and the second to hold the position nonconsecutively, after Frances Cleveland. Read more
26 Apr 1970: Kristen R. Ghodsee, American ethnographer and academic Kristen Rogheh Ghodsee is an American ethnographer and Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is primarily known for her ethnographic work on post-Communist Bulgaria as well as being a contributor to the field of postsocialist gender studies. She was critical of the role of Western feminist nongovernmental organizations doing work among East European women in the 1990s. She has also examined the shifting gender relations of Muslim minorities after Communist rule, the intersections of Islamic beliefs and practices with the ideological remains of Marxism–Leninism, communist nostalgia, the legacies of Marxist feminism, and the intellectual history of utopianism. Read more
26 Apr 1970: Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress Tionne Tenese Watkins, also known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer and actress. Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the best selling girl group TLC, with whom she won four Grammy Awards. As a solo artist, she reached the Billboard Hot 100 with "Touch Myself" in 1996, and as a featured artist on Da Brat's 1997 single, "Ghetto Love". Read more
26 Apr 1967: Glenn Thomas Jacobs, American professional wrestler, actor, businessman and politician Glenn Thomas Jacobs, also known by his ring name Kane, is an American politician, actor and professional wrestler. He rose to fame in WWE, where he holds the record for most matches in WWE history. Jacobs is considered by many to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. In 2018, he became the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. Read more
26 Apr 1967: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, English actress and singer-songwriter Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste is an English actress and director. She is known for her role in Mike Leigh's drama film Secrets & Lies (1996), for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. Read more
26 Apr 1967: Toomas Tõniste, Estonian sailor and politician Toomas Tõniste is an Estonian sailor and politician, and the former Minister of Finance. Read more
26 Apr 1965: Susannah Harker, English actress Susannah Harker is an English film, television, and theatre actress. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in House of Cards. She played Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Read more
26 Apr 1965: Kevin James, American actor and comedian Kevin George Knipfing, known professionally as Kevin James, is an American actor and writer. James began his career as a stand-up comedian on Long Island in the late 1980s before rising to prominence for playing Doug Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens (1998–2007), for which he received the nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2006. Read more
26 Apr 1963: Jet Li, Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor, and producer Jet Li Lianjie is a martial artist, actor, and philanthropist. With a career spanning more than forty years, he is regarded as one of the most iconic Chinese film stars and one of the greatest martial artists in the history of cinema. His film career in Asia is credited with reviving Hong Kong kungfu films as well as Shaolin Temple. Read more
26 Apr 1963: Colin Scotts, Australian-American football player Colin Roberts Scotts is an Australian former professional American football defensive tackle. Scotts was the first Australian to receive an American football scholarship in the United States and be drafted into the National Football League (NFL). He became the second Australian to play in the NFL after Colin Ridgeway, an Australian rules football convert. Read more
26 Apr 1963: Cornelia Ullrich, German hurdler Cornelia Ullrich, née Feuerbach is a retired East German hurdler. She represented the sports team SC Magdeburg. Read more
26 Apr 1963: Bill Wennington, Canadian basketball player William Percey Wennington is a Canadian former professional basketball player who won three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships with the Chicago Bulls. A center, he represented Canada in the 1984 Olympics and the 1983 World University Games, where the team won gold. He was on the Canadian team which narrowly missed qualifying for the 1992 Olympics. Wennington has been inducted into the Quebec Basketball Hall of Fame and the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame. Read more
26 Apr 1962: Colin Anderson, English footballer Colin Anderson is an English former professional footballer, predominantly playing on left side of defence or midfield. Read more
26 Apr 1962: Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian Debra Wilson is an American actress, puppeteer, and comedian. She is the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series Mad TV, having appeared on the show's first eight seasons from 1995 to 2003. As a voice actress, she has voiced various characters on television shows and video games, including Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart, Baby Shark's Big Show!, Spitting Image, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Wolfenstein, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Halo Infinite, Diablo IV, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Clone Drone in the Hyperdome, Destiny 2, as well as Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Read more
26 Apr 1961: Joan Chen, Chinese-American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter Joan Chen is a Chinese-born American actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Taipei Golden Horse Awards and an AACTA Award. She made her film debut in the Chinese film Youth (1977) before starring in the film Little Flower (1979). She came to the attention of American audiences for her portrayal of Wanrong in the Bernardo Bertolucci historical epic film The Last Emperor (1987), which won nine Academy Awards including Best Picture. Read more
26 Apr 1961: Chris Mars, American artist Chris Mars is an American painter and musician. He was the drummer for the seminal Minneapolis-based alternative rock band the Replacements from 1979 to 1990; he later joined the informal supergroup Golden Smog before beginning a solo career. Although Mars concentrates mainly on his art career, he still occasionally releases new music. Read more
26 Apr 1960: H. G. Carrillo, American writer and academic (died 2020) H. G. Carrillo was an American fiction writer and academic. In the 1990s, he began writing as "H. G. Carrillo," and he eventually adopted that identity in his private life as well. Carroll constructed a false claim that he was a Cuban immigrant who had left Cuba with his family at the age of seven; in fact, he had no ties to Cuba. Carroll wrote frequently about the Cuban immigrant experience in the United States, including in his only novel, Loosing My Espanish (2004). He was an assistant professor of English at George Washington University from 2007 to 2013, and was later chair of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. Read more
26 Apr 1960: Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player and coach Stephen Paul Lombardozzi Sr. is an American former professional baseball player who was a second baseman for the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros for six Major League Baseball seasons. As part of the Twins' world championship team in 1987, Lombardozzi hit .412 during the World Series and hit a home run in Game 1. Read more
26 Apr 1960: Roger Taylor, English drummer Roger Andrew Taylor is an English musician. He was the drummer of the new wave band Duran Duran from their inception until 1985, and again from 2001 onwards. Duran Duran have sold over 100 million records worldwide. Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022 as a member of Duran Duran. Read more
26 Apr 1959: John Corabi, American singer-songwriter and guitarist John Corabi is an American hard rock singer and guitarist. He was the frontman of the Scream during 1989 and the frontman of Mötley Crüe between 1992 and 1996 during original frontman Vince Neil's hiatus from the band. Read more
26 Apr 1959: Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rican politician Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer who served as the Governor of Puerto Rico from 2021 to 2025, having previously been the de facto governor from August 2–7, 2019. A member of New Progressive and Democratic Parties, he previously served as acting Secretary of State of Puerto Rico in 2019, as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 2009 to 2017, and as Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 1997. He was formerly a private attorney for Puerto Rico's fiscal oversight board under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. Read more
26 Apr 1958: John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, Scottish racing driver (died 2021) John Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, was a Scottish peer and racing driver, best known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988. He was known as Johnny Dumfries, or, after he succeeded his father as marquess in 1993, John Bute. He attended Ampleforth College, as had his father and most male members of the Crichton-Stuart family, but did not finish the normal five years of study. Read more
26 Apr 1958: Giancarlo Esposito, American actor, director, and producer Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2009–2011), a role he reprised in the spin-off Better Call Saul (2017–2022). For this role, Esposito won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series twice and earned three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Read more
26 Apr 1958: Georgios Kostikos, Greek footballer, coach, and manager Georgios Kostikos is a Greek former international footballer who played as a striker. Read more
26 Apr 1956: Koo Stark, American actress and photographer Kathleen Norris "Koo" Stark is an American photographer and actress, known for her relationship with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and her roles in erotic films. She is a patron of the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust, which runs the museum of the Victorian pioneer photographer. Read more
26 Apr 1955: Kurt Bodewig, German politician Kurt Bodewig is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as a member of the German Bundestag from 1998 to 2009, representing the Neuss I district. From 2000 to 2002, he served as Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development in the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Read more
26 Apr 1954: Tatyana Fomina, Estonian chess player Tatjana Fomina is an Estonian chess player holding the title of Woman Grandmaster and twice European senior women's champion. Read more
26 Apr 1954: Alan Hinkes, English mountaineer and explorer Alan Hinkes OBE is an English Himalayan high-altitude mountaineer from Northallerton in North Yorkshire. He is the first British mountaineer to claim all 14 Himalayan eight-thousanders, a feat he completed on 30 May 2005. Read more
26 Apr 1951: John Battle, English politician Sir John Dominic Battle, is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds West from 1987 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he served in government as Minister of State for Trade and Industry (1997–1999) and Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1999–2001) under Tony Blair. Read more
26 Apr 1950: Junko Ohashi, Japanese singer (died 2023) Junko Ohashi was a Japanese singer best known for her songs "Silhouette Romance" (1981) and "Tasogare My Love" (1978). She was known for her "overwhelming singing ability" and was mainly successful between late 1970s and early 1980s. Her discography consists of more than 20 albums. After a brief hiatus due to battling esophageal and breast cancers, she returned to music in 2019. On November 9, 2023, Ohashi died in Tokyo at the age of 73. Read more
26 Apr 1949: Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer and manager Carlos Bianchi, nicknamed El Virrey, is an Argentine former football player and manager. A prolific goalscorer, although he had a bright career as a forward in Argentina and France, Bianchi is best known as one of the most successful coaches of all time managing Vélez Sarsfield and Boca Juniors to a great number of titles each. Bianchi is the only coach to win four Copa Libertadores. Read more
26 Apr 1949: Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (died 1995) Jerry Blackwell Jr., better known by his ring name "Crusher" Jerry Blackwell, was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenure in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) from 1979 to 1989. Read more
26 Apr 1946: Ralph Coates, English international footballer (died 2010) Ralph Coates was an English professional footballer who played as a winger. Coates played for Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Orient, making 480 appearances in the Football League. From 1970 to 1971, he played for the England national team, earning four caps. Read more
26 Apr 1946: Marilyn Nelson, American poet and author Marilyn Nelson is an American poet, translator, biographer, and children's book author. She is a professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut, and the former Poet Laureate of Connecticut. She is a winner of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature, and the Frost Medal. From 1978 to 1994, she published under the name Marilyn Nelson Waniek. She is the author or translator of more than twenty books and five chapbooks of poetry for adults and children. While most of her work deals with historical subjects, in 2014 she published a memoir, named one of NPR's Best Books of 2014, entitled How I Discovered Poetry. Read more
26 Apr 1946: Alberto Quintano, Chilean footballer Alberto Fernando Quintano Ralph, commonly known as El Mariscal, is a Chilean former professional footballer. He played as a defender for Universidad de Chile in Chile's Primera División. Read more
26 Apr 1945: Richard Armitage, American diplomat and government official (died 2025) Richard Lee Armitage was an American diplomat and government official. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Armitage served as a U.S. Navy officer in three combat tours of duty in the Vietnam War as a riverine warfare advisor. After leaving active duty, he served in a number of civil-service roles under Republican administrations. He worked as an aide to Senator Bob Dole before serving in various posts in the Defense Department and State Department. Read more
26 Apr 1945: Howard Davies, English director and producer (died 2016) Stephen Howard Davies, was a British theatre and television director. Read more
26 Apr 1945: Dick Johnson, Australian racing driver Richard Johnson is a part-owner of the V8 Supercar team Dick Johnson Racing and a former racing driver. As a driver, he was a five-time Australian Touring Car Champion and a three-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. As of 2008 Johnson has claimed over twenty awards and honours, including the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame into which he was inducted in 2001. Read more
26 Apr 1945: Sylvain Simard, Canadian academic and politician Sylvain Simard is a politician and academic based in the Canadian province of Quebec. He represented Richelieu in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2012, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry. Simard is a member of the Parti Québécois (PQ). Read more
26 Apr 1944: Richard Bradshaw, English conductor (died 2007) Richard James Bradshaw was a British opera conductor and the General Director of the Canadian Opera Company (COC) in Toronto. Read more
26 Apr 1943: Gary Wright, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (died 2023) Gary Malcolm Wright was an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs "Dream Weaver" and "Love Is Alive". Wright's breakthrough album, The Dream Weaver (1975), came after he had spent seven years in London as, alternately, a member of the British blues rock band Spooky Tooth and a solo artist on A&M Records. While in England, he played keyboards on former Beatle George Harrison's triple album All Things Must Pass (1970), which began a friendship that inspired the Indian religious themes and spirituality inherent in Wright's subsequent songwriting. His work from the late 1980s onwards embraced world music and the new age genre, although none of his post-1976 releases matched the same level of popularity as The Dream Weaver. Read more
26 Apr 1943: Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect and academic, designed the Therme Vals Peter Zumthor is a Swiss architect whose work is frequently described as uncompromising and minimalist. Though managing a relatively small firm and not being a prolific architect, he won the 2009 Pritzker Prize and 2013 RIBA Royal Gold Medal. Read more
26 Apr 1942: Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (died 2014) Svyatoslav Igorevich Belza was a Soviet Russian literary and musical scholar, critic and essayist, and a prominent TV personality who's launched and hosted several TV programs aimed at popularizing classical music, theatre, and ballet, including Music on Air and Masterpieces of the World Music Theatre. Belza has received high-profiled honors in three countries, among them the Russian Order of Merit for the Fatherland, the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, and the Ukrainian Order of Saint Nicholas. Read more
26 Apr 1942: Sharon Carstairs, Canadian lawyer and politician, Leader of the Government in the Senate Sharon Carstairs is a Canadian politician. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for the riding of River Heights, serving as Leader of the Opposition in Manitoba, and leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party. After her career in provincial politics, Carstairs was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Read more
26 Apr 1942: Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States Michael Kergin is a Canadian career diplomat, who has been a member of the foreign service in some capacity since 1967, when he joined the Department of External Affairs. Read more
26 Apr 1942: Bobby Rydell, American singer and actor (died 2022) Robert Louis Ridarelli, known by the stage name Bobby Rydell, was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s, he was considered a teen idol. His most well-known songs include "Wildwood Days", "Wild One" and "Volare" ; in 1963 he appeared in the musical film Bye Bye Birdie. Read more
26 Apr 1942: Jadwiga Staniszkis, Polish sociologist, political scientist, and academic (died 2024) Jadwiga Staniszkis was a Polish sociologist and political scientist, essayist, a professor at the University of Warsaw and the Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu, a Polish campus of National-Louis University. Read more
26 Apr 1941: Claudine Auger, French model and actress (died 2019) Claudine Auger was a French actress best known for her role as a Bond girl, Dominique "Domino" Derval, in the James Bond film Thunderball (1965). She earned the title of Miss France Monde 1958 and went on to finish as the first runner-up in the 1958 Miss World contest. Read more
26 Apr 1940: Giorgio Moroder, Italian singer-songwriter and producer Giovanni Giorgio Moroder is an Italian composer and record producer. Dubbed the "Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had a significant influence on several music genres such as hi-NRG, Italo disco, synth-pop, new wave, house, and techno music. Read more
26 Apr 1940: Cliff Watson, English rugby league player (died 2018) Clifford H. Watson was an English professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 1960s and 1970s. He played for the St Helens in the Rugby Football League Championship, and later the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership in Australia. Along with hardman Ken Gee, and legendary captain Alan Prescott, he remains one of the best Great Britain front-rowers ever. Read more
26 Apr 1940: Tan Cheng Bock, Singaporean doctor and politician Adrian Tan Cheng Bock is a Singaporean former politician and physician who has served as the secretary-general of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) between 2019 and 2021 and chairperson since 2021. Read more
26 Apr 1938: Duane Eddy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 2024) Duane Eddy was an American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" guitar sound, including "Rebel-'Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young". He had sold 12 million records by 1963. His guitar style influenced the Ventures, the Shadows, the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, and Marty Stuart. Read more
26 Apr 1938: Maurice Williams, American doo-wop/R&B singer-songwriter Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs were an American doo-wop/R&B vocal group in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originally the (Royal) Charms, the band changed its name to the Gladiolas in 1957 and the Excellos in 1958, before finally settling on the Zodiacs in 1959. Read more
26 Apr 1937: Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French racing driver and motorcycle racer (died 2015) Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise was a French racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1962 to 1964, and Formula One from 1966 to 1974. Beltoise won the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix with BRM. Read more
26 Apr 1933: Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, and producer Carol Creighton Burnett is an American comedian, actress, singer and writer. Burnett has played dramatic and comedic roles on stage and screen. She has received numerous awards and accolades, including seven Golden Globe Awards, a Grammy Award, seven Primetime Emmy Awards, twelve People's Choice Awards, two Peabody Awards and a Tony Award. Burnett has been honored with
a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1975, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2013, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2015. Read more
26 Apr 1933: Al McCoy, American sports announcer (died 2024) Allen Leonard McCoy was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association from 1972 to 2023. The 2022–23 NBA season was his 51st and final season. He is the longest-tenured broadcaster in NBA history. Read more
26 Apr 1933: Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican-American general (died 2005) Filiberto Ojeda Ríos was a Puerto Rican independence activist who cofounded the Boricua Popular Army, also known as Los Macheteros, and its predecessor, the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (FALN). In 1990, Ojeda Ríos became a fugitive of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), wanted for his role in the 1983 Águila Blanca heist, which netted more than US$7 million, as well as a bail bond default on September 23 of that year. On September 23, 2005, he was killed during an exchange of gunfire with FBI agents after they surrounded the house in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico. Read more
26 Apr 1933: Arno Allan Penzias, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2024) Arno Allan Penzias was an American physicist and radio astronomer. He shared the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics with Robert Woodrow Wilson "for their discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation". Read more
26 Apr 1932: Israr Ahmed, Indian-Pakistani theologian, philosopher, and scholar (died 2010) Israr Ahmed was a Pakistani Islamic scholar, theologian and orator. He developed a following in Pakistan and the rest of South Asia and also among some South Asian Muslims in the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America. He founded Tanzeem-e-Islami and also served as a member of the National Assembly from 1981 to 1982. Read more
26 Apr 1932: Shirley Cawley, English long jumper Shirley Cawley is a British former athlete who won the bronze medal in the long jump at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland. Read more
26 Apr 1932: Frank D'Rone, American singer and guitarist (died 2013) Frank D'Rone was an American jazz singer and guitarist. Read more
26 Apr 1932: Francis Lai, French accordion player and composer (died 2018) Francis Albert Lai was a French composer, noted for his film scores. He won the 1970 Oscar for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film Love Story. The soundtrack album went to No. 2 in the Billboard album charts and the film's theme, "Where Do I Begin", was a hit single for Andy Williams. Read more
26 Apr 1932: Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2000) Michael Smith was a British-Canadian biochemist and businessman. He shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kary Mullis for his work in developing site-directed mutagenesis. Following a PhD in 1956 from the University of Manchester, he undertook postdoctoral research with Har Gobind Khorana at the British Columbia Research Council in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Subsequently, Smith worked at the Fisheries Research Board of Canada Laboratory in Vancouver before being appointed a professor of biochemistry in the UBC Faculty of Medicine in 1966. Smith's career included roles as the founding director of the UBC Biotechnology Laboratory and the founding scientific leader of the Protein Engineering Network of Centres of Excellence (PENCE). In 1996 he was named Peter Wall Distinguished Professor of Biotechnology. Subsequently, he became the founding director of the Genome Sequencing Centre at the BC Cancer Research Centre. Read more
26 Apr 1931: Paul Almond, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2015) Paul Almond was a Canadian television and motion picture screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is most known for being the director of the first film in the Up series. Read more
26 Apr 1931: Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent and producer (died 2008) Bernard Jules Brillstein was an American film and television producer, executive producer, and talent agent. Read more
26 Apr 1931: John Cain Jr., Australian politician, 41st Premier of Victoria (died 2019) John Cain was an Australian politician who was the 41st Premier of Victoria, in office from 1982 to 1990 as leader of the Labor Party. During his time as premier, reforms were introduced such as liberalised shop trading hours and liquor laws, equal opportunity initiatives, and occupational health and safety legislation. Read more
26 Apr 1930: Roger Moens, Belgian runner and sportscaster Roger Moens is a Belgian former middle-distance runner. In 1955 he broke Rudolf Harbig's long-standing world record over 800 meters. At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome he won a silver medal in the 800 m. Read more
26 Apr 1929: Richard Mitchell, American author and educator (died 2002) Richard Mitchell was a professor, first of English and later of classics, at Glassboro State College in Glassboro, New Jersey. He gained fame in the late-1970s as the founder and publisher of The Underground Grammarian, a newsletter of opinion and criticism that ran until 1992, and wrote four books expounding his views on the relationships among language, education, and ethics. Read more
26 Apr 1927: Jack Douglas, English actor (died 2008) John Douglas Roberton, known professionally as Jack Douglas or Jack D. Douglas, was an English actor best known for his portrayals in the Carry On films. Read more
26 Apr 1927: Anne McLaren, British scientist (died 2007) Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, was a British scientist who was a leading figure in developmental biology. She paved the way for women in science and her work helped lead to human in vitro fertilisation (IVF). She left an enduring legacy marked by her research and ethical contributions to the field. She received many honors for her contributions to science, including election as fellow of the Royal Society. Read more
26 Apr 1927: Harry Gallatin, American basketball player and coach (died 2015) Harry Junior "The Horse" Gallatin was an American professional basketball player and coach. Gallatin played nine seasons for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1948 to 1957, as well as one season with the Detroit Pistons in the 1957–58 season. Gallatin led the NBA in rebounding and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 1954. The following year, he was named to the All-NBA Second Team. For his career, Gallatin played in seven NBA All-Star Games. A member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, he is also a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, the SIU Edwardsville Athletics Hall of Fame, the Truman State University Athletics Hall of Fame, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, two Illinois Basketball Halls of Fame, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Hall of Fame, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame, and the SIU Salukis Hall of Fame. Read more
26 Apr 1927: Granny Hamner, American baseball player (died 1993) Granville Wilbur "Granny" Hamner was an American professional baseball shortstop and second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hamner was one of the key players on the "Whiz Kids", the 1950 National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies. Read more
26 Apr 1926: David Coleman, British sports commentator and television presenter (died 2013) David Robert Coleman was a British sports commentator and television presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years. He covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six FIFA World Cups from 1962 to 1982. Read more
26 Apr 1926: Michael Mathias Prechtl, German soldier and illustrator (died 2003) Michael Mathias Prechtl was a German artist, illustrator and cartoonist. Read more
26 Apr 1925: Vladimir Boltyansky, Russian mathematician, educator and author (died 2019) Vladimir Grigorevich Boltyansky, also transliterated as Boltyanski, Boltyanskii, or Boltjansky, was a Soviet and Russian mathematician, educator and author of popular mathematical books and articles. He was best known for his books on topology, combinatorial geometry and Hilbert's third problem. Read more
26 Apr 1925: Gerard Cafesjian, American businessman and philanthropist (died 2013) Gerard Leon Cafesjian was a businessman and philanthropist who founded the Cafesjian Family Foundation (CFF), the Cafesjian Museum Foundation (CMF) and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. Read more
26 Apr 1925: Michele Ferrero, Italian entrepreneur (died 2015) Michele Ferrero was an Italian billionaire businessman. He owned the chocolate manufacturer Ferrero SpA, Europe's second-largest confectionery company, which he developed from the small bakery and café of his father in Alba, Piedmont. His first big success was his work with Francesco Rivella in adding vegetable oil to the traditional gianduja paste to make the popular spread Nutella. Read more
26 Apr 1925: Frank Hahn, British economist (died 2013) Frank Horace Hahn FBA was a British economist whose work focused on general equilibrium theory, monetary theory, Keynesian economics and critique of monetarism. A famous problem of economic theory, the conditions under which money, which is intrinsically worthless, can have a positive value in a general equilibrium, is called "Hahn's problem" after him. One of Hahn's main abiding concerns was the understanding of Keynesian (Non-Walrasian) outcomes in general equilibrium situations. Read more
26 Apr 1924: Browning Ross, American runner and soldier (died 1998) Harris Browning 'Brownie' Ross is often referred to as the father of long-distance running in the United States. Read more
26 Apr 1922: J. C. Holt, English historian and academic (died 2014) Sir James Clarke Holt, also known as J. C. Holt and Jim Holt, was an English medieval historian, known particularly for his work on Magna Carta. He was the third Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, serving between 1981 and 1988. Read more
26 Apr 1922: Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, Governor General of Canada (died 1993) Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé was a Canadian politician, journalist and stateswoman who served as the 23rd governor general of Canada from 1984 to 1990 and as the 29th speaker of the House of Commons from 1980 to 1984. She was the first woman to hold either office, and is to date the only woman to serve as speaker of the House of Commons. Read more
26 Apr 1922: Margaret Scott, South African-Australian ballerina and choreographer (died 2019) Dame Catherine Margaret Mary Scott, was a South African-born pioneering ballet dancer who found fame as a teacher, choreographer, and school administrator in Australia. As the first director of the Australian Ballet School, she is recognised as one of the founders of the strong ballet tradition of her adopted country. Read more
26 Apr 1921: Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (died 2008) James Peter Giuffre, Italian pronunciation: [d͡ʒufˈfrɛ]; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation. Read more
26 Apr 1918: Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch sprinter and long jumper (died 2004) Francina Elsje "Fanny" Blankers-Koen was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earning her the nickname "the Flying Housewife", and was the most successful athlete at the event. Read more
26 Apr 1917: Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach (died 1992) Salvatore Anthony Maglie was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), and later a scout and a pitching coach. He played from 1945 to 1958 for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals. Maglie was known as "Sal the Barber", because he gave close shaves—that is, pitched inside to hitters. A gentle personality off the field went unnoticed during games, his foreboding physical appearance contributing to his menacing presence on a pitcher's mound. He was the last of 14 players to play for the Giants, Dodgers and Yankees at a time when all three teams were in New York City. During a 10-year major league baseball career, Maglie compiled 119 wins, 862 strikeouts, and a 3.15 earned run average. Read more
26 Apr 1917: I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect, designed the National Gallery of Art and Bank of China Tower (died 2019) Ieoh Ming Pei was a Chinese-American architect. Read more
26 Apr 1917: Virgil Trucks, American baseball player and coach (died 2013) Virgil Oliver "Fire" Trucks was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees between 1941 and 1958. He batted and threw right-handed. Read more
26 Apr 1916: Eyvind Earle, American artist, author, and illustrator (died 2000) Eyvind Earle was an American artist, author and illustrator, noted for his contribution to the background illustration and styling of Disney's animated films in the 1950s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rahr West Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum and Arizona State University Art Museum have purchased Earle's works for their permanent collections. His works have also been shown in many one-man exhibitions throughout the world. Read more
26 Apr 1916: Ken Wallis, English commander, engineer, and pilot (died 2013) Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis was a British aviator, engineer, and inventor. During the Second World War, Wallis served in the Royal Air Force and flew 28 bomber missions over Germany; after the war, he moved on to research and development, before retiring in 1964. He later became one of the leading exponents of autogyros and earned 34 world records, still holding eight of them at the time of his death in 2013. Read more
26 Apr 1916: Morris West, Australian author and playwright (died 1999) Morris Langlo West was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels The Devil's Advocate (1959), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1963) and The Clowns of God (1981). His books were published in 27 languages and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. Each new book he wrote after he became an established writer sold more than one million copies. Read more
26 Apr 1914: Bernard Malamud, American novelist and short story writer (died 1986) Bernard Malamud was an American novelist and short story writer. Along with Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Norman Mailer and Philip Roth, he was one of the best known American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseball novel The Natural was adapted into a 1984 film starring Robert Redford. His 1966 novel The Fixer, about antisemitism in the Russian Empire, won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Read more
26 Apr 1914: James Rouse, American real estate developer (died 1996) James Wilson Rouse was an American businessman and founder of The Rouse Company. Rouse was a pioneering American real estate developer, urban planner, civic activist, and later, free enterprise-based philanthropist. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award, for his lifetime achievements. Read more
26 Apr 1912: A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author (died 2000) Alfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born American science fiction writer. His fragmented, bizarre narrative style influenced later science fiction writers, including Philip K. Dick. He was one of the most popular and influential practitioners of science fiction in the mid-twentieth century, the genre's so-called Golden Age, and one of the most complex. The Science Fiction Writers of America named him their 14th Grand Master in 1995. Read more
26 Apr 1911: Paul Verner, German soldier and politician (died 1986) Paul Verner was a German communist politician. He joined the communist movement at a young age and went into exile during Adolf Hitler's rule. Verner became a prominent political personality in the German Democratic Republic after the war. Read more
26 Apr 1910: Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese screenwriter and producer (died 1997) Tomoyuki "Yūkō" Tanaka was a Japanese film producer, best known as the creator of Godzilla. He produced most of the installments in the Godzilla series, beginning in 1954 with Godzilla and ending in 1995 with Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. He was one of the most prolific Japanese producers of all time, having worked on more than 200 films, including over 80 tokusatsu films and six of Akira Kurosawa's films, notably Yojimbo and Kagemusha. Read more
26 Apr 1909: Marianne Hoppe, German actress (died 2002) Marianne Hoppe was a German theatre and film actress. Read more
26 Apr 1907: Ilias Tsirimokos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (died 1968) Ilias Tsirimokos was a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece for a very brief period. Read more
26 Apr 1905: Jean Vigo, French director and screenwriter (died 1934) Jean Vigo was a French film director who helped establish poetic realism in film in the 1930s. His work influenced French New Wave cinema of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Read more
26 Apr 1904: Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian cardinal (died 1991) Paul-Émile Léger was a Canadian Catholic prelate, educator, missionary, and humanitarian. A member of the Society of Saint-Sulpice, he served as Archbishop of Montreal from 1950 to 1967 and was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 1953 by Pope Pius XII. Known for his eloquent preaching, progressive leadership during the Second Vatican Council, and dedication to the poor, Léger resigned his archdiocese in 1967 to pursue missionary work among lepers and the disabled in Africa, where he established numerous aid projects. His humanitarian efforts extended globally, founding several foundations that continue to operate as of 2025. Léger's legacy endures through institutions bearing his name, such as the Centre National de Réhabilitation des Personnes Handicapées Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger in Cameroon, and commemorations marking his contributions to ecumenism, social justice, and church reform. He was the elder brother of Jules Léger, who served as Governor General of Canada from 1974 to 1979. Read more
26 Apr 1904: Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece (died 2004) Xenophon Euthymiou Zolotas was a Greek economist who served as an interim non-party Prime Minister of Greece. Read more
26 Apr 1900: Eva Aschoff, German bookbinder and calligrapher (died 1969) Eva Aschoff was a German visual artist known for her bookbinding and calligraphy. Read more
26 Apr 1900: Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist and physicist (died 1985) Charles Francis Richter was an American seismologist and physicist. He is the namesake and one of the creators of the Richter scale, which, until the development of the moment magnitude scale in 1979, was widely used to quantify the size of earthquakes. Inspired by Kiyoo Wadati's 1928 paper on shallow and deep earthquakes, Richter first used the scale in 1935 after developing it in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg; both worked at the California Institute of Technology. Read more
26 Apr 1900: Hack Wilson, American baseball player (died 1948) Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson was an American Major League Baseball player who played 12 seasons for the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Despite his diminutive stature, he was one of the most accomplished power hitters in the game during the late 1920s and early 1930s. His 1930 season with the Cubs is widely considered one of the most memorable individual single-season hitting performances in baseball history. Highlights included 56 home runs, the National League record for 68 years, and 191 runs batted in, an MLB record yet to be approached; the closest any player has come to having that many RBIs came in the very next season, when Lou Gehrighad 185 for the New York Yankees. "For a brief span of a few years," wrote a sportswriter of the day, "this hammered down little strongman actually rivaled the mighty Ruth." Read more
26 Apr 1899: Oscar Rabin, Latvian-English saxophonist and bandleader (died 1958) Oscar Rabin was a Latvian-born English bandleader and musician. He was the musical director of his own big band. Read more
26 Apr 1898: Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1984) Vicente Pío Marcelino Cirilo Aleixandre y Merlo was a Spanish poet who was born in Seville. Aleixandre received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1977 "for a creative poetic writing which illuminates man's condition in the cosmos and in present-day society, at the same time representing the great renewal of the traditions of Spanish poetry between the wars". He was part of the Generation of '27. Read more
26 Apr 1898: John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (died 1972) John Grierson was a Scottish filmmaker, film theorist, and critic, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Flaherty's Moana. In 1939, Grierson established the all-time Canadian film institutional production and distribution company The National Film Board of Canada controlled by the Government of Canada. Read more
26 Apr 1897: Eddie Eagan, American boxer and bobsledder (died 1967) Edward Patrick Francis Eagan was an American athlete who won a gold medal as a light-heavyweight boxer at the 1920 Summer Olympics and a gold medal in four-man bobsled at the 1932 Winter Olympics. Few athletes have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games; Eagan is the only one to have won gold in each in different events. Read more
26 Apr 1897: Douglas Sirk, German-American director and screenwriter (died 1987) Douglas Sirk was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. However, he also directed comedies, westerns, and war films. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left for Hollywood in 1937 after his Jewish wife was persecuted by the Nazis. Read more
26 Apr 1896: Ruut Tarmo, Estonian actor and director (died 1967) Ruut Tarmo was an Estonian stage and film actor and stage director whose career spanned more than five decades. Read more
26 Apr 1896: Ernst Udet, leading German fighter pilot in World War I and Chief of Procurement and Supply in the Luftwaffe (died 1941) Ernst Udet was a German pilot during World War I and a Luftwaffe Colonel-General (Generaloberst) during World War II. Read more
26 Apr 1894: Rudolf Hess, German politician and Deputy Führer in Nazi regime until 1941 (died 1987) Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a German politician, convicted war criminal, and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Germany. Appointed Deputy to the Führer in 1933, Hess held that position until 1941, when he flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate the United Kingdom's exit from the Second World War. He was taken prisoner and eventually convicted of crimes against peace. He was still serving his life sentence and 93 years old at the time of his suicide in 1987. Read more
26 Apr 1889: Anita Loos, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 1981) Corinne Anita Loos was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put her on the payroll at Triangle Film Corporation. She is best known for her 1925 comic novel, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, her screenplay of the 1939 adaptation of The Women, and her 1951 Broadway adaptation of Colette's novella Gigi. Read more
26 Apr 1889: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (died 1951) Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austro-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language. Read more
26 Apr 1886: Ma Rainey, American singer-songwriter (died 1939) Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was an American blues singer and influential early-blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of southern blues, influencing a generation of blues singers. Rainey was known for her powerful vocal abilities, energetic disposition, majestic phrasing, and a "moaning" style of singing. Her qualities are present and most evident in her early recordings "Bo-Weevil Blues" and "Moonshine Blues". Read more
26 Apr 1886: Ğabdulla Tuqay, Russian poet and publicist (died 1913) Ğabdulla Möxəmmətğərif ulı Tuqay was a Tatar poet, critic, publisher, and towering figure of Tatar literature. Tuqay is often referred to as the founder of modern Tatar literature and the modern Tatar literary language, which replaced Old Tatar. Read more
26 Apr 1879: Eric Campbell, British actor (died 1917) Alfred Eric Campbell was an English actor. He was a key member of Charlie Chaplin's film ensemble, invariably playing an intimidating bully, and appeared in eleven of Chaplin's films before he was killed in a car crash at the age of 38. He is the subject of a 1996 documentary by filmmaker Kevin Macdonald. Read more
26 Apr 1879: Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1959) Sir Owen Willans Richardson was a British physicist who received the 1928 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on thermionic emission and for the discovery of Richardson's law. Read more
26 Apr 1878: Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Mexican bishop and saint (died 1938) Rafael Guízar y Valencia was a Mexican bishop of the Roman Catholic Church who was persecuted during the Mexican Revolution. Named Bishop of Xalapa in 1919, he was driven out of his diocese and forced to live the remainder of his life in hiding in Mexico City. Pope Benedict XVI canonized Guízar on 15 October 2006. Read more
26 Apr 1877: James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (died 1950) James Thomas Dooley was an Australian political figure who served twice, briefly, as Premier of New South Wales during the early 1920s. Read more
26 Apr 1876: Ernst Felle, German rower (died 1959) Ferdinand Ernst Felle was a German rower who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was part of the German boat Ludwigshafener Ruderverein, which won the bronze medal in the coxed four final B. Read more
26 Apr 1865: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Finnish artist (died 1931) Akseli Gallen-Kallela was a Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. His work is considered a very important aspect of the Finnish national identity. He finnicized his name from Gallén to Gallen-Kallela in 1907. Read more
26 Apr 1862: Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and educator (died 1938) Edmund Charles Tarbell was an American Impressionist painter. A member of the Ten American Painters, his work hangs in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corcoran Gallery of Art, DeYoung Museum, National Academy Museum and School, New Britain Museum of American Art, Worcester Art Museum, and numerous other collections. He was a leading member of a group of painters which came to be known as the Boston School. Read more
26 Apr 1856: Joseph Ward, Australian-New Zealand businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1930) Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and United ministries of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Read more
26 Apr 1834: Charles Farrar Browne, American author (died 1867) Charles Farrar Browne was an American humor writer, better known under his nom de plume, Artemus Ward. Ward was the character of an illiterate rube with "Yankee common sense", whom Browne also played in public performances. He is considered to be America's first stand-up comedian. His birth name was Brown but he added the "e" after he became famous. Read more
26 Apr 1822: Frederick Law Olmsted, American journalist and designer, co-designed Central Park (died 1903) Frederick Law Olmsted was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the United States. Olmsted was famous for co-designing many well-known urban parks with his partner Calvert Vaux, beginning with Central Park in New York City, which led to numerous other urban park designs including Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Cadwalader Park in Trenton, New Jersey, and Forest Park in Portland, Oregon. Read more
26 Apr 1804: Charles Goodyear, American banker, lawyer, and politician (died 1876) Charles Goodyear was a banker, attorney, and politician from New York. He was most notable for his service as a United States representative from 1845 to 1847 and 1865 to 1867. Read more
26 Apr 1801: Ambrose Dudley Mann, American politician and diplomat, 1st United States Assistant Secretary of State (died 1889) Ambrose Dudley Mann was the first United States Assistant Secretary of State and a commissioner for the Confederate States of America. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 26 April in World History

26 Apr 2023: Jerry Apodaca, American politician, 24th Governor of New Mexico (born 1934) Jerry Apodaca was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 24th governor of New Mexico from 1975 to 1979 and chair of the president's council on physical fitness and sports from 1978 to 1980. Read more
26 Apr 2023: Tangaraju Suppiah, Singaporean drug trafficker (born 1977) Tangaraju Suppiah was a Singaporean convicted drug trafficker who was charged in February 2014 with abetting the trafficking of about 1 kg (2.2 lb) of cannabis. Prior to his arrest in 2014, Tangaraju had been to prison several times for marijuana consumption and other marijuana offences, and was said to be a user of it since he was 12. He was found guilty and sentenced to death on 9 October 2018, as the trial court found that he conspired with another man to deliver the marijuana as confirmed by the circumstantial evidence against Tangaraju. Read more
26 Apr 2022: Klaus Schulze, German composer and musician (born 1947) Klaus Schulze was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across six decades. Read more
26 Apr 2017: Jonathan Demme, American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter (born 1944) Robert Jonathan Demme was an American filmmaker. His career of directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. In addition to being an Academy Award and a Directors Guild of America Award winner, he received nominations for a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three Independent Spirit Awards. Read more
26 Apr 2016: Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (born 1937) Harry Wu was a Chinese-American human rights activist. Wu spent 19 years in Chinese labor camps, and he became a resident and citizen of the United States. In 1992, he founded the Laogai Research Foundation. Read more
26 Apr 2015: Jayne Meadows, American actress (born 1919) Jayne Meadows was an American stage, film and television actress, as well as an author and lecturer. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards during her career and was the wife of original Tonight Show host Steve Allen. She was the elder sister of actress, banker, and memoirist Audrey Meadows. Read more
26 Apr 2015: Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1930) Joseph René Marcel Pronovost was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played in 1,206 games over 20 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons for the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs between 1950 and 1970. A top defenceman, Pronovost was named to four post-season NHL All-Star teams and played in 11 All-Star Games. He was a member of four Stanley Cup championship teams with the Red Wings, the first in 1950, and won a fifth title with the Maple Leafs in 1967. Pronovost was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player in 1978. Read more
26 Apr 2014: Gerald Guralnik, American physicist and academic (born 1936) Gerald Stanford "Gerry" Guralnik was the Chancellor’s Professor of Physics at Brown University. In 1964, he co-discovered the Higgs mechanism and Higgs boson with C. R. Hagen and Tom Kibble (GHK). As part of Physical Review Letters' 50th anniversary celebration, the journal recognized this discovery as one of the milestone papers in PRL history. While widely considered to have authored the most complete of the early papers on the Higgs theory, GHK were controversially not included in the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics. Read more
26 Apr 2014: Paul Robeson, Jr., American historian and author (born 1927) Paul Leroy Robeson Jr. was an American author, archivist and historian. Read more
26 Apr 2014: DJ Rashad, American electronic musician, producer and DJ (born 1979) Rashad Hanif Harden, known as DJ Rashad, was a Chicago-based electronic musician, producer and DJ known as a pioneer in the footwork genre and founder of the Teklife crew. He released his debut studio album Double Cup on Hyperdub in 2013 to critical praise. He died in April 2014 from a drug overdose. Read more
26 Apr 2013: Jacqueline Brookes, American actress and educator (born 1930) Jacqueline Victoire Brookes was an American film, television, and stage actress, best known for her work both off-Broadway and on Broadway. Read more
26 Apr 2013: George Jones, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1931) George Glenn Jones was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice and phrasing. For the last two decades of his life, he is frequently referred to as "the greatest country singer", "The Rolls-Royce of Country Music", and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013. Read more
26 Apr 2013: Earl Silverman, Canadian men's rights advocate (born 1948) Earl Silverman was a Canadian domestic abuse survivor, activist and men's rights advocate who founded the Men's Alternative Safe House (MASH), the only privately funded domestic abuse shelter for men in Canada, and the Family of Men society, which operated phone lines to assist victims. He also served as the Canadian Liaison for the National Coalition for Men. June 14 is unofficially "Earl Silverman Day." Read more
26 Apr 2012: Terence Spinks, English boxer and trainer (born 1938) Terence George Spinks MBE was an English boxer, who won the gold medal in the flyweight division at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. In the final he defeated Mircea Dobrescu of Romania on points. He was also British featherweight champion from 1960 to 1961. Read more
26 Apr 2011: Phoebe Snow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1950) Phoebe Snow was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "Poetry Man" and "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals on Paul Simon’s "Gone at Last". She was described by The New York Times as a "contralto grounded in a bluesy growl and capable of sweeping over four octaves". Snow also sang numerous commercial jingles for many U.S. products during the 1980s and 1990s, including General Foods International Coffees, Salon Selectives, and Stouffer's. Snow experienced success in Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s with five top 100 albums in that country. In 1995 she recorded a gospel album with Sisters of Glory. Read more
26 Apr 2010: Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian graphic designer and academic (born 1930) Mariam A. Aleem was an Egyptian artist and art professor specializing in printed design. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the Faculty of Fine Arts Cairo in 1954 and her Master of Fine Arts in graphic printing 1957 from the University of Southern California. Beginning in 1958, Aleem taught printmaking at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Alexandria. In 1968 she became an assistant professor, heading the Printmaking Department. Aleem became a full professor in 1975 and led the Design Department from 1985 to 1990. She earned her Ph.D. in the history of art from Helwan University in Cairo. Aleem exhibited worldwide, with shows in the United States, Lebanon, Egypt, Germany, Italy, and Norway. Read more
26 Apr 2010: Urs Felber, Swiss engineer and businessman (born 1942) Urs Felber, a pioneer of furniture design, was the CEO of Vitra USA. Felber was also the board director for several companies including Swissflex and was chairman and principal shareholder for the furniture company Dietiker AG. Read more
26 Apr 2009: Hans Holzer, Austrian-American paranormal investigator and author (born 1920) Hans Holzer was an American writer and parapsychologist. He wrote more than 120 books on supernatural and occult subjects for the popular market as well as several plays, musicals, films, and documentaries, and hosted a television show, Ghost Hunter. Read more
26 Apr 2008: Árpád Orbán, Hungarian footballer (born 1938) Árpád Orbán was a Hungarian Olympic champion football player. Read more
26 Apr 2007: Jack Valenti, American businessman, created the MPAA film rating system (born 1921) Jack Joseph Valenti was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also the longtime president of the Motion Picture Association of America. During his 38-year tenure in the MPAA, he created the MPAA film rating system, and was generally regarded as one of the most influential pro-copyright lobbyists in the world. Read more
26 Apr 2005: Mason Adams, American actor (born 1919) Mason Adams was an American actor. From the late 1940s until the early 1970s, he was heard in numerous radio programs and voiceovers for countless television commercials, the latter of which he resumed in the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 1970s, he moved into acting and from 1977 to 1983 held perhaps his best-known role, that of Managing Editor Charlie Hume on Lou Grant. He also acted in numerous other television and movie roles, most prominently Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and F/X (1986). Read more
26 Apr 2005: Elisabeth Domitien, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (born 1925) Elisabeth Domitien served as the prime minister of the Central African Republic from 1975 to 1976. She was the first and to date only woman to hold the position, and was the first woman to serve as prime minister of a country in Africa. Read more
26 Apr 2005: Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (born 1926) Maria Margarethe Anna Schell was an Austrian-Swiss actress. She was one of the leading stars of German cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1954, she was awarded the Cannes Best Actress Award for her performance in Helmut Käutner's war drama The Last Bridge, and in 1956, she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for Gervaise. Read more
26 Apr 2005: Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan journalist, author, and academic (born 1917) Augusto Roa Bastos was a Paraguayan novelist and short story writer. As a teenager he fought in the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia, and he later worked as a journalist, screenwriter and professor. He is best known for his complex novel Yo el Supremo and for winning the Premio Miguel de Cervantes in 1989, Spanish literature's most prestigious prize. Yo el Supremo explores the dictations and inner thoughts of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, the eccentric dictator of Paraguay who ruled with an iron fist, from 1814 until his death in 1840. Read more
26 Apr 2004: Hubert Selby, Jr., American author, poet, and screenwriter (born 1928) Hubert "Cubby" Selby Jr. was an American novelist. Two of his books, Last Exit to Brooklyn (1964) and Requiem for a Dream (1978), were adapted into films, both of which he appeared in. Read more
26 Apr 2003: Rosemary Brown, Jamaican-Canadian academic and politician (born 1930) Rosemary Brown was a Canadian politician, social worker, and human rights advocate. As a member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly from 1972 to 1986, she was the first black woman elected to a legislature in Canada at either the provincial or federal level. In 1975, she also became the first black woman to run for the leadership of a federal political party, finishing second in the New Democratic Party leadership race. Her work focused on anti-racism, gender equality, and expanding social supports for marginalized communities. Read more
26 Apr 2003: Yun Hyon-seok, South Korean poet and author (born 1984) Yun Hyon-seok was a South Korean LGBT poet, writer, and activist. He wrote under the pen names Yuk Wu-dang and Seolheon, and was also known by his nickname Midong or Donghwa. Read more
26 Apr 2003: Edward Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (born 1904)

Edward Max Nicholson was a pioneering environmentalist, ornithologist and internationalist, and a founder of the World Wildlife Fund. Read more
26 Apr 1999: Adrian Borland, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1957) Adrian Kelvin Borland was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, best known as the frontman of post-punk band The Sound. Read more
26 Apr 1999: Jill Dando, English journalist and television personality (born 1961) Jill Wendy Dando was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and was the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, her television work included co-presenting the BBC One programme Crimewatch with Nick Ross. Read more
26 Apr 1996: Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (born 1918) Stirling Dale Silliphant was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for In the Heat of the Night, for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating the television series Naked City, Perry Mason, and Route 66. Other features as screenwriter include the Irwin Allen productions The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure. Read more
26 Apr 1994: Masutatsu Ōyama, Japanese martial artist, founded Kyokushin kaikan (born 1923) Masutatsu Ōyama, commonly known outside Japan as Mas Oyama, was a Korean-Japanese karateka. He was the founder of Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. Read more
26 Apr 1991: Leo Arnaud, French-American composer and conductor (born 1904) Noël Léon Marius Arnaud, known professionally as Leo Arnaud, was a French American arranger, composer, and trombonist. He composed "Bugler's Dream", which is used as the theme by television networks presenting the Olympic Games in the United States. Read more
26 Apr 1991: Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (born 1910) Carmine Valentino Coppola was an American composer, flutist, pianist, and songwriter who contributed original music to the films The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, The Black Stallion, and The Godfather Part III. He is the father of film director Francis Ford Coppola. In the course of his career, he won both the Academy Award for Best Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, in addition to nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Music and Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. Read more
26 Apr 1991: A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist and historian, (born 1901) Alfred Bertram "Bud" Guthrie Jr. was an American novelist, screenwriter, historian, and literary historian known for writing western stories. His novel The Way West won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and his screenplay for Shane (1953) was nominated for an Academy Award. Read more
26 Apr 1991: Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (born 1931) Richard Bennett Hatfield was a Canadian politician who served as the premier of New Brunswick from 1970 to 1987. He was the longest-serving premier in New Brunswick history. Read more
26 Apr 1989: Lucille Ball, American model, actress, comedian, and producer (born 1911) Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, actress, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by Time in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for her work in all four of these areas. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She earned many honors, including the Women in Film Crystal Award, an induction into the Television Hall of Fame, a Kennedy Center Honor, and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Additionally, she posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush in 1989. Read more
26 Apr 1987: Shankar, Indian composer and conductor (born 1922) Shankar–Jaikishan, consisting of Shankar Singh Ram Singh Raghuvanshi and Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal, also known as S-J, were an Indian composer duo of the Hindi film industry, who worked together from 1949 to 1971. They are widely considered to be the greatest music composers of the Hindi film industry. From 1949 until Jaikishan's death in 1971, they composed musical scores for 136 films, introducing a new level of orchestral richness in film music. S-J collaborated with legendary singers such as Mukesh (singer), Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Talat Mahmood, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Sharda (singer). They also worked extensively with lyricists Shailendra (lyricist) and Hasrat Jaipuri, with whom they created some of the most memorable songs in their career. Read more
26 Apr 1987: John Silkin, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (born 1923) John Ernest Silkin was a British left-wing Labour politician and solicitor. Read more
26 Apr 1986: Broderick Crawford, American actor (born 1911) William Broderick Crawford was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Willie Stark in the film All the King's Men (1949), which earned him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Often cast in tough-guy or slob roles, he later achieved recognition for his starring role as Dan Mathews in the crime television series Highway Patrol (1955–1959). Read more
26 Apr 1986: Bessie Love, American actress (born 1898) Bessie Love was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned nearly seven decades—from silent film to sound film, including theatre, radio, and television—and her performance in The Broadway Melody (1929) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Read more
26 Apr 1986: Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (born 1899) Dechko Uzunov was a Bulgarian painter. He was born in Kazanluk and died in Sofia at the age of 87. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Read more
26 Apr 1984: Count Basie, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (born 1904) William James "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, his minimalist piano style, and others. Read more
26 Apr 1981: Jim Davis, American actor (born 1909) Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his roles in television Westerns. In his later career, he became famous as Jock Ewing in the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas, a role he continued until he was too ill from multiple myeloma to perform. In 1981, his performance on the series earned him a posthumous nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Read more
26 Apr 1980: Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer (born 1893) Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End by the age of 16, and was quickly promoted from minor to major roles in his Edwardian musical comedies. Read more
26 Apr 1976: Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (born 1903) Sidney Franklin was the first American to become a successful matador, the most senior level of bullfighter. Read more
26 Apr 1976: Sid James, South African-English actor (born 1913) Sidney James was a South African–British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. Noted for his distinctive laugh, he was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Read more
26 Apr 1976: Armstrong Sperry, American author and illustrator (born 1897) Armstrong Wells Sperry was an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. His books include historical fiction and biography, often set on sailing ships, and stories of boys from Polynesia, Asia and indigenous American cultures. He is best known for his 1941 Newbery Medal-winning book Call It Courage. Read more
26 Apr 1973: Irene Ryan, American actress and philanthropist (born 1902) Irene Ryan was an American actress and comedienne who found success in vaudeville, radio, film, television, and Broadway. She is most widely known for her portrayal of Daisy May "Granny" Moses, mother-in-law of Buddy Ebsen's character Jed Clampett on the long-running TV series The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971). She was nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1963 and 1964 for the role. Read more
26 Apr 1970: Erik Bergman, Swedish minister and author (born 1886) Erik Henrik Fredrik Bergman was a Swedish parish minister of the Lutheran Church and the father of diplomat Dag Bergman, novelist Margareta Bergman, and film director Ingmar Bergman. Read more
26 Apr 1970: Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress, striptease dancer, and writer (born 1911) Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper, actress, author, playwright and vedette, famous for her striptease act. Her 1957 memoir, Gypsy: A Memoir, was adapted into the 1959 stage musical Gypsy. Read more
26 Apr 1969: Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist, founded aikido (born 1883) Morihei Ueshiba was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" Kaiso (開祖) or Ōsensei (大先生/翁先生), "Great Teacher". Read more
26 Apr 1968: John Heartfield, German illustrator and photographer (born 1891) John Heartfield was a German visual artist who pioneered the use of art as a political weapon. Some of his most famous photomontages were anti-Nazi and anti-fascist statements. Heartfield also created book jackets for book authors, such as Upton Sinclair, as well as stage sets for contemporary playwrights, such as Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator. Read more
26 Apr 1964: E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and author (born 1882) Edwin John Dove Pratt, who published as E. J. Pratt, was a Canadian poet. Originally from Newfoundland, Pratt lived most of his life in Toronto, Ontario. A three-time winner of the country's Governor General's Award for poetry, he has been called "the foremost Canadian poet of the first half of the century." Read more
26 Apr 1957: Gichin Funakoshi, Japanese martial artist, founded Shotokan (born 1868) Gichin Funakoshi was the founder of Shotokan karate. He is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato, he was one of the Okinawan karate masters who introduced karate to the Japanese mainland in 1922, following its earlier introduction by his teacher Itosu. He taught karate at various Japanese universities and became honorary head of the Japan Karate Association upon its establishment in 1949. In addition to being a karate master, Funakoshi was an avid poet and philosopher. His son, Gigō Funakoshi, is widely credited with developing the foundation of the modern karate Shotokan style. Read more
26 Apr 1956: Edward Arnold, American actor (born 1890) Günther Edward Arnold Schneider was an American actor of the stage and screen. Read more
26 Apr 1951: Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist and academic (born 1868) Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in both atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and mentored many students for the new era of theoretical physics. Read more
26 Apr 1950: George Murray Hulbert, American lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1881) George Murray Hulbert was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who was a United States representative from New York and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in the early 20th century. Read more
26 Apr 1946: James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (born 1882) James Larkin White was a cowboy, guano miner, cave explorer, and park ranger for the National Park Service. He is best remembered as the discoverer, early promoter and explorer of what is known today as Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Read more
26 Apr 1945: Sigmund Rascher, German physician (born 1909) Sigmund Rascher was a German Schutzstaffel (SS) doctor. He conducted deadly experiments on humans pertaining to high altitude, freezing and blood coagulation under the patronage of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, to whom his wife Karoline "Nini" Diehl had direct connections. When police investigations uncovered that the couple had defrauded the public with their supernatural fertility by 'hiring' and kidnapping babies, she and Rascher were arrested in April 1944. He was accused of financial irregularities, murder of his former lab assistant, and scientific fraud, and brought to Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps before being executed. After his death, the Nuremberg trials judged his experiments as inhumane and criminal. Read more
26 Apr 1945: Pavlo Skoropadskyi, German-Ukrainian general and politician, Hetman of Ukraine (born 1871) Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadsky was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military leader and statesman who served as the hetman of the Ukrainian State throughout 1918 following a coup d'état on 29 April, of the same year. However, he would abdicate on 14 December. Read more
26 Apr 1944: Violette Morris, French footballer, shot putter, and discus thrower (born 1893) Violette Morris was a French athlete and Nazi collaborator who won two gold and one silver medal at the Women's World Games in 1921–1922. She was later banned from competing for violating "moral standards". She was invited to the 1936 Summer Olympics by Adolf Hitler and was an honored guest. During World War II, she collaborated with Nazis and the Vichy France regime. She became known as the "Hyena of the Gestapo" and was killed by the French Resistance. Read more
26 Apr 1940: Carl Bosch, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1874) Carl Bosch was a German chemist and engineer and Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. He was a pioneer in the field of high-pressure industrial chemistry and founder of IG Farben, at one point the world's largest chemical company. Read more
26 Apr 1934: Arturs Alberings, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (born 1876) Arturs Alberings was the 6th Prime Minister of Latvia. He held office from 7 May 1926 to 18 December 1926. Read more
26 Apr 1934: Konstantin Vaginov, Russian poet and novelist (born 1899) Konstantin Konstantinovich Vaginov was a Russian poet and novelist. Read more
26 Apr 1932: William Lockwood, English cricketer (born 1868) William Henry Lockwood was an English Test cricketer, best known as a fast bowler and the unpredictable, occasionally devastating counterpart to the amazingly hard-working Tom Richardson for Surrey in the early County Championship. A capable enough batsman against weaker bowling sides who scored over 10,000 runs in first-class cricket, stronger bowling tended to show flaws in his technique. Read more
26 Apr 1920: Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (born 1887) Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar was an Indian mathematician who worked during the early 20th century. He made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems then considered unsolvable. Read more
26 Apr 1916: Mário de Sá-Carneiro, Portuguese poet and writer (born 1890) Mário de Sá-Carneiro was a Portuguese poet and writer. He is one of the best known authors of the Geração de Orpheu, and is usually considered their greatest poet, after Fernando Pessoa. Read more
26 Apr 1915: John Bunny, American actor (born 1863) John Bunny was an American actor. Bunny began his career as a stage actor, but transitioned to a film career after joining Vitagraph Studios around 1910. At Vitagraph, Bunny made over 150 short films – many of them domestic comedies with the comedian Flora Finch – and became one of the most well-known actors of his era. Read more
26 Apr 1915: Ida Hunt Udall, American diarist (born 1858) Ida Frances Hunt Udall was an American diarist, homesteader, and teacher in territorial Utah and Arizona. A lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Udall participated in the church's historical practice of plural marriage as the second wife of Latter-day Saint bishop David King Udall and co-wife of former telegraphist Ella Stewart Udall and of Mary Ann Linton Morgan Udall, a widow of John Hamilton Morgan. Read more
26 Apr 1910: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian-French author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1832) Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit". The first Norwegian Nobel laureate, he was a prolific polemicist and extremely influential in Norwegian public life and Scandinavian cultural debate. Bjørnson is considered to be one of the four great Norwegian writers, alongside Ibsen, Lie, and Kielland. He is also celebrated for his lyrics to the Norwegian national anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet". The composer Fredrikke Waaler based a composition for voice and piano on a text by Bjørnson, as did Anna Teichmüller. Read more
26 Apr 1895: Eric Stenbock, Estonian-English author and poet (born 1860) Graf Eric Stanislaus Stenbock was a Baltic Swedish poet and writer of macabre fantastic fiction. Read more
26 Apr 1881: Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (born 1815) Ludwig Samson Heinrich Arthur Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen was a Bavarian general. Read more
26 Apr 1865: John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (born 1838) John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth theatrical family from Maryland, he was a noted actor who was also a Confederate sympathizer; denouncing Lincoln, he lamented the then-recent abolition of slavery in the United States. Read more
26 Apr 1809: Bernhard Schott, German music publisher (born 1748) Bernhard Peter Schott was a German clarinetist and music publisher. He founded the predecessor of Schott Music, a major German music publishing company which continues to this day. Read more

Why is 26 April Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 26 April, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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What happened on 26 April in World history?

On 26 April, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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