April 26th in History

Michael Dobson | April 26

Gypsy Rose Lee

Today in History

  • Shakespeare was baptized (his actual date of birth is unknown) in Stratford-upon-Avon (1564)
  • The Gestapo is established (1933)
  • Ranger 4 impacts the Moon (1962)
  • Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant ruptures in one of only two Level 7 nuclear incidents in history (1986 — the other one was Fukushima)

Birthdays

  • Marcus Aurelius, stoic emperor (121)
  • John James Audubon, ornithologist and painter (1785)
  • Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape designer of Central Park (1822)
  • Ma Rainey, singer (1886)
  • Anita Loos, playwright (1889)
  • Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher (1889)
  • Rudolf Hess, deputy führer (1894)
  • Ernst Udet, ace (1896)
  • Charles Richter, seismologist (1900)
  • A. E. van Vogt, science fiction writer (1912)
  • Bernard Malamud, author (1914)
  • I. M. Pei, architect (1917)
  • Carol Burnett, comedienne (1933)
  • Bobby Rydell, singer (1942)
  • Koo Stark, actress (1956)
  • 李连杰 (Jet Li), actor and martial artist (1963)
  • Stana Katic, actress (1978)
  • Channing Tatum, actor (1980)
  • Jessica Lynch, soldier (1983)

Deaths

  • John Wilkes Booth, actor and assassin (1865)
  • Carl Bosch, Nobel chemist and founder of IG Farven (1940)
  • Gypsy Rose Lee, ecdysiast and author (1970)
  • Irene Ryan, actress (1973)
  • Count Basie, bandleader (1984)
  • Broderick Crawford, actor (1986)
  • Lucille Ball, comedienne (1989)
  • Carmine Coppola, composer (1991)
  • Jack Valenti, film rater (2007)
  • Phoebe Snow, singer-songwriter (2011)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Confederate Memorial Day (Florida, Georgia)
  • Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl Tragedy (Belarus)
  • Union Day (Tanzania)
  • World Intellectual Property Day (international)
Informal and made-up holidays include Audubon Day, Bob Wills Day, Eeyore’s Birthday, Hug an Australian Day, International Marconi Day, National Dance Day, National Go Birding Day, National Help a Horse Day, National Herb Day, National Kids and Pets Day, National Rebuilding Day, National Pretzel Day, and Penguin Day.
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April 26 is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years). There are 249 days remaining until the end of the year.