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Today April 26th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1467 – The miraculous image in Our Lady of Good Counsel appear in Genazzano, Italy.
1478 – The Pazzi attack Lorenzo de Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in the Duomo of Florence.
1607 – English colonists of the Jamestown settlement make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia.
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, as part of a reconciliary gesture with the factions of the Ancien Regime and to eventually consolidate his own rule.
1805 – United States Marines captured Derne, Tripoli under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O Bannon.
1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina.
1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln s assassin, in Virginia.
1925 – Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic.
1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen – last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.
1946 – Father Divine, a controversial religious leader who claims to be God, marries the much-younger Edna Rose Ritchings, a celebrated anniversary in the International Peace Mission movement.
1954 – The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
1956 – First container ship left Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas
1962 – NASA s Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.
1963 – In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections.
1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.
1965 – A Rolling Stones concert in London, Ontario is shut down by police after 15 minutes due to rioting.
1966 – An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 destroys Tashkent.
1982 – 57 people are killed by former police officer Woo Bum-kon in a shooting spree in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea.
1986 – In Ukraine, a nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, creating the world s worst nuclear disaster.
1991 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States. Before the outbreak s end, Andover, Kansas, would record the year s only F5 tornado (see Andover, Kansas Tornado Outbreak).
1994 – A China Airlines Airbus A300-600R crashes at Nagoya Airport, Japan killing everyone on board, with a death toll amounting to 264.
1994 – Physicists announce first evidence of the top quark subatomic particle.
2002 – Robert Steinhäuser infiltrates and kills 17 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt,Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.
2005 – 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.
2007 – Queen s Pier is officially closed by the Hong Kong Government, after a bitter struggle by conservationists, in order to facilitate land reclamation in Hong Kong s Central district
Births
121 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (d. 180)
570 – Muhammed, founder of Islam, according to the Shi a sect. Other sources suggest April 20.
1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (d. 1600)
1564 – William Shakespeare, English poet and playwright (d. 1616)
1573 – Marie de Medici, wife of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)
1648 – King Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)
1662 – Maria Luisa of Orleans, queen consort of Spain (d. 1689)
1710 – Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher (d. 1796)
1711 – David Hume, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1776)
1718 – Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (d. 1802)
1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist (d. 1853)
1782 – Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, queen of France (d. 1866)
1785 – John James Audubon, French-American naturalist and illustrator (d. 1851)
1787 – Ludwig Uhland, German poet (d. 1862)
1798 – James Beckwourth, American explorer (d. 1867)
1798 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter (d. 1863)
1801 – Ambrose Dudley Mann, American diplomat (d. 1889)
1804 – Charles Goodyear, American politician (d. 1876)
1812 – Alfred Krupp, German industrialist (d. 1887)
1822 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American landscape architect (d. 1903)
1826 – George Hull Ward, American general (d. 1863)
1826 – Ambrose R. Wright, American Civil War General (d. 1872)
1856 – Sir Joseph Ward, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
1878 – Saint Rafael Guízar Valencia, Mexican Catholic bishop
1879 – Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
1886 – Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939)
1886 – Gabdulla Tuqay, Tatar poet (d. 1913)
1888 – Anita Loos, American writer (d. 1981)
1889 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1951)
1893 – Draza Mihajlovic, Serbian WWII hero and war criminal (d. 1946)
1894 – Rudolf Hess, Nazi official (d. 1987)
1896 – Ernst Udet, WWI pilot and film actor, Luftwaffe officer (d. 1941)
1897 – Eddie Eagan, American sportsman (d. 1967)
1897 – Douglas Sirk, German-born film director (d. 1987)
1898 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1984)
1898 – John Grierson, Scottish filmmaker (d. 1972)
1900 – Charles Richter, American geophysicist (d. 1985)
1900 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)
1904 – Paul-Émile Léger, Quebec cardinal and archbishop (d. 1991)
1910 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese movie producer and creator of Godzilla (d. 1997)
1911 – Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002)
1912 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian writer (d. 2000)
1914 – Bernard Malamud, American author (d. 1986)
1914 – James W. Rouse, American investor (d. 1996)
1916 – Morris West, Australian writer (d. 1999)
1916 – Vic Perrin, American actor (d. 1989)
1917 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player (d. 1992)
1917 – I.M. Pei, Chinese-born architect
1918 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (d. 2004)
1918 – Stafford Repp, American actor (d. 1974)
1922 – Jeanne Sauvé, French Canadian politician (d. 1993)
1925 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish musician
1926 – David Coleman, British TV sports broadcaster
1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator (d. 2003)
1927 – Jack Douglas, English actor
1929 – Richard Mitchell, American author and professor (d. 2002)
1930 – Roger Moens, Belgian athlete
1932 – Francis Lai, French film music composer
1932 – Michael Smith, English-born chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2000)
1933 – Carol Burnett, American comedian
1933 – Arno Allan Penzias, German-born physicist, Nobel laureate
1933 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican activist (d. 2005)
1938 – Duane Eddy, American musician
1940 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian composer
1940 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league footballer
1941 – Claudine Clark, American R&B singer-composer
1941 – John Mitchell, American composer
1942 – Claudine Auger, French actress
1942 – Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat
1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer
1943 – Gary Wright, American singer
1943 – Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect
1944 – Amien Rais, Indonesian politician
1945 – Sylvain Simard, Quebec politician
1947 – Warren Clarke, English actor
1949 – Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer
1949 – Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (d. 1995)
1949 – Dominic Sena, American film director
1955 – Mike Scott, American baseball player
1956 – Koo Stark, American actress
1958 – John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute
1958 – Giancarlo Esposito, American actor
1958 – Jeffrey Guterman, American mental health counselor
1959 – John Corabi, American Musician
1959 – Thanassis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer and songwriter
1960 – Roger Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran)
1960 – Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player
1961 – Joan Chen, Chinese-born actress
1961 – Anthony Cumia, American radio personality (The Opie and Anthony Show)
1961 – Chris Mars, American rock drummer (The Replacements)
1962 – Colin Anderson, English footballer
1962 – Michael Damian, American actor, singer and producer
1962 – Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
1963 – Jet Li, Chinese martial artist
1963 – Colin Scotts, Australian-born American football player
1965 – Kevin James, American comedian
1966 – Yoshihiro Togashi, Mangaka who created YuYu Hakusho
1967 – Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Academy Award nominated British actress
1967 – Glen Jacobs, American professional wrestler
1970 – Melania Trump, Slovenian model
1970 – Tionne T-Boz Watkins, American singer (TLC)
1971 – Jay DeMarcus, American bassist (Rascal Flatts)
1972 – Jason Bargwanna, Australian racing driver
1972 – Kiko Narváez, Spanish footballer
1972 – Avi Nimni, Israeli Footballer
1973 – Chris Perry, English footballer
1974 – Ivana Milicevic, Croatian-American actress
1974 – Adil Ray, English radio presenter (BBC Asian Network)
1975 – Nathan Joey Jordison, American musician (Slipknot)
1975 – Nerina Pallot, British singer
1976 – Vaclav Varada, Czech ice hockey player
1977 – Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player
1977 – Chris Johnston, Irish rugby player
1977 – Tom Welling, American actor
1978 – Avant, American singer
1978 – Joe Crede, American baseball player
1978 – Peter Madsen, Danish footballer
1979 – Ariane Moffatt, Quebec singer and songwriter
1979 – Janne Wirman, Finnish musician (Children of Bodom)
1980 – Jordana Brewster, American actress
1980 – Anna Mucha, Polish actress
1980 – Channing Tatum, American actor
1981 – Matthieu Delpierre, French footballer
1981 – Ms. Dynamite, English musician
1982 – Joanne Gobure, Nauruan poet
1982 – Brock Gillespie, American basketball player
1982 – Jon Lee, British singer (S Club)
1982 – Cooper Wallace, National Football League tight end
1983 – José María López, Argentine racing driver
1983 – Jessica Lynch, American P.O.W.
1984 – Mija Martina, Bosnian singer
1985 – John Isner, American Tennis player
1985 – Nam Gyu-Ri, Korean singer, member of See Ya
1987 – Jessica Lee Rose, American-born New Zealand actress, famous YouTube star lonelygirl15
Deaths
1192 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1127)
1444 – Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b. 1378)
1476 – Simonetta Vespucci, inspiration of Botticelli (b. 1453)
1478 – Giuliano di Piero de Medici, ruler of Florence (assassinated) (b. 1453)
1489 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (b. 1465)
1716 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1651)
1784 – Nano Nagle, Irish convent founder (b. 1718)
1789 – Count Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian soldier (b. 1721)
1865 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor and assassin (shot) (b. 1838)
1881 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (b. 1815)
1892 – Sir Provo Wallis, British Admiral and naval hero (b. 1791)
1910 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (b. 1832)
1920 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (b. 1887)
1932 – William Lockwood, English cricketer (b. 1868)
1936 – Tammany Young, American actor (b. 1886)
1938 – Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (b. 1859)
1940 – Carl Bosch, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1874)
1944 – Violette Morris, French athlete (b. 1893)
1945 – Pavlo Skoropadsky, Ukrainian politician and general (b. 1871)
1945 – Sigmund Rascher, Nazi doctor (b. 1909)
1950 – G. Murray Hulbert, American politician (b. 1881)
1951 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist (b. 1868)
1956 – Edward Arnold, American actor (b. 1890)
1957 – Gichin Funakoshi, Father of Japanese Shotokan Karatedo (b. 1868)
1964 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet born Newfoundland (b. 1882)
1969 – Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist and founder of aikido (b. 1883)
1970 – Erik Bergman, Lutheran pastor (b. 1886)
1970 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress (b. 1911)
1972 – Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (b. 1892)
1973 – Irene Ryan, American actress (b. 1902)
1976 – Sid James, South African-born British comedian (b. 1913)
1980 – Cicely Courtneidge, English actress and comedian (b. 1893)
1981 – Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
1984 – Count Basie, American musician and composer (b. 1904)
1986 – Broderick Crawford, American actor (stroke) (b. 1911)
1986 – Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (b. 1899)
1986 – Bessie Love, American actress (b. 1898)
1987 – John Ernest Silkin, British politician (b. 1923)
1987 – Shankar, Of Noted Bollywood Music Director Duo Shankar-Jaikishan (b. 1922)
1989 – Lucille Ball, American actress and comedian (b. 1911)
1991 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer (b. 1904)
1991 – Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (b. 1910)
1991 – Emily McLaughlin, American actress (b. 1928)
1991 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician (b. 1931)
1994 – Masutatsu Oyama, Founder of Japanese Kyokushin Karate (b. 1927)
1996 – Stirling Silliphant, American writer and producer (b. 1918)
1999 – Adrian Borland, English musician (The Sound) (b. 1957)
1999 – Jill Dando, British television presenter (b. 1961)
2002 – Robert Steinhäuser German spree killer (b. 1983)
2003 – Rosemary Brown, Canadian politician (b. 1930)
2003 – Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist (b. 1904)
2003 – Peter Stone, American writer (b. 1930)
2004 – Hubert Selby Jr., American author (b. 1928)
2005 – Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919)
2005 – Maria Schell, Swiss-Austrian actress (b. 1926)
2005 – Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan author (b. 1917)
2007 – Jack Valenti, American political advisor and film executive (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances
Tanzania – Union Day.
Florida and Georgia, USA – Confederate Memorial Day.
World Intellectual Property Day (since 2001).
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