April 26 in History

The Fall of Tripoli was the capture and destruction of the Crusader state of the County of Tripoli by the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. The battle occurred in 1289 and was an important event in the Crusades, as it marked the capture of one of the few remaining major Crusader possessions.

The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from the High Middle Ages to 1848 during its dissolution. It was also an early colonial power, with colonies in Asia and Africa, and the largest being New France in North America geographically centred on the Great Lakes. In the 16th to the 18th centuries, the French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over 10 million square kilometres, the second-largest empire in the world at the time behind the Spanish Empire.

Francis Petrarch was an Italian scholar and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanists.

The Pazzi were a powerful family in the Republic of Florence. Their main trade during the fifteenth century was banking. In the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, members of the family were banished from Florence and their property was confiscated; the family name and coat-of-arms were permanently suppressed by order of the Signoria.

William Shakespeare (c. 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" or simply "the Bard". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, 3 long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613) he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others. Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the greatest works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, which are considered to be among the finest works in English. In the last phase of his career, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances), such as The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623 John Heminges and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its preface includes a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a rival of Shakespeare, who hailed Shakespeare with the now-famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day Maine to the Carolinas. The company's shareholders were Londoners, and it was distinguished from the Plymouth Company, which was chartered at the same time and composed largely of gentlemen from Plymouth, England.

Sybil (or Sibbell) Ludington (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839) was an alleged heroine of the American Revolution and daughter of Patriot colonel Henry Ludington. Relatives of Ludington have claimed that on April 26, 1777, at age 16, she made an all-night horseback ride 40 miles (64 km) to stir American militiamen to attack British forces near Danbury, Connecticut, though scholars largely reject this story. According to the legend, Ludington rode near the Connecticut–New York border after British forces raided and burned Danbury, rallying combatants for the Battle of Ridgefield the following day. Printed accounts of Ludington's ride first appeared in an 1880 local history and then a 1907 posthumous publication by her grandchildren of her father's memoirs, with Ludington often described as a female Paul Revere. A 2015 report in The New England Quarterly concludes there is little actual evidence backing the story, and whether the ride even occurred has been questioned, with skepticism going back at least to 1956. Relatively unknown through the 19th century, Ludington's story gained recognition around the time of World War II, after New York State was convinced to place historic roadmarkers in locations she was speculated to have visited on her ride. Attention to her story grew thereafter, from memorial statues honoring her, to books being written about her, culminating with being honored on a United States Bicentennial postage stamp that was released on March 25, 1975, which depicts her on a horse.

The Battle of Beaumont-en-Cambrésis 26 April 1794 (sometimes referred to as the Battle of Coteau, or in France the Battle of Troisvilles) was an action forming part of a multi-pronged attempt to relieve the besieged fortress of Landrecies, during the Flanders Campaign of the French Revolutionary War. The British and Austrians under the Duke of York defeated a French advance northwards from Cambrai commanded by René Chapuis (Chapuy). Rudolf von Otto, York's Austrian subordinate, led the main attack, which smashed the French flank and Chapuis was captured as a result.

Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was Emperor of the French from 18 May 1804 until his first abdication in 1814, with a brief restoration during the Hundred Days in 1815. He rose to prominence as a general during the French Revolution and led a series of military campaigns across Europe and the Middle East during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. As a statesman, he implemented numerous legal and administrative reforms in France and Europe. Born on the island of Corsica to a family of Italian origin, Napoleon moved to mainland France in 1779 and was commissioned as an officer in the French Royal Army in 1785. He supported the French Revolution in 1789 and promoted its cause in Corsica. He rose rapidly through the ranks after winning the siege of Toulon in 1793 and defeating royalist insurgents in Paris on 13 Vendémiaire in 1795. In 1796 he commanded a military campaign against the Austrians and their Italian allies in the War of the First Coalition, scoring decisive victories and becoming a national hero. He led an invasion of Egypt and Syria in 1798, which served as a springboard for his rise to political power. In November 1799 Napoleon engineered the Coup of 18 Brumaire against the French Directory and became First Consul of the Republic. He won the Battle of Marengo in 1800, which secured France's victory in the War of the Second Coalition, and in 1803 he sold the territory of Louisiana to the United States. In December 1804 Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French, further consolidating his power. The breakdown of the Treaty of Amiens led to the War of the Third Coalition by 1805. Napoleon shattered the coalition with a decisive victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, which led to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. In the War of the Fourth Coalition, Napoleon defeated Prussia at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt in 1806, marched his Grande Armée into Eastern Europe, and defeated the Russians in 1807 at the Battle of Friedland. Seeking to extend his trade embargo against Britain, Napoleon invaded the Iberian Peninsula and installed his brother Joseph as King of Spain in 1808, provoking the Peninsular War. In 1809 the Austrians again challenged France in the War of the Fifth Coalition, during which Napoleon consolidated his dominance over Europe after winning the Battle of Wagram. In the summer of 1812 he launched an invasion of Russia. After forcing the Russians to abandon Moscow following the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon briefly occupied the city before conducting a catastrophic retreat of his army that winter. In 1813 Prussia and Austria joined Russia in the War of the Sixth Coalition, in which Napoleon was decisively defeated at the Battle of Leipzig. The coalition invaded France and captured Paris, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April 1814. He was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba and the Bourbons were restored to power. Ten months later Napoleon escaped from Elba with around a thousand men and marched on Paris, reclaiming control of the country. His opponents responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated him at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died of stomach cancer in 1821, aged 51. Since his death, Napoleon has maintained a prominent place in historical research and popular culture. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history, and Napoleonic tactics are still studied at military schools worldwide. His legacy endures through the legal and administrative reforms he enacted in France and Western Europe, most notably the Napoleonic Code. He established a system of public education, abolished the vestiges of feudalism, emancipated Jews and other religious minorities, abolished the Spanish Inquisition, enacted the principle of equality before the law for an emerging middle class, and centralized state power at the expense of religious authorities. His conquests also acted as a catalyst for political change and the development of nation-states. However, he remains controversial because of his role in wars that devastated Europe, his looting of conquered territories, and his mixed record on civil rights. He abolished the free press, ended directly elected representative government, exiled and imprisoned critics of his regime, reinstated slavery in French colonies, banned the entry of black people and mulattos into France, reduced the civil rights of women and children, reintroduced a hereditary monarchy and nobility, and violently repressed popular uprisings against his rule.

L'Aigle is a meteorite that fell on 26 April 1803 over L'Aigle, Lower Normandy, France, during a meteor shower. Before the event, meteorites were generally considered a superstition and were mistrusted by the scientific community. Ernst Chladni had theorised and published a book in 1794 saying that meteorites originated beyond Earth. Although some other meteor showers occurred, none sparked significant interest in investigating their origins until the L'Aigle event.

The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war against the United States over disputes regarding tributary payments in exchange for a cessation of Tripolitanian commerce raiding at sea. United States president Thomas Jefferson refused to pay this tribute. The First Barbary War was the first major American war fought outside the New World, and in the Arab world, besides the American–Algerian War (1785–1795).

The Union is a term used to refer to the federal government and loyal states of the United States during the American Civil War. Its military forces and civilian population resisted the secession of the Southern slave states that formed the Confederate States of America following the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln as president of the United States. Lincoln's administration asserted the permanency of the federal government and the continuity of the United States Constitution, and it refused to recognize the Confederate government.

Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkluβ aˈtletiko ðe maˈðɾið]; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to in English as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético and colloquially as Atleti, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home games at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, which has a capacity of 70,813. Founded on 26 April 1903 as Athletic Club Sucursal de Madrid (a branch of Bilbao-based Athletic Club), the entity merged with Club Aviación Nacional in 1939, becoming Atlético de Madrid in 1946. After 1987, Jesús Gil oversaw the transformation from sports club to sociedad anónima deportiva (S.A.D.), underpinning his family's control over the shareholding structure through misappropriation. The club's traditional kits consist of red and white vertical striped shirts and blue shorts. Followers are nicknamed as colchoneros ('mattress makers'), indios ('Indians') and rojiblancos ('redwhites'). Prince Felipe, later King Felipe VI, has been the honorary president of the club since 2003. Atlético are one of the most successful Spanish clubs, having won 11 La Liga titles, including a league and cup double in 1996. Further domestic trophies include 10 Copa del Rey titles, two Supercopas de España, one Copa Presidente FEF and one Copa Eva Duarte. They have also won numerous titles in Europe, including the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1962, the UEFA Europa League in 2010, 2012 and 2018, and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010, 2012 and 2018, in addition to the 1974 Intercontinental Cup. In the UEFA Champions League, Atlético reached the final in 1974, 2014 and 2016. They sustain a standing rivalry with Madrid neighbours Real Madrid, with whom they contest the Madrid derby.

World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, World War I resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million deaths, including those in war crimes and genocides. The war also helped spread the Spanish flu pandemic. The conflict saw important developments in weaponry, including the first large-scale use of machine guns, artillery, aircraft, chemical weapons, and tanks.

The Easter Rising (Irish: Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an independent Irish Republic while the United Kingdom was fighting the First World War. It was the most significant uprising in Ireland since the rebellion of 1798 and the first armed conflict of the Irish revolutionary period. Sixteen of the Rising's leaders were executed starting in May 1916. The nature of the executions, and subsequent political developments, ultimately contributed to an increase in popular support for Irish independence. Organised by a seven-man Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Rising began on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916 and lasted for six days. Members of the Irish Volunteers, led by schoolmaster and Irish language activist Patrick Pearse, joined by the smaller Irish Citizen Army of James Connolly and 200 women of Cumann na mBan seized strategically important buildings in Dublin and proclaimed the Irish Republic. The British Army brought in thousands of reinforcements as well as artillery and a gunboat. There was street fighting on the routes into the city centre, where the rebels slowed the British advance and inflicted many casualties. Elsewhere in Dublin, the fighting mainly consisted of sniping and long-range gun battles. The main rebel positions were gradually surrounded and bombarded with artillery. There were isolated actions in other parts of Ireland; Volunteer leader Eoin MacNeill had issued a countermand in a bid to halt the Rising, which greatly reduced the extent of the rebel actions. With much greater numbers and heavier weapons, the British Army suppressed the Rising. Pearse agreed to an unconditional surrender on Saturday 29 April, although sporadic fighting continued briefly. After the surrender, the country remained under martial law. About 3,500 people were taken prisoner by the British and 1,800 of them were sent to internment camps or prisons in Britain. Most of the leaders of the Rising were executed following courts martial. The Rising brought physical force republicanism back to the forefront of Irish politics, which for nearly fifty years had been dominated by constitutional nationalism. Opposition to the British reaction to the Rising contributed to changes in public opinion and the move toward independence, as shown in the 1918 general election, in which Sinn Féin won 73 of the 105 Irish seats. Sinn Féin convened the First Dáil and declared independence. Of the 485 people killed, 260 were civilians, 143 were British military and police personnel, and 82 were Irish rebels, including 16 rebels executed for their roles in the Rising. More than 2,600 people were wounded. Many of the civilians were killed or wounded by British artillery fire or were mistaken for rebels. Others were caught in the crossfire during firefights between the British and the rebels. The shelling and resulting fires left parts of central Dublin in ruins.

Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in North America and parts of Europe, is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. The two opposing teams score by using their sticks to control and advance a vulcanized rubber hockey puck, and then shooting it into the net of the other team. Each goal is worth one point. The team with the highest score after an hour of gameplay, broken down into three 20-minute periods, is declared the winner; ties are broken in overtime or a shootout. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, including a goaltender. It is a full contact game and one of the more physically demanding team sports.

George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947, though the title was only formally relinquished in June 1948. Following the London Declaration of 1949, he was the first Head of the Commonwealth.

The Geheime Staatspolizei ([ɡəˈhaɪmə ˈʃtaːtspoliˌtsaɪ] , lit. 'Secret State Police', abbreviated Gestapo [ɡəˈstaːpo] ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organisation. On 20 April 1934, oversight of the Gestapo passed to the head of the Schutzstaffel (SS), Heinrich Himmler, who was also appointed Chief of German Police by Hitler in 1936. Instead of being exclusively a Prussian state agency, the Gestapo became a national one as a sub-office of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police). From 27 September 1939, it was administered by the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). It became known as Amt (Dept) 4 of the RSHA and was considered a sister organisation to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD; Security Service). The Gestapo committed widespread atrocities during its existence. The Gestapo was used against the Nazis' political opponents, ideological dissenters (clergy and religious organisations), career criminals, the Sinti and Roma population, handicapped persons, homosexuals, and, above all, Jews. Those arrested by the Gestapo were often held without judicial process, and political prisoners throughout Germany—from 1941 throughout the occupied territories under the Night and Fog Decree (German: Nacht und Nebel)—simply disappeared while in Gestapo custody. Contrary to popular perception, the Gestapo was actually a relatively small organisation with limited surveillance capability; still it proved extremely effective due to the willingness of ordinary Germans to report on fellow citizens. During World War II, the Gestapo played a key role in the Holocaust. When World War II concluded, the Gestapo was declared a criminal organisation by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at the Nuremberg trials, and several top Gestapo members were sentenced to death.

The Spanish Civil War was fought in Spain from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels. Republicans loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic included socialists, anarchists, communists, and separatists, supported by the Soviet Union. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of Falangists, monarchists, conservatives, and traditionalists, who established the military-led Spanish State and were directly aided by an intervention from Fascist Italy and participation of Nazi Germany. Due to the international political climate at the time, the war was variously viewed as class struggle, religious struggle, or struggle between republican democracy and dictatorship, revolution and counterrevolution, or communism and fascism. The Nationalists won the war in early 1939, and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975.

Benxihu (Honkeiko) Colliery was a coal mine in Benxi, Liaoning, China, first mined in 1905. Originally an iron and coal mining project under joint Japanese and Chinese control, the mine came under predominantly Japanese control. In the early 1930s, Japan invaded the northeast of China, and Liaoning province became part of the Japanese-controlled puppet state of Manchukuo. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese forced Chinese labourers—some of whom had been captured from local military organizations—to work the colliery under very poor conditions. Food was scarce and workers did not have sufficient clothing. Working conditions were harsh, and diseases such as typhoid and cholera flourished due to poor sanitation and water supplies. Typically, miners worked 12-hour shifts or longer. The Japanese controllers were known to beat workers with pick handles, and the perimeter of the mine was fenced and guarded. Many describe the conditions as slave labour.

The Easter Riots (Swedish: Påskkravallerna) is the name given to a period of unrest in Uppsala, Sweden, during the Easter of 1943. The fascist group Swedish Socialist Union (SSS, Swedish: Svensk Socialistisk Samling, previously the National Socialist Workers' Party) held its national congress in Uppsala, amid the Second World War and only days after the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The unrest climaxed on 26 April, when the SSS ended the congress by holding a demonstration at the Royal Mounds of Old Uppsala. Thousands of anti-fascists gathered to protest against the Nazi gathering at the Royal Mounds, a historical site that held much political symbolism among Swedish nationalists. Policemen had been called in from Stockholm to defend the demonstration, and after the situation became increasingly tense they resorted to violence, dispersing the peacefully protesting crowds and onlookers alike with heavy force.

Georgios Papandreou (Greek: Γεώργιος Παπανδρέου, Geórgios Papandréou; 13 February 1888 – 1 November 1968) was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as the prime minister of Greece (1944–1945, 1963, 1964–1965). He was also deputy prime minister from 1950 to 1952, in the governments of Nikolaos Plastiras and Sofoklis Venizelos. He served numerous times as a cabinet minister, starting in 1923, in a political career that spanned more than five decades. After studying law in Athens and political science in Berlin, Papandreou enlisted as a volunteer in the First Balkan War. He first ran for political office in the 1920 national elections and was a principal member of the 11 September 1922 Revolution that overthrew King Constantine I. Thereafter, he became a prominent Liberal politician, surviving an assassination attempt in 1921 and being imprisoned by Theodoros Pangalos's dictatorship in 1925. After having briefly attained ministerial experience at the start of the Second Republic, Eleftherios Venizelos elevated him to the ministries of Education and Transport in 1930 and 1933 respectively, overseeing the construction of over three thousand schools amidst the Greek refugee crisis. He was again arrested and exiled in 1938 by the 4th of August Regime, remaining in exile for four years. Imprisoned by Italian forces in World War II during the Axis Occupation of Greece, he agreed to head the Greek government–in–exile in 1944. As German forces evacuated Greece in October 1944, Papandreou became the first post–occupation prime minister, heading a unity government and overseeing the suppression of communist EAM forces in Athens in the Dekemvriana. He resigned in early January 1945 and rose to becoming deputy leader of the Liberal Party under Sofoklis Venizelos. He would deputise both Venizelos and Nikolaos Plastiras as deputy prime minister before the Liberals lost the 1952 elections, resulting in the former relinquishing the party leadership to Papandreou. Despite winning the popular vote, the short–lived Democratic Union failed to win the 1956 elections. The merger of the Liberal Party and other parties in 1961 created the Centre Union that Papandreou led in that year's elections. Incumbent Konstantinos Karamanlis won the election, but Papandreou alleged fraud in the results, proclaiming a "relentless struggle" against the incumbent government. The Centre Union won a minority vote in the 1963 elections and formed a government in the 1964 elections. On his return as head of government, he led economic liberalization efforts and wealth redistribution policies amidst the Greek economic miracle, increased mandatory years in education and enforced free education on all levels. In foreign policy, he assumed a pro–Enosis stance amidst clashes in Cyprus, and was increasingly advised by his son, Andreas Papandreou. His relationship with the new King, Constantine II, was deteriorating, and following the refusal of Minister of National Defence Petros Garoufalias to vacate his position regarding the ASPIDA scandal in the army, Papandreou openly clashed with the King and resigned in July 1965. The latter lured in Centre Union members to form unelected coalition governments, resulting in prolonged political instability for the next two years. Papandreou denounced the "Apostates" of the Centre Union and declared a second "struggle", together with his son, Andreas. Before the 1967 elections could commence, a coup d'etat in April 1967 saw the installation of a military regime and the arrest of both Papandreous. Georgios was placed under house arrest and died in November 1968. Papandreou was known as the "Old Man of Democracy" by his supporters. He established a political dynasty, that most prominently included his son Andreas, who would later serve as prime minister from 1981 to 1989 and 1993 to 1996, and grandson George, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2011.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

The Battle of Bautzen (or Battle of Budziszyn, April 1945) was one of the last battles of the Eastern Front during World War II in Europe. It was fought on the extreme southern flank of the Spremberg-Torgau Offensive, seeing days of pitched street fighting between forces of the Polish Second Army under elements of the Soviet 52nd Army and 5th Guards Army[a] on one side and elements of German Army Group Center in the form of the remnants of the 4th Panzer and 17th armies on the other. The battle took place during Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front's push toward Berlin, which was part of the larger Soviet Berlin Offensive. The battle was fought in the town of Bautzen (Upper Sorbian: Budyšin) (Polish: Budziszyn) and the rural areas to the northeast situated primarily along the Bautzen–Niesky line. Major combat began on 21 April 1945 and continued until 26 April, although isolated engagements continued to take place until 30 April. The Polish Second Army under Karol Świerczewski suffered heavy losses, but, with the aid of Soviet reinforcements, prevented the German forces from breaking through to their rear. After the battle both sides claimed victory and modern views as to who won the battle remain contradictory. Because the war was almost over and the battle had no strategic impact on the ongoing Battle of Berlin, German historiography has focused more on its tactical aspects. The German operation successfully recaptured Bautzen and its surroundings, which were held until the end of the war. According to some sources, 26 April marks the end of this battle, although less severe and isolated clashes in that region continued until 30 April. Other sources note that heavy fighting still took place on 27 April, and that the German advance was only completely halted on 28 April. By the end of the month, the Polish Second Army and the Soviet forces had repelled the German attack, forming a line toward Kamenz–Doberschütz–Dauban, and was preparing to launch an offensive toward Prague. As noted by historians such as Wawer and Komorowski, despite the heavy casualties, the Polish–Soviet frontline was not seriously breached, and thus the German offensive was a failure.

Baguio, officially the City of Baguio, is a highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 368,426 people.

The Geneva Conference was intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War and involved several nations. It took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 April to 21 July 1954. The part of the conference on the Korean question ended without adopting any declarations or proposals and so is generally considered less relevant. On the other hand, the Geneva Accords that dealt with the dismantling of French Indochina proved to have long-lasting repercussions. Diplomats from South Korea, North Korea, China, the Soviet Union, and the United States participated in the Korean side of the conference from April 26 to June 15. The conference dealt with the Indochina issue from May 8 to July 21, involving representatives from France, China, the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), the State of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Laos, and the Kingdom of Cambodia. Three binding ceasefire agreements about Indochina ended hostilities in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The Pathet Lao were confined to two provinces in northern Laos, and Khmer Issarak forces disbanded. Vietnam was partitioned at the 17th parallel, with troops and personnel of the DRV regrouping to the North, and those of the State of Vietnam regrouping to the South. Alongside them, a non‑legally binding Final Declaration called for international supervision (via the International Control Commission), prohibited the introduction of foreign troops and bases in Vietnam, affirmed that the 17th parallel was only a provisional border. Worsening relations between the North (communist) and the South (anti-communist) would eventually lead to the Vietnam War. As such, historians generally regard the Geneva Conference as failing to secure lasting peace in Indochina.

Jonas Edward Salk (; born Jonas Salk; October 28, 1914 – June 23, 1995) was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New York and New York University School of Medicine. In 1947, Salk accepted a professorship at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he undertook a project beginning in 1948 to determine the number of different types of poliovirus. For the next seven years, Salk devoted himself to developing a vaccine against polio. Salk was immediately hailed as a "miracle worker" when the vaccine's success was first made public in April 1955, and chose to not patent the vaccine or seek any profit from it in order to maximize its global distribution. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and the University of Pittsburgh looked into patenting the vaccine after deciding not to profit from it, but determined the techniques used to make the vaccine were likely not novel enough to patent. An immediate rush to vaccinate began in the United States and around the world. Many countries began polio immunization campaigns using Salk's vaccine, including Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, West Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium. By 1959, the Salk vaccine had reached about 90 countries. An attenuated live oral polio vaccine was developed by Albert Sabin, coming into commercial use in 1961. Less than 25 years after the release of Salk's vaccine, domestic transmission of polio had been eliminated in the United States. In 1963, Salk founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, which is today a center for medical and scientific research. He continued to conduct research and publish books in his later years, focusing in his last years on the search for a vaccine against HIV. Salk campaigned vigorously for mandatory vaccination throughout the rest of his life, calling the universal vaccination of children against disease a "moral commitment". Salk's personal papers are today stored in the Geisel Library at the University of California, San Diego.

SS Ideal X, a converted World War II T-2 oil tanker, was the first commercially successful container ship.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first steam-operated common carrier. Maryland chartered the railroad in 1827 and construction began in 1828. It operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie System. Its lines are today controlled by CSX Transportation (CSX).

The April Revolution, also called the April 19 Revolution or April 19 Movement, were mass protests in South Korea against President Syngman Rhee and the First Republic from April 11 to 26, 1960, which led to Rhee's resignation.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as research in aeronautics and space. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across the US and is organized into three mission directorates: Human Spaceflight, Research and Technology, and Science. Established in 1958 amid the Space Race, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the US space program a distinct civilian orientation focused on peaceful applications. Since then, it has led most American spaceflight programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the Apollo program, Skylab, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station (ISS), and the ongoing multinational Artemis program.

Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, Algeria to the west, and Tunisia to the northwest. With an area of almost 1.8 million km2 (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the fourth-largest country in Africa and the Arab world, and the 16th-largest in the world. The country claims 32,000 square kilometres of southeastern Algeria, south of the Libyan town of Ghat. The capital and largest city is Tripoli, located in the northwest and containing over a million of Libya's seven million people.

Tanganyika was a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania, that existed from 1961 until 1964. It first gained independence from the United Kingdom on 9 December 1961 as a Commonwealth realm headed by Queen Elizabeth II before becoming a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations as the Republic of Tanganyika a year later. After signing the Articles of Union on 22 April 1964 and passing an Act of Union on 25 April, Tanganyika officially joined with the People's Republic of Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar on Union Day, 26 April 1964. The new state changed its name to the United Republic of Tanzania within a year.

The 1966 Tashkent earthquake occurred on 26 April in the Uzbek SSR. It had a moment magnitude of 5.2 with an epicenter in central Tashkent at a depth of 3–8 kilometers (1.9–5.0 mi). The earthquake caused massive destruction to Tashkent, destroying most of the buildings in the city, killing between 15 and 200 people and leaving between 200,000 and 300,000 homeless. Following the disaster, most of the historic parts of Tashkent had been destroyed and the city was rebuilt, based on Soviet architectural styles. Soviet authorities created an institute of seismology in order to forecast future earthquakes.

The Republic of the Congo, also known as the Congo Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, or simply the Congo, is a country located on the western coast of Central Africa to the west of the Congo River. It is bordered to the west by Gabon, to the northwest by Cameroon, to the northeast by the Central African Republic, to the southeast by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south by the Angolan exclave of Cabinda, and to the southwest by the Atlantic Ocean.

On 26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union, exploded. The accident resulted in dozens of direct deaths and a major release of radioactive material into the environment, causing widespread health effects and requiring the establishment of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The response involved more than 500,000 personnel and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles. It remains the most destructive nuclear disaster and the most expensive disaster in history, with an estimated cost of US$700 billion. It is one of only two nuclear accidents rated at the maximum severity on the International Nuclear Event Scale, the other being the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan.

The Daulatpur–Saturia tornado was a violent tornado that occurred in Manikganj District, Bangladesh on April 26, 1989. While it was destructive and extremely deadly, there is great uncertainty about the death toll. Official estimates from the World Meteorological Organization indicate that it killed approximately 1,300 people, which would make it the deadliest tornado in history. The tornado affected the cities of Daulatpur and Saturia the most, moving east through Daulatpur and eventually northeast into Saturia. Previously, the area that the tornado hit had been in a state of drought for six months.

The People's Daily is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was established in 1948 during the Chinese Civil War as the organ of the CCP's North China Bureau and first published in Pingshan County, Hebei. Its offices moved to Beijing in February 1949, before it became the organ of the CCP Central Committee in August of that year. During the Cultural Revolution, it fell under the control of the Gang of Four and was counted among the "Two Newspapers and One Journal." During the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the paper became a contested ground between hardline party leaders and sympathetic editors. In 1997, the paper launched an online edition, which was reorganized as People's Daily Online in 2000.

From April 26–27, 1991, a large and deadly tornado outbreak affected parts of the Great Plains region of the central United States. On April 26, commonly known as the Great Plains tornado outbreak, nearly five dozen tornadoes occurred primarily across the states of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The following day, April 27, featured six tornadoes across Iowa and Texas, but also Georgia and Missouri. This outbreak occurred within a transition period for the National Weather Service and proved the value of Next-Generation weather radars, which were utilized in Oklahoma to provide advanced warning to residents. Primarily in Kansas but also in Oklahoma, 21 people in total were killed by the tornadoes. More than 300 people were injured during the outbreak.

Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe, and the female personification of the United States, Columbia was the first of five Space Shuttle orbiters to fly in space, debuting the Space Shuttle launch vehicle on its maiden flight on April 12, 1981 and becoming the first spacecraft to be re-used after its first flight when it launched on STS-2 on November 12, 1981. As only the second full-scale orbiter to be manufactured after the Approach and Landing Test vehicle Enterprise, Columbia retained unique external and internal features compared with later orbiters, such as test instrumentation and distinctive black chines. In addition to a heavier aft fuselage and the retention of an internal airlock throughout its lifetime, these made Columbia the heaviest of the five spacefaring orbiters: around 1,000 kilograms heavier than Challenger and 3,600 kilograms heavier than Endeavour when originally constructed. Columbia also carried ejection seats based on those from the SR-71 during its first six flights until 1983, and from 1986 onwards carried an imaging pod on its vertical stabilizer.

China Airlines Flight 140 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, to Nagoya Airport in Nagoya, Japan.

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. The country consists of nine provinces, and is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres of coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. South Africa also encloses Lesotho. Covering an area of 1,221,037 square kilometres, the country has a population of over 63 million people, making it the sixth-most populated country in Africa, and 24th-most in the world. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament, is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is regarded as the judicial capital. The largest and most populous city is Johannesburg, followed by Cape Town and Durban.

CIH, also known as the Chernobyl virus, is a computer virus that targets computers running the Windows 9x family of operating systems. There are several variants, with different trigger dates that cause the virus to activate on different days, ranging from once a month to once a year. The most widespread variant first activated on April 26, 1999, causing widespread damage to hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide and resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars of losses. CIH is notorious for its destructive payload, which overwrites critical areas of a computer's hard drive, leaving the data inaccessible. On some systems, it also intentionally corrupts the system's flash BIOS firmware stored on the motherboard. This makes the computer unable to boot, leaving the computer unusable until the BIOS chip or the entire motherboard is replaced.

The Erfurt school massacre was a mass shooting that occurred on 26 April 2002 at the Gutenberg-Gymnasium, a secondary school in Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany. 19-year-old expelled student Robert Steinhäuser shot and killed 16 people, including a police officer, before killing himself. One person was also wounded by a bullet fragment. According to students, he ignored them and aimed only for the teachers and administrators, although two students were unintentionally killed by shots fired through a locked door.

The Cedar Revolution, known in Lebanon as the Independence intifada, was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. The popular movement was remarkable for its avoidance of violence, peaceful approach, and its total reliance on methods of civil resistance.

Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev is a Kazakh politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 and chairman of the Security Council from 1991 to 2022.

In Mexico, an antimonumento is a structure that is traditionally installed during popular protests. They are installed to recall a tragic event or to maintain the claim for justice to which governments have failed to provide a satisfactory response in the eyes of the complainant. Many of these are erected for issues related to forced disappearances, massacres, femicides and other forms of violence against women, or any other act of violence.

On April 26, 2025, a vehicle-ramming attack took place shortly after the Lapu-Lapu Day festival, a public celebration of Filipino heritage in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The attack left 11 people dead and at least 32 more injured, making it the deadliest attack in Vancouver's history. It stands as the deadliest vehicle-ramming incident in Canadian history, alongside the 2018 Toronto van attack. According to the Vancouver Police Department, the car attack was not an act of terrorism.