26 April in history

8 events that happened on 26 April, from 1336 to 1986.

  1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    1336 CE 690 years ago

    Petrarch climbs Mont Ventoux for the view

    The poet Petrarch climbed Mont Ventoux in Provence, by his own account simply to see the view from the summit. His letter describing it is often cited as an early sign of a new attitude to nature.

  2. 1478 CE 548 years ago

    The Pazzi conspirators kill Giuliano de' Medici in Florence Cathedral

    Members of the Pazzi conspiracy, a plot to displace the Medici as rulers of Florence, stabbed Giuliano de' Medici to death in Florence Cathedral and wounded his brother Lorenzo. The Pazzi were afterwards banished from Florence and their property confiscated.

    Giuliano de' MediciLorenzo de' MediciHouse of Medici

  3. 1564 CE 462 years ago

    William Shakespeare is baptised in Stratford-upon-Avon

    The parish register of Holy Trinity Church records the baptism of 'Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakspere'. It is the earliest documentary record of the playwright.

  4. 1721 CE 305 years ago

    An earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz

    An earthquake with its epicentre near Tabriz levelled some three-quarters of the city, including many prominent mosques and schools, and killed tens of thousands of people. The destruction was a significant factor in the Ottoman takeover of Tabriz in 1725.

    Tabriz

  5. 1865 CE 161 years ago

    John Wilkes Booth is cornered and killed in Virginia

    Union troops trapped Lincoln's assassin in a tobacco barn and set it alight; Booth was shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett and died within hours. It ended a twelve-day manhunt.

    VirginiaBoston

  6. 1915 CE 111 years ago

    Italy signs the secret Treaty of London with the Entente

    Italy concluded a secret agreement with the United Kingdom, France and Russia, promising to enter the First World War on the Entente side within a month in return for Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste, Istria, part of Dalmatia and other gains.

    Treaty of London

  7. 1937 CE 89 years ago

    German and Italian aircraft bomb Guernica

    The Condor Legion, with Italian support, bombed the Basque town on market day, killing hundreds of civilians. The attack inspired Picasso's painting Guernica.

    Nazi GermanyLegion

  8. 1986 CE 40 years ago

    Reactor explodes at the Chernobyl nuclear plant

    A safety test went wrong at reactor No. 4 in Soviet Ukraine, causing an explosion and fire that spread radioactive fallout across Europe. Over 100,000 people were evacuated.

    Ukraine

Born on 26 April 2

Died on 26 April 3

Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.

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