History of 26 April
1906 – In Hawaii, motion pictures were shown for the first time.
1921 – Weather broadcasts were heard for the first time on the radio in St. Louis, MO.
1929 – First non-stop flight from England to India was completed.
1931 – New York Yankee Lou Gehrig hit a home run but was called out for passing a runner.
1931 – NBC premiered “Lum and Abner.” It was in the air for 24 years.
1937 – German planes attacked Guernica, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War for the Spanish nationalist government. This raid is considered one of the first to be attacked on a civilian population by a modern air force.
1937 – “LIFE” magazine was printed without the word “LIFE” on the cover.
1937 – “Lorenzo Jones” premiered on NBC radio.
1941 – An organ was played at a baseball stadium for the first time in Chicago, IL.
1945 – Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, the head of France’s Vichy government during World War II, was arrested.
1952 – Patty Berg set a new record for major women’s golf competition when she shot a 64 over 18 holes in a tournament in Richmond, CA.
1954 – Grace Kelly was on the cover of “LIFE” magazine.
1964 – The African nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania.
1964 – The Boston Celtics won their sixth consecutive NBA title. They won two more before the streak came to an end.
1968 – Students seized the administration building at Ohio State University.
1982 – The British announced that Argentina had surrendered on South Georgia.
1983 – Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 1,200 for the first time.
1985 – In Argentina, a fire at a mental hospital killed 79 people and injured 247.
1986 – The world’s worst nuclear disaster to date occurred at Chernobyl, in Kyiv. Thirty-one people died in the incident and thousands more were exposed to radioactive material.
1998 – Auxiliary Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera was bludgeoned to death two days after a report he’d compiled on atrocities during Guatemala’s 36-year civil war was made public.
2000 – Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar purchased the NHL’s New York Islanders.
2002 – In Erfurt, Germany, an expelled student killed 17 people at his former school. The student then killed himself.
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 (Syrian occupation of Lebanon).
2018 – American comedian Bill Cosby is found guilty of sexual assault.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Caro Emerald, Dutch pop and jazz singer
- 1981 – Ms. Dynamite, English rapper, and producer
- 1981 – Sandra Schmitt, German skier (d. 2000)
- 1982 – Novlene Williams-Mills, Jamaican sprinter
- 1983 – José María López, Argentinian race car driver
- 1983 – Jessica Lynch, American soldier, and POW
- 1984 – Emily Wickersham, American actress
- 1985 – John Isner, an American tennis player
- 1985 – Andrea Koch Benvenuto, a Chilean tennis player
- 1986 – Lior Refaelov, Israeli footballer
- 1986 – Yuliya Zaripova, Russian runner
- 1987 – Jorge Andújar Moreno, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Ben Spina, Australian rugby league player
- 1988 – Manuel Viniegra, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – Gareth Evans, English footballer
- 1989 – Melvin Ingram, American football player
- 1990 – Mitch Rein, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Nevin Spence, Northern Irish rugby player
- 1991 – Lazaros Fotias, Greek footballer
- 1991 – Peter Handscomb, Australian Cricketer
- 1991 – Will Heard, British singer, and songwriter
- 1991 – Isaac Liu, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1991 – Ignacio Lores Varela, Uruguayan footballer
- 1991 – Srdjan Pejicic, Canadian/Bosnian basketball player
- 1991 – Wojciech Pszczolarski, Polish bicycle racer
- 1992 – Aaron Judge, American baseball player
- 1994 – Daniil Kvyat, Russian race car driver