today.nukz.net: Almanac April 26

Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994

Events

1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux
1478 – The Pazzi attack Lorenzo de' Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in the Duomo of Florence.
1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of actual birth is unknown)
1607 – English colonists 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.
1803 – Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European science that meteors exist.
1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon.
1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina. Also the date of Confederate Memorial Day for most states.
1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Lincoln, in Virginia.
1923 – The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey.
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 (or Gernika in Basque), Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
1942 – Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1549 Chinese miners dead.
1944 – Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt.
1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen – last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.
1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army was liberated in Baguio City and they fought against the Japanese forces under by General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
1946 – Naperville train disaster kills 47.
1954 – The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
1956 – SS Ideal X, the world's first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas.
1958 – Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
1960 – Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after twelve years of dictatorial rule.
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.
1966 – A new government is formed in the Republic of Congo, led by Ambroise Noumazalaye.
1970 – The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force.
1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world's first human open fetal surgery.
1982 – 57 people are killed by former police officer Woo Bum-kon in a shooting spree in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea.
1986 – A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), creating the world's worst nuclear disaster.
1989 – The deadliest tornado in world history strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.
1989 – People's Daily publishes the People's Daily editorial of April 26 which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests
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 – China Airlines flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board.
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 ( Syrian occupation of Lebanon ).

Births

121 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (d. 180)
570 – Muhammed, founder of Islam, according to the Shi'a sect. Other sources suggest April 20. (d. 632)
1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (d. 1600)
1573 – Marie de' Medici, wife of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)
1648 – King Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)
1697 – Adam Falckenhagen, German lutenist and composer (d. 1754)
1710 – Thomas Reid, British philosopher (d. 1796)
1711 – David Hume,Scottish philosopher (d. 1776). The date is Old Style. He was born on 7th of May under Gregorian Calender.
1718 – Esek Hopkins, Commander of the US Navy during the Revolutionary War (d. 1802)
1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist (d. 1853)
1782 – Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, Queen Consort of the French (d. 1866)
1785 – John James Audubon, French-American naturalist and illustrator (d. 1851)
1787 – Ludwig Uhland, German poet (d. 1862)
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)
1834 – Artemus Ward, American comic writer (d. 1867)
1856 – Sir Joseph Ward, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
1862 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American artist (d. 1938)
1878 – Saint Rafael Guízar Valencia, Mexican Catholic bishop (d. 1938)
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)
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, British filmmaker (d. 1972)
1900 – Charles Richter, American geophysicist (d. 1985)
1900 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)
1904 – Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian 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)
1914 – Charlie Chester, British comedian (d. 1997)
1916 – Morris West, Australian writer (d. 1999)
1916 – Vic Perrin, American actor (d. 1989)
1916 – George Tuska, American comic book illustrator (d. 2009)
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, Canadian politician (d. 1993)
1924 – Browning Ross, American long-distance running Olympian (d. 1998)
1925 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish musician
1926 – David Coleman, British TV sports broadcaster
1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator (d. 2003)
1927 – Jack Douglas, British actor (d. 2008)
1929 – Richard Mitchell, American author and professor (d. 2002)
1930 – Roger Moens, Belgian athlete
1932 – Francis Lai, French film music composer
1932 – Michael Smith, British-born chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2000)
1932 – Israr Ahmed, Pakistani Muslim religious scholar (d. 2010)
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
1938 – Wolf Kahler, German actor
1940 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian composer
1940 – Cliff Watson, British rugby league footballer
1941 – Claudine Clark, American R&B singer-composer
1941 – John Mitchell, American composer
1942 – Claudine Auger, French actress
1942 – Sharon Carstairs, Canadian politician
1942 – Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat
1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer
1942 – Jadwiga Staniszkis, Polish sociologist
1943 – Gary Wright, American singer
1943 – Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect
1944 – Amien Rais, Indonesian politician
1945 – Sylvain Simard, Canadian politician
1947 – Warren Clarke, British actor
1949 – Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer
1949 – Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (d. 1995)
1949 – Dominic Sena, American film director
1952 – Spice Williams-Crosby, American actress and stunt performer
1953 – Nancy Lenehan, American actress
1954 – Alan Hinkes, British mountaineer
1955 – Kurt Bodewig, German politician
1955 – Mike Scott, American baseball player
1956 – Koo Stark, American actress
1957 – Michel Barrette, Canadian stand-up comedian and actor
1958 – John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute
1958 – Giancarlo Esposito, American actor
1958 – Jeffrey Guterman, American mental health counselor
1958 – Georgios Kostikos, Greek footballer
1959 – John Corabi, American musician
1959 – Thanassis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer and songwriter
1960 – Roger Taylor, British 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, British footballer
1962 – Michael Damian, American actor, singer and producer
1962 – Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
1963 – Li Lianjie/Jet Li, Chinese martial artist and actor
1963 – Colin Scotts, Australian-born American football player
1965 – Kevin James, American comedian
1966 – Yoshihiro Togashi, Manga artist who created YuYu Hakusho
1967 – Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Academy Award nominated British actress
1967 – Glenn Jacobs, American professional wrestler
1969 – Teresa Lewis, American murderer (d. 2010)
1970 – Melania Trump, Slovenian model
1970 – Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, American singer (TLC)
1971 – Shondrella Avery, American actress
1971 – Jay DeMarcus, American bassist (Rascal Flatts)
1972 – Jason Bargwanna, Australian racing driver
1972 – Kiko Narváez, Spanish footballer
1972 – Avi Nimni, Israeli Footballer
1973 – Geoff Blum, American baseball player
1973 – Chris Perry, British footballer
1974 – Ivana Milicevic, Croatian-American actress
1974 – Adil Ray, British radio presenter (BBC Asian Network)
1975 – Nathan "Joey" Jordison, American musician (Slipknot)
1975 – Nerina Pallot, British singer
1976 – Luigi Panarelli, Italian footballer
1976 – Václav Varada, Czech ice hockey player
1977 – Jason Earles, American actor
1977 – Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player
1977 – Chris Johnston, Irish rugby player
1977 – Tom Welling, American actor
1977 – Roxana Saberi, American journalist detained in Iran
1978 – Avant, American singer
1978 – Joe Crede, American baseball player
1978 – Peter Madsen, Danish footballer
1978 – Tyler Labine, Canadian actor
1978 – Stana Katic, Canadian actress
1979 – Ariane Moffatt, Canadian singer and songwriter
1979 – Janne Wirman, Finnish musician (Children of Bodom)
1980 – Jordana Brewster, American actress
1980 – Marlon King, Jamaican footballer
1980 – Anna Mucha, Polish actress
1980 – Channing Tatum, American actor
1980 – Marnette Patterson, American actress
1981 – Matthieu Delpierre, French footballer
1981 – Ms. Dynamite, British musician
1981 – Sandra Schmitt, German freestyle skier (d. 2000)
1982 – Joanne Gobure, Nauruan poet
1982 – Brock Gillespie, American basketball player
1982 – Jon Lee, British singer (S Club)
1982 – Cooper Wallace, American football player
1983 – José María López, Argentine racing driver
1983 – Jessica Lynch, American P.O.W.
1985 – John Isner, American tennis player
1985 – Nam Gyu-Ri, Korean singer (See Ya)
1987 – Jarmila Gajdošová, Slovakian/Australian tennis player
1987 – Jessica Lee Rose, American/New Zealand actress
1988 – Kimber James, American pornographic actress
1989 – Daesung, Korean singer (Big Bang)
1991 – Ignacio Lores Varela, Uruguayan footballer
1992 – Danielle Hope, English actress and singer

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)
1852 – Charles Athanase Walckenaer, French naturalist (b. 25 December 1771)
1865 – John Wilkes Booth, American assassin (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)
1915 – John Bunny, silent film comedian (b. 1863)
1920 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (b. 1887)
1932 – William Lockwood, British 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)
1946 – Jim White, discoverer of Carlsbad Caverns (b. 1882)
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)
1968 – John Heartfield, German artist (b. 1891)
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, British actress and comedian (b. 1893)
1981 – Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
1984 – William "Count" Basie, American musician and composer (b. 1904)
1986 – Broderick Crawford, American actor (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, father of Francis Ford Coppola(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, British 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)
2009 – Hans Holzer, American paranormal researcher (b. 1920)
2010 – Urs Felber, Swiss industrialist (b. 1942)
2011 – Phoebe Snow, American singer, songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950)