What Happened on April 26?

April 26 is National Pretzel Day — and the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, a lesson in safety and courage. Naturalist John James Audubon, who painted America's birds, was born on this date in 1785.

• 1785 — Naturalist and artist John James Audubon is born

  Born April 26, 1785, Audubon traveled North America painting birds in lifelike poses — his book The Birds of America became a masterpiece of art and science. Read the full story →

• 1865 — Abraham Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth is cornered and killed

  Twelve days after shooting President Lincoln, Booth was tracked to a Virginia barn where he died on April 26, 1865 — ending a massive manhunt. Read the full story →

• 1937 — German and Italian warplanes bomb the town of Guernica in Spain

  On April 26, 1937, aerial bombing devastated Guernica during the Spanish Civil War — an attack Pablo Picasso immortalized in his famous painting. Read the full story →

• 1954 — Mass polio vaccine field trials begin in the United States

  On April 26, 1954, doctors began vaccinating nearly two million American schoolchildren against polio — one of history's largest medical trials. Read the full story →

• 1986 — The Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in Ukraine

  In the early hours of April 26, 1986, a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl plant in Soviet Ukraine — the worst nuclear power accident in history. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

John James Audubon (1785–1851) · Carol Burnett (1933) · Maureen Stapleton (1925–2006) · Kevin James (1965)

Days & observances

National Pretzel Day · World Intellectual Property Day · National Audubon Day · National Kids and Pets Day