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Other Notable Events for April 26

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Published in History & Quotes

On this day in history:

In 1607, the first British colonists to establish a permanent settlement in America landed at Cape Henry, Va.

In 1933, Nazi Germany's secret police, better known as the Gestapo, is formed by Hermann Goering. The Allies declared the Gestapo a criminal organization during the Nuremberg trials and sentenced Goering to die.

In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, German-made planes destroyed the Basque town of Guernica, Spain.

In 1964, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged, forming the country of Tanzania.

In 1982, Argentina surrendered to British forces on South Georgia Island amid a dispute over the Falkland Islands.

In 1986, a fire and explosion at the Soviet Union's Chernobyl nuclear reactor north of Kiev, Ukraine, resulted in the world's worst civilian nuclear disaster. About 30 deaths were reported in the days following the accident. It is believed that hundreds of people eventually died from high doses of radiation from the plant and that thousands of cases of cancer could be linked to the crisis.

In 1993, Indian Airlines Flight 491 slammed into a parked truck during takeoff and crashed minutes later near the western Indian city of Aurangabad, killing 56 people.

In 1994, South Africans began going to the polls in the country's first election that was open to all. Four days of voting would elect Nelson Mandela president.

In 2002, a German youth who had been expelled from the Gutenberg school in Erfurt, Germany, returned to the school and shot 16 people to death.

In 2005, the last of Syria's troops left Lebanon, ending a 29-year military presence.

In 2007, New Hampshire lawmakers approved a measure legalizing civil unions between same-sex couples.

In 2010, longtime Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, sought by the International Criminal Court in connection with reputed crimes against humanity in the Darfur section of western Sudan, was re-elected president in a controversial vote.

In 2012, a U.N.-backed court convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor of war crimes, including murder, acts of terrorism, rape, sexual slavery and use of child soldiers, for aiding rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

In 2013, law enforcement officers in Turkey captured accused drug kingpin Cumhur Yakut, the father of godfathers, who had been wanted by Interpol and by the United States for 13 years.

In 2017, Gift Ngoepe became the first African-born player to play in an MLB game. The rookie played infield for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the teams win over the Chicago Cubs.

 


Copyright 2018 by United Press International

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