This Day in History: April 26

1478: Pazzi conspirators attack Lorenzo de'Medici and kill Giuliano de'Medici in Florence

In an attempt to overthrow the ruling Medici family in Florence, members of the Pazzi family and their allies conspired to assassinate Lorenzo de'Medici and his brother Giuliano. While Lorenzo survived the attack, Giuliano was killed. The plot ultimately failed, and its leaders were executed.

1920: Harlow Shapley and Heber D. Curtis hold "great debate" on the nature of nebulae, galaxies and size of the universe at US National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.

At the time, the nature of the universe was poorly understood, and astronomers were divided on whether the Milky Way was the only galaxy in existence. Shapley and Curtis presented opposing views on the subject, with Shapley arguing that the Milky Way was much larger than previously thought and that other galaxies existed beyond it. The debate was a significant moment in the history of astronomy and helped to advance our understanding of the universe.

1925: Franz Kafka publishes his landmark novel The Trial

The novel tells the story of a man named Josef K. who is arrested and prosecuted by a faceless authority for an unknown crime. The Trial is widely regarded as one of Kafka's most important works and is considered a classic of modernist literature.

1945: Marshal Philippe Pétain, leader of France's Vichy collaborationist regime during World War II, arrested for treason

Pétain had collaborated with the occupying Nazi forces during World War II and headed the French government based in the city of Vichy. After the war, he was charged with treason and sentenced to death, although his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.

1956: First modern container ship, the Ideal X, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas

The Ideal X was the first ship to carry cargo in standardized containers, a development that revolutionized the shipping industry by making it faster, more efficient, and less expensive. Today, container shipping is the backbone of global trade.

1986: World's worst nuclear disaster: 4th reactor at Chernobyl nuclear power station in USSR explodes, 31 die, radioactive contamination reaches much of Western Europe

The explosion and subsequent fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant released a massive amount of radioactive material into the atmosphere, causing widespread contamination and exposing millions of people to dangerous levels of radiation. The disaster remains one of the worst in history, both in terms of the human toll and the long-term environmental impact.

1989: The deadliest tornado in history kills about 1300 people

The Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado devastated central Bangladesh, killing thousands of people and causing widespread destruction. It remains the deadliest tornado on record.

1994: Germany makes Holocaust denial illegal

In an effort to combat anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, Germany made it a criminal offense to deny or trivialize the Holocaust. The law has been controversial, with some arguing that it infringes on free speech, while others maintain that it is an important tool for combating hate speech and promoting tolerance.