By Day: Historical Events on April 26th

Henry III, also known as Henry the Black, becomes King of Germany.

Pope Damasus II is consecrated as the 151st pope.

The Pisan fleet sacks the North African city of Mahdia.

The Order of the Garter, the most prestigious chivalric order in England, is founded by King Edward III.

Pazzi conspiracy: A failed attempt to overthrow the Medici family in Florence results in the assassination of Giuliano de' Medici.

Sir Francis Drake completes his circumnavigation of the globe aboard the Golden Hind.

English colonists establish the first permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown, Virginia.

The worst nuclear accident in history occurs at the Chernobyl nuclear site in Ukraine. The accident was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel who were running a poorly designed test. About 350,000 people were evacuated as a result of the accident. The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation has concluded that, apart from some 5000 thyroid cancers (resulting in 15 fatalities), "there is no evidence of a major public health impact attributable to radiation exposure 20 years after the accident." More