1929
The first non-stop flight from England to India is completed.
April 24–26 – Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Arthur G. Jones-Williams and Flight Lieutenant Norman H. Jenkins make the first non-stop flight from the United Kingdom to British India, using a Fairey Long-Range Monoplane.
1931
New York Yankee Lou Gehrig hits a home run but is called out for passing a runner, the mistake ultimately costs him the home run record.
Lou had an awesome major league baseball career, but he also was involved with some awkward incidents. It was on this day, April 26th, 1931, that Lou Gehrig was called out for passing a runner after hitting a home run. The mistake was a costly one, as it resulted in him not winning the American League home run title.
1986
The world’s worst nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl power plant in the Soviet Union.
Background. On April 26, 1986, a sudden surge of power during a reactor systems test destroyed Unit 4 of the nuclear power station at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union. The accident and the fire that followed released massive amounts of radioactive material into the environment.
1994
Nelson Mandela wins the presidency in South Africa’s first multiracial elections.
he African National Congress won a 63% share of the vote at the election, and Mandela, as leader of the ANC, was inaugurated on 10 May 1994 as the country’s first Black President, with the National Party’s F.W. de Klerk as his first deputy and Thabo Mbeki as the second in the Government of National Unity.
