On This Day: What happened on 26 April?

Here’s a look at what happened on this day, 26 April, throughout history. We remember the news, events, and people that influenced the course of history forever.

1964 | Tanganyika and the islands of Zanzibar united to form Tanzania. 

1966 | Ambroise Noumazalaye formed a new government in Congo.

1968 | The Ben Schoeman N1 freeway between Johannesburg and Pretoria was opened. The freeway was named after the minister of transport at the time.

1997 | Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is re-elected as the ANC’s Women’s League president. 

2002 | Captain Brett Burmeister is killed when a South African Air Force jet ‘Impala Mk I’ he was flying crashed near the Albasini Dam between Louis Trichardt and Musina.

READ: On This Day: What happened on 25 April?

DEATHS

2001 | Ghanaian plant physiologist, Edwin Jackson Anafi Asomaning (70) 

2001 | South African writer, Guy Butler (83) 

2002 | South African politician and activist, Steve Tshwete (63) 

2019 | Former Ghanaian Minister of Local Government, C. K. Tedam (93)

BIRTHDAYS

1945 | South African singer, Nobesuthu Mbadu

1972 | Namibian singer, Juanita du Plessis

1974 | South African actress, Louise Barnes

1985 | South African film director, Amr Singh

SPORT

2015 | 35th London Marathon: Kenyan marathon runner, Eliud Kipchoge wins the men’s race & Ethiopian marathon runner, Tigist Tufa wins the women’s race

2017 | South African baseball player, Gift Ngoepe, becomes the first African-born to play in Major League Baseball, for Pittsburgh Pirates.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

2010 | ‘Iron Man 2’ starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, is released.

AFRICA FACT

More than half of the world’s diamonds are mined in Africa. The continent is rich in minerals, particularly coal, petroleum, gold, platinum and diamonds.