Charles University: European Education Milestone (+ 10 more historical events on this day!)

Charles University: European Education Milestone (+ 10 more historical events on this day!)

From A Daily Dose of History: Events on this Day in History by Amalia Dupray and Montgomery Jones

April 26, 2026 · 8 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the founding of Charles University and other significant historical events that occurred on this day.

A Daily Dose of History (26 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Czech king Karel IV founds the Charles University in Prague, which was later named after him and was the first university in Central Europe. Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux. The Pazzi family attack on Lorenzo de' Medici kills his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral. Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of birth is unknown). The Virginia Company colonists make landfall at Cape Henry. A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz. The Royal Academy of Arts hosts its first art opening. Sybil Ludington, aged 16, rode 40 miles (64 km) to alert American colonial forces to the approach of the British regular forces Battle of Beaumont during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France. Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist. Information from this episode are…

People in this episode

Hosts: Amalia Dupray, Montgomery Jones

Topics covered

  • education
  • historical events
  • European history
  • university founding
  • cultural milestones
  • natural disasters

Keywords

  • Charles University
  • Karel IV
  • historical events
  • Petrarch
  • Shakespeare
  • earthquake
  • meteor fragments

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Royal Academy of Arts

Places: Czech, Prague, Florence Cathedral, Cape Henry, Tabriz

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