April 26

April 27, 2024 - Reading time: 10 minutes

Saint’s Day for Basilio, Pedro and Cleto.

1238 - There is a revolt against Abd Allah Zannun after which Malaga passes to Nazari sovereignty.
1829 - Ferdinand VII approves a decree to proceed to the drafting of a new Penal Code.
1860 - the African War between Spain and Morocco ends with a peace treaty signed at Tetuan.

Picasso's painting of Guernica - www.museoreinasofia.es

1903 - the football club Atlético de Madrid is founded as Athletic Club de Madrid.
1904 - Benito Pérez Galdós becomes republican deputy.
1922 - 28 people die in a fire at the Customs building in Málaga.
1928 - Ramón Pérez de Ayala is elected academic of the language.
1937 - German Luftwaffe attack Guernica in the Basque Country, destroying the town and killing more than 1,000 people.

2017 - Corruption has placed the Rajoy Government into difficulty’ – the case uncovered with the detention of Ignacio González has complicated the political agenda for the Cabinet and has added uncertainty in the development of the legislature. Analysis – ‘the PP on the tightrope’ ‘the judge has ordered prison without bail for Jordi Pujol Ferrusola – the firstborn of the clan sent funds abroad when his family was under investigation.

Births

757 - Hisham 1 of Córdoba was the second Umayyad Emir of Cordoba, ruling from 788 to 796 in al-Andalus. He was the first son of Abd al-Rahman I and his wife, Halul, and the younger half brother of Suleiman.

Faced with Carolingian penetration south across the western and eastern Pyrenees, in 793 he called a jihad against the Christian Franks, sent over troops to Girona and Narbonne, but those strongholds stood firm. The Umayyad general Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Mughith was more fortunate on his approach to Carcassonne, where he defeated Louis the Pious' Carolingian mentor William of Orange. However, surprisingly, the expedition did not advance deeper into Carolingian territory, but resulted in hefty loot and numerous slaves, which in turn provided the funds to expand the Great Mosque of Cordoba and build many mosques.

As of 794, his generals, the above-mentioned Abd al-Malik and his brother Abd al-Karim ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Mughith, campaigned every year of his reign against the northern principalities, namely Álava, Old Castile, and Asturias, deep into the last's newly established capital city of Oviedo (794). The city in turn was sacked. Alfonso II of Asturias fled, and initiated contacts with Charlemagne. These expeditions didn't aim to destroy the northern Christian principalities, but seem to have been a goal in themselves, raids for the purpose of amassing loot and re-asserting Cordovan military superiority over both restive local Andalusian garrisons and lords prone to detachment, the Kingdom of Asturias, and the Basques.

Hisham died in 796 C.E. at the age of forty, after a rule of eight years.[6] He was a prototype of Umar II, and strove to establish the Islamic way of life, living simply and avoiding ostentation. He was a God-fearing man and was known for his impartial justice and sound administration. After his death, 'Abd Allah returned from exile and claimed Valencia and Suleiman claimed Tangiers against Hisham's son, al-Hakam I. Hisham was dubbed “the just.”

Hisham was a model of righteousness and a loyal prince. He lived in hopes of salvation and at the time of his succession to the throne, he believed, on the basis of his horoscope, that he had just eight years to live. He, therefore, abandoned all earthly enjoyments and sought redemption through charitable giving. He wore the simplest clothes, he would walk alone through the roads of Cordova, mingle with the ordinary people, visit the sick, enter the dwellings of the poor, and with genuine concern showed interest in all of their needs, requests, and complaints. At night, even in the pouring rain, he would take food from his palace and bring it to the poor. He was prompt in his religious duties, he urged his subjects to follow his example, and on rainy nights would dispense his wealth to those taking part in evening services at the mosques. After eight years, Hisham died as predicted and left to his successor a respectable kingdom.(d. 796)

1662 - Marie Louise D'Orleans, Queen consort of Spain as the first wife of King Carlos II, born in Paris, Kingdom of France (d. 1689)
1847 - Cleto Zavala, composer.
1884 - Marcelino Domingo, writer and politician.
1889 - Vicente Aleixandre, winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize for Literature, (Ambito, Bird of Paper) born in Sevilla (d. 1984)
1899 - Juana Mordó, art merchant.
1906 - Jose Maria de Llanos Pastor, a Jesuit priest and communist militant.
1931 - Marujita Díaz, actress and singer.
1934 - Manuel Zarzo, actor.
1936 - Llorenç Vidal Vidal, poet.
1951 - Tito Valverde, actor.
1956 - Imanol Arias, actor who was born as Manuel María Arias Domínguez, in Riaño, León.
1959 - Leonardo Dantés, singer, showman, composer and actor.
1966 - Javier Cano, writer from Murcia.
1967 - Kane, (Glenn Jacobs) Spanish-American wrestler and actor, born in Torrejón de Ardoz
1972 - Kiko Narváez, footballer. (Atlético Madrid), born in Jerez de la Frontera
1973 - Óscar García Junyent, footballer and coach
1987 - Jorge Andújar Moreno, footballer
1988 - Hazel Ann Mendoza, Spanish-Filipino actress

Deaths
1196 - Alfonso II el Casto, King of Aragón between 1162 and 1196.
1941 - Eduardo Toda, diplomat, archaeologist, Egyptologist and sinologist.
1974 - María Fernanda Ladrón de Guevara, actress
1995 - Luis Miravitlles, research scientist.
2004 - Francisca Méndez Garrido, «la Paquera de Jérez», flamenco singer
2010 - Alberto Vitoria, futballer (b. 1956).
2014 - Antonio Pica, Spanish actor (b. 1933)