What happened on April 26

Capture of city in the Crusades

The Fall of Tripoli was the capture and destruction of the Crusader state of the County of Tripoli by the Mamluk Sultanate based in Cairo. The battle occurred in 1289 and was an important event in the Crusades, as it marked the capture of one of the few remaining major Crusader possessions. The event is depicted in a rare surviving illustration from a now-fragmentary manuscript known as the 'Cocharelli Codex', thought to have been created in Genoa in the 1330s.

Country in Western Europe (843–1792; 1815–1848)

The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from the High Middle Ages to 1848 during its dissolution. It was also an early colonial power, with colonies in Asia and Africa, and the largest being New France in North America geographically centred on the Great Lakes.

Italian scholar and poet (1304–1374)

Francis Petrarch was an Italian scholar and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest humanists.

Italian noble family in the Middle Ages

The Pazzi were a powerful family in the Republic of Florence. Their main trade during the fifteenth century was banking. In the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, members of the family were banished from Florence and their property was confiscated; the family name and coat-of-arms were permanently suppressed by order of the Signoria.

English playwright and poet (1564–1616)

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" or simply "the Bard".