January 26

Events

Pre-1600

* 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph.
*1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people.
*1564 – The Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
*1564 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tsardom of Russia in the Battle of Ula during the Livonian War.

1601–1900

*1699 – For the first time, the Ottoman Empire permanently cedes territory to the Christian powers.
*1700 – The 8.7–9.2 Cascadia earthquake takes place off the west coast of North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.
* 1788 – The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on Australia. Commemorated as Australia Day.
*1808 – The Rum Rebellion is the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in New South Wales.
* 1837 – Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
*1841 – James Bremer takes formal possession of Hong Kong Island at what is now Possession Point, establishing British Hong Kong.Base closure to end Royal Navy's Far East presence
, Associated Press, 4 November 1997
* 1855 – Point No Point Treaty is signed in Washington Territory.
* 1856 – First Battle of Seattle: Marines from the drive off American Indian attackers after all-day battle with settlers.Walt Crowley and David Wilma
Native Americans attack Seattle on January 26, 1856
HistoryLink.org, February 15, 2003. Retrieved November 2, 2006.
* 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union.
*1863 – American Civil War: General Ambrose Burnside is relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac after the disastrous Fredericksburg campaign. He is replaced by Joseph Hooker.
* 1863 – American Civil War: Governor of Massachusetts John Albion Andrew receives permission from the Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
*1870 – Reconstruction Era: Virginia is readmitted to the Union.
* 1885 – Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum, killing the Governor-General Charles George Gordon.

1901–present

* 1905 – The world's largest diamond ever, the Cullinan, which weighs , is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
* 1915 – The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
* 1918 – Finnish Civil War: A group of Red Guards hangs a red lantern atop the tower of Helsinki Workers' Hall to symbolically mark the start of the war.
* 1926 – The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird.
* 1930 – The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj ("Complete Independence") which occurred 17 years later.
* 1934 – The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
* 1934 – German–Polish declaration of non-aggression is signed.
* 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
* 1942 – World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe, landing in Northern Ireland.
* 1945 – World War II: Audie Murphy displays valor and bravery in action for which he will later be awarded the Medal of Honor.
* 1949 – The Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory sees first light under the direction of Edwin Hubble, becoming the largest aperture optical telescope (until BTA-6 is built in 1976).
* 1950 – The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as the first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India.
* 1952 – Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* 1956 – Soviet Union cedes Porkkala back to Finland.
* 1962 – Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
* 1966 – The three Beaumont children disappear from a beach in Glenelg, South Australia, resulting in one of the country's largest-ever police investigations.
* 1972 – JAT Flight 367 is destroyed by a terrorist bomb, killing 27 of the 28 people on board the DC-9. Flight attendant Vesna Vulović survives with critical injuries.
* 1974 – Turkish Airlines Flight 301 crashes during takeoff from Izmir Cumaovası Airport (now İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport), killing 66 of the 73 people on board the Fokker F28 Fellowship.
* 1986 – The Ugandan government of Tito Okello is overthrown by the National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni.
* 1991 – Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.
* 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
* 2001 – The 7.7 Gujarat earthquake shakes Western India, leaving 13,805–20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured.
*2001 – Diane Whipple, a lacrosse coach, is killed in a dog attack in San Francisco, which clarified the meaning of implied malice murder.
* 2009 – Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina.
* 2009 – Nadya Suleman gives birth to the world's first surviving octuplets.
* 2015 – An aircraft crashes at Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete, Spain, killing 11 people and injuring 21 others.
* 2015 – Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) recaptures the city of Kobanî from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), marking a turning point in the Siege of Kobanî.
* 2020 – A Sikorsky S-76B flying from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport crashes in Calabasas, 30 miles west of Los Angeles, killing all nine people on board, including former five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant.
* 2021 – Protesters and farmers storm the Red Fort near Delhi, clashing with police. One protester is killed and more than 80 police officers are injured.

Births

Pre-1600

* 183 – Lady Zhen, wife of Cao Pi (d. 221)
*1541 – Florent Chrestien, French poet and translator (d. 1596)
* 1549 – Jakob Ebert, German theologian (d. 1614)
*1582 – Giovanni Lanfranco, Italian painter (d. 1647)

1601–1900

* 1657 – William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1737)
* 1714 – Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor and educator (d. 1785)
* 1715 – Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d. 1771)
*1716 – George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1785)
*1722 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish minister and author (d. 1805)
* 1763 – Charles XIV John of Sweden (d. 1844)
* 1781 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (d. 1831)
* 1813 – Juan Pablo Duarte, Dominican philosopher and poet (d. 1876)
*1824 – Emil Czyrniański, Polish chemist (d. 1888)
* 1832 – George Shiras, Jr., American lawyer and jurist (d. 1924)
* 1842 – François Coppée, French poet and author (d. 1908)
* 1852 – Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, Italian-French explorer (d. 1905)
* 1857 – 12th Dalai Lama (d. 1875)
* 1861 – Louis Anquetin, French painter (d. 1932)
* 1864 – József Pusztai, Slovene-Hungarian poet and journalist (d. 1934)
* 1866 – John Cady, American golfer (d. 1933)
*1877 – Kees van Dongen, Dutch painter (d. 1968)Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Base Léonore, Archives Nationales, Culture.gouv.fr
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* 1878 – Dave Nourse, English-South African cricketer and coach (d. 1948)
* 1880 – Douglas MacArthur, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
* 1885 – Michael Considine, Irish-Australian politician (d. 1959)
* 1885 – Harry Ricardo, English engineer and academic (d. 1974)
* 1885 – Per Thorén, Swedish figure skater (d. 1962)
* 1887 – François Faber, French-Luxembourgian cyclist (d. 1915)
* 1887 – Marc Mitscher, American admiral and pilot (d. 1947)
* 1887 – Dimitris Pikionis, Greek architect and academic (d. 1968)
*1891 – Frank Costello, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1973)
* 1891 – August Froehlich, German priest and martyr (d. 1942)
* 1891 – Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian neurosurgeon and academic (d. 1976)
* 1892 – Bessie Coleman, American pilot (d. 1926)
* 1893 – Giuseppe Genco Russo, Italian mob boss (d. 1976)
*1899 – Günther Reindorff, Russian-Estonian graphic designer and illustrator (d. 1974)
* 1900 – Karl Ristenpart, German conductor (d. 1967)

1901–present

*1902 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (d. 1940)
* 1904 – Ancel Keys, American physiologist and nutritionist (d. 2004)
* 1904 – Seán MacBride, Irish lawyer and politician, Irish Minister for External Affairs Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
* 1905 – Charles Lane, American actor and singer (d. 2007)
* 1905 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 1987)
* 1907 – Dimitrios Holevas, Greek priest and philologist (d. 2001)
*1908 – Jill Esmond, English actress (d. 1990)
* 1908 – Rupprecht Geiger, German painter and sculptor (d. 2009)
* 1908 – Stéphane Grappelli, French violinist (d. 1997)
*1910 – Jean Image, Hungarian-French animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
* 1911 – Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
* 1911 – Norbert Schultze, German composer and conductor (d. 2002)
* 1913 – Jimmy Van Heusen, American pianist and composer (d. 1990)
* 1914 – Dürrüşehvar Sultan, Imperial Princess of the Ottoman Empire (d. 2006)
* 1915 – William Hopper, American actor (d. 1970)
* 1917 – Louis Zamperini, American runner and captain (d. 2014)
* 1918 – Philip José Farmer, American author (d. 2009)
* 1919 – Valentino Mazzola, Italian footballer (d. 1949)
* 1919 – Bill Nicholson, English footballer and manager (d. 2004)
* 1919 – Hyun Soong-jong

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