Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date
Monday, January 26, 2026
Today is the 26th day of 2026. There are 339 days left in this year.
Notable Events
1654
Approximately 150 Jewish families of Portuguese background fled the city of Recife, Brazil. A number of these refugees established the first community of Jews in the future United States.
1736
Stanislaus I formally abdicated as King of Poland.
1784
In a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin expressed unhappiness over the eagle as the symbol of America. He wanted the turkey.
1788
The first European settlers in Australia, led by Capt. Arthur Phillip, landed in present-day Sydney.
1802
Congress passed an act calling for a library to be established within the U.S. Capitol.
1827
Peru seceded from Colombia in protest against Simón Bolívar's alleged tyranny.
1837
Michigan became the 26th state.
1838
The first Prohibition law in the United States was passed in Tennessee, making it a misdemeanor to sell alcoholic beverages in taverns and stores.
1841
Britain formally occupied Hong Kong, which the Chinese had ceded to the British.
1861
Louisiana seceded from the Union.
1870
Virginia rejoined the Union.
1875
A patent was granted to George F. Green of Kalamazoo, Michigan for the electric dentist's drill.
1905
The world's largest diamond, 3106 carats, was discovered at the Premier mine in Pretoria, South Africa. It weighed 114 pounds.
1911
The Richard Strauss opera "Der Rosenkavalier" premiered in Dresden, Germany.
1924
Petrograd is renamed Leningrad. Petrograd (1914-24) became Leningrad from 1924-1991, and was then renamed St. Petersburg.
1939
During the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona, the Republican capital of Spain, fell to the Nationalist forces of General Francisco Franco, who was aided by Italy.
1942
The first American expeditionary force to go to Europe during World War II went ashore in Northern Ireland.
1950
India officially proclaimed itself a republic as Rajendra Prasad took the oath of office as president.
1952
At least 20 people have been killed and hundreds injured in anti-British riots in Cairo.
1956
Buddy Holly has his first recording session at Decca Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.
1962
The United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon, but the probe missed its target by some 22,000 miles.
1965
Hindi was made the official language of India.
1969
Police wielding truncheons and firing tear gas from pressure canisters break up a march by hundreds of demonstrators in central Prague.
1983
The spreadsheet software Lotus 1-2-3 was released.
1988
The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Phantom of the Opera" opened at Broadway's Majestic Theater.
1993
Former Czechoslovak President Vaclav Havel was elected president of the new Czech Republic.
1996
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton testified before a grand jury connected to the Whitewater probe.
1998
President Clinton denied having an affair with a former White House intern, telling reporters, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
1999
President Clinton welcomed a frail Pope John Paul II in St. Louis as the pontiff began his seventh pilgrimage to the United States.
1999
King Hussein turned over temporary operation of Jordan to his eldest son and returned to the United States for urgent medical care.
2000
The grandmothers of Elian Gonzalez hugged and kissed the 6-year-old boy during a tense, 90-minute meeting in Miami Beach, Fla., that had been arranged by theU.S. government.
2001
A 7.7 earthquake in the state of Gujarat in India left more than 20,000 dead and severely damaged India's largest port, Kandla.
2004
President Hamid Karzai signed the new constitution of Afghanistan.
2005
Condoleezza Rice is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State, becoming the first African American woman to hold the post.
2006
Western Union discontinues use of its telegram service.
Notable Births
1880
Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Army General and Commander of Allied Forces, World War II.
1893
Bessie Coleman, first African American female aviator.
1925
Paul Newman, American Academy Award-winning actor, food entrepreneur.
1928
Roger Vadim, French film director.
1935
Bob Uecker, a former Major League Baseball player.
1955
Eddie Van Halen, a Dutch guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Van Halen.
1958
Ellen DeGeneres, American actress, comedian, and talk show host.
1961
Wayne Gretzky, Canadian-born hockey star.
Notable Deaths
1973
Edward G. Robinson, an American stage and film actor of Romanian origin.
1979
Nelson A. Rockefeller, American statesman and 41st Vice President, died in New York at age 70.
1984
Paul William Bryant (nicknamed "bear"), coach of American football.
1992
José Ferrer (born José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón), an actor and film director, born in the Santurce district of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2000
Tennis great Don Budge, who in 1938 became the first Grand Slam winner, died in Scranton, Pa., at age 84.