January 26


January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are
339 days remaining (340 in leap years).

Events

   * 1340 - King Edward III of England is declared King of France
   * 1500 - Vicente Y‡–ez Pinz—n become the first European to discover
     Brazil.
   * 1531 - Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake-- thousands die
   * 1699 - Treaty of Carlowitz signed
   * 1736 - Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.
   * 1788 - Australia Day: First Fleet from Botany Bay led by Arthur Phillip
     land in what would become Sydney, Australia. They would establish the
     first permanent European settlement on the continent.
   * 1837 - Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
   * 1841 - The United Kingdom occupies Hong Kong.
   * 1861 - American Civil War: Louisiana secedes from the Union.
   * 1870 - American Civil War: Virginia rejoins the Union.
   * 1885 - Troops loyal to the Mahdi conquer Khartoum
   * 1887 - Battle of Dogali: Abyssinian troops defeat Italians
   * 1905 - The Cullinan diamond is found near Pretoria, South Africa at the
     Premier Mine.
   * 1911 - Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful seaplane.
   * 1934 - The Apollo Theatre opens in Harlem, New York City.
   * 1939 - Spanish Civil War: Troops loyal to Francisco Franco and aided by
     Italy take Barcelona.
   * 1942 - World War II: The first American forces arrive in Europe landing
     in Northern Ireland.
   * 1948 - President Harry S Truman signs Executive Order 9981, ending
     segregation in the United States Armed Forces
   * 1950 - India promulgates its constitution forming a republic and
     Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first president.
   * 1956 - 1956 Winter Olympic Games open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
   * 1961 - John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician.
     This is the first time a women held this appointment.
   * 1962 - Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later
     missed the moon by 22,000 miles.
   * 1965 - Hindi becomes the official language of India.
   * 1980 - Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations
   * 1983 - Lotus 1-2-3 is released
   * 1992 - Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia is going to stop targeting
     United States cities with nuclear weapons.
   * 1993 - Vaclav Havel elected President of the Czech Republic
   * 1994 - A man fires two blank shots at Charles, Prince of Wales in
     Sydney, Australia.
   * 1996 - Whitewater scandal: Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies before a
     grand jury.
   * 1998 - Lewinsky scandal: On American television, Bill Clinton denies he
     had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
   * 1998 - Compaq buys Digital Equipment Corporation
   * 2001 - A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar,
     Venezuela killing 24.
   * 2001 - An earthquake hits Gujarat, India. More than 20,000 deaths.

Births

   * 1781 - Achim von Arnim, poet (+ 1831)
   * 1826 - Louis Favre, engineer Gotthard tunnel (+ 1879)
   * 1826 - Julia Dent Grant, First Lady
   * 1831 - Mary Mapes Dodged, writer (+ 1907)
   * 1880 - Douglas MacArthur, general (+ 1964)
   * 1901 - Stuart Symington, politician (+ 1988)
   * 1904 - Ancel Keys, scientist
   * 1905 - Bernhard Minetti, actor
   * 1905 - Maria von Trapp, singer (+ 1987)
   * 1908 - StŽphane Grappelli, musician, composer (+ 1997)
   * 1918 - Nicolae Ceau?escu, Romanian dictator (+ 1989)
   * 1918 - Philip Jose Farmer, science fiction writer
   * 1923 - Anne Jeffreys, actress
   * 1925 - Paul Newman, actor
   * 1926 - Ralph Brance, baseball star
   * 1928 - Eartha Kitt, singer and actress
   * 1928 - Roger Vadim, French film director and actor (+ 2000)
   * 1929 - Jules Feiffer, cartoonist, writer
   * 1941 - Henry Jaglom, director
   * 1941 - Scott Glenn, actor
   * 1944 - Angela Davis, feminist and activist
   * 1945 - Jacqueline du PrŽ, cello player (+ 1987)
   * 1946 - Gene Siskel, film critic (+ 1999)
   * 1955 - Eddie Van Halen, musician
   * 1958 - Ellen DeGeneres, actress, comedienne
   * 1961 - Wayne Gretzky, ice hockey player
   * 1963 - Andrew Ridgeley, musician

Deaths

   * 1973 - Edward G. Robinson, actor
   * 1979 - Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York, Vice President of the
     United States
   * 1972 - Mahalia Jackson, gospel music singer
   * 1992 - JosŽ Ferrer, actor
   * 1993 - Jeanne SauvŽ, Governor-General of Canada
   * 2000 - A.E. van Vogt, science fiction author
   * 2000 - Don Budge, tennis player
   * 2003 - Valeriy Brumel, Soviet athlete

Holidays and observances

   * Roman Empire - third day of the Sementivae in honor of Ceres and Terra
   * Australia - Australia Day
   * Catholicism - Feast day of Ss. Timothy and Titus.
   * India - Republic Day