Famous Events For January 26 – Today In History

January 26: Today in History – Historical Events

Early Centuries – January 26 Historic Events – Before the 1700s

1. 26th Jan 1340: English King Edward III was on this day proclaimed as King of France.
2. 26th Jan 1482: The Jewish Bible “Pentateuch” was first printed as a book in Bologna, Italy on this day.
3. 26th Jan 1531: A massive earthquake strikes Lisbon killing over 30,000 people.
4. 26th Jan 1564: The difference between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism was established with the Council of Trent issuing its conclusions in Tridentinum.
5. 26th Jan 1666: France on this day declared war on England and Munster.
6. 26th Jan 1697: Physicist and Mathematician Isaac Newton on this day received Bernoulli’s 6-month time limit problem. He solved the problem on the same night before going to bed.

18th Century – What Happened on January 26 – The 1700s

7. 26th Jan 1700: Japanese evidence indicates a magnitude 9 Cascadia Earthquake on the west coast of North America.
8. 26th Jan 1748: An anti-French treaty was signed between Britain, Netherlands, Austria and Sardinia.
9. 26th Jan 1784: United States’ founding father Benjamin Franklin expressed his unhappiness about the Eagle being America’s symbol.
10. 26th Jan 1788: The Union flag was hoisted in Sydney Cove, New South Whales by Captain Arthur Phillip and British Colonists on this day. It is now celebrated as Australia Day.

19th Century – January 26 This Day That Year – The 1800s

11. 26th Jan 1802: Congress on this day passed an act calling for the US Capitol Library.
12. 26th Jan 1837: On this day Michigan was admitted as the 26th state of the United States of America.
13. 26th Jan 1838: Alcohol was prohibited in Tennessee on this day. It became the first state to do so.
14. 26th Jan 1841: Hong Kong this day was proclaimed as a Sovereign territory of Britain.
15. 26th Jan 1850: On this day the first German-language daily newspaper in the United States was published in New York City.
16. 26th Jan 1861: Louisiana became the 6th state to secede from the Union.
17. 26th Jan 1862: Abraham Lincoln issued a general war order #1 calling for a Union offensive on this day which was ignored by McClellan.
18. 26th Jan 1863: It was on this day that the war department authorized Mass governor to recruit black troops.
19. 26th Jan 1863: President Abraham Lincoln named General Joseph Hooker as commander of the Army of Potomac, replacing Burnside.
20. 26th Jan 1863: On this day 54 Regiment (Black) infantry was formed.

21. 26th Jan 1870: Virginia reunites with the US on this day.
22. 26th Jan 1871: On this day income tax was repealed in the US.
23. 26th Jan 1875: Gorge F Green on this day patented the electric dental drill.
24. 26th Jan 1886: On this day Karl Benz patented his first automobile.

20th Century – Important Events On This Day January 26th – The 1900s

25. 26th Jan 1907: The US Congress passed the Tillman Act. The act prohibited corporations from making direct campaign contributions to federal election candidates. It was named after Senator Benjamin Tillman, a Democrat from South Carolina.
26. 26th Jan 1910: Heavy rains caused floods in Paris on this day.
27. 26th Jan 1911: Hydroplane was successfully piloted by Glen Curtis for the first time in San Diego.
28. 26th Jan 1913: Jim Thorpe turned professional and relinquished his Olympic gold medals on this day.
29. 26th Jan 1915: On this day President Woodrow Wilson signed the Rocky Mountain National Park Act. The 415 Sq miles park, northwest of Denver attracted 31,000 visitors in the first year.
30. 26th Jan 1918: US President Herbert Hoover calls for meatless and wheatless days for the war effort.

31. 26th Jan 1920: Henry Leland, a former Ford Motor Company executive launches Lincoln Motor Company. He later sold it to his former employer.
32. 26th Jan 1926: John Logie Baird held the first public demonstration of Television in his laboratory in London.
33. 26th Jan 1929: Frances Orlando was taken to the Bush Police Station by San Francisco police because she was dressed in men’s clothing.
34. 26th Jan 1929: The Indian National Congress on this day proclaimed its goal for India’s independence on this day.
35. 26th Jan 1930: The 52-storied Cleveland Terminal Towers opens on this day.
36. 26th Jan 1931: A peace treaty was signed between Hungary and Austria on this day.
37. 26th Jan 1932: The British submarine M-2 sank in the channel killing 60 people.
38. 26th Jan 1934: Germany on this day signed a ten-year non-aggression pact with Poland, breaking the French Alliance system.
39. 26th Jan 1939: Barcelona was on this day conquered by Franco.
40. 26th Jan 1939: The Federal Hall National Monument was established on this day.
41. 26th Jan 1940: Italy lends works by Botticelli, Raphael, and Michelangelo to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

42. 26th Jan 1940: Polish Jews were on this day forbidden by the Nazis to travel by train.
43. 26th Jan 1942: During World War II, the first expeditionary force to go to Europe went ashore in Northern Ireland.
44. 26th Jan 1942: The Italian Supreme Command demanded the removal of German Marshall Rommel.
45. 26th Jan 1945: The Soviet troops reach the Auschwitz concentration camp on this day.
46. 26th Jan 1947: A Dakota aircraft belonging to KLM crashed near Copenhagen. 22 people died in the crash.
47. 26th Jan 1948: Executive order #9981 to end segregation in the U.S. Armed forces was signed on this day.
48. 26th Jan 1950: India became a Republic on this day. It ceased to be a British dominion.
49. 26th Jan 1950: The constitution of India goes into effect on this day.
50. 26th Jan 1952: There were anti-British riots in Cairo. At least 20 people lost their lives and about 100 were injured during the riots.
51. 26th Jan 1954: On this day groundbreaking for Disney Land began.
52. 26th Jan 1956: U.S.S.R. returns Porkkala military base to Finland on this day.
53. 26th Jan 1956: The 7th Winter Olympic Games opened in Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy on this day.

54. 26th Jan 1957: India annexes Kashmir.
55. 26th Jan 1957: The Dutch Pacifist Socialist Party was formed on this day.
56. 26th Jan 1958: Moshe Dayan was replaced by H Laskow as Israeli minister of Defense.
57. 26th Jan 1958: The Japanese ferry “Nankai Maru” capsized off Awaji island in Japan killing 167 people.
58. 26th Jan 1959: The Fanfani government in Italy resigns.
59. 26th Jan 1959: In the 47th Australian women’s championship Mary Carter Reitano beats Renee Schuurman Haygrath in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
60. 26th Jan 1959: In the 47th men’s Australian championship, Alex Olmedo beat Neale Fraser in four sets: 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
61. 26th Jan 1962: Ranger 3 was launched on this day by the US. It missed the moon by 22000 miles.
62. 26th Jan 1962: On this day the Canadian Marine Service was renamed as Coast Guard.
63. 26th Jan 1965: There was a Military Coup in South Korea under General Nguyen Khanh.
64. 26th Jan 1966: World record was created in 1500 m skating on this day when Ard Schenk skates the distance in 2:06.2.
65. 26th Jan 1967: A nuclear test was performed by U.S.S.R. Sary Shagan in U.S.S.R. on this day.
66. 26th Jan 1968: An Israeli submarine Dakar, crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. 69 people were killed.
67. 26th Jan 1971: The law against the limitation of war crimes was accepted on this day by the Dutch 2nd Chamber.
68. 26th Jan 1972: Stewardess Vesna Vulovic fell 10,160 meters without a parachute and she survived the fall.

69. 26th Jan 1973: Leburton forms a government on this day in Belgium.
70. 26th Jan 1976: An amnesty campaign for war criminals was started by Belgium’s Catholic Elite.
71. 26th Jan 1976: Israel opens “Good Fence” to Lebanon.
72. 26th Jan 1978: Strikers go on a riot in Tunisia killing about 40 people.
73. 26th Jan 1978: An international Ultraviolet explorer was placed in the earth’s orbit.
74. 26th Jan 1978: Mario Spores forms government in Portugal.
75. 26th Jan 1980: Diplomatic relations were established between Israel and Egypt.
76. 26th Jan 1980: Mary Decker ran a mile in less than 4 ½ minutes and became the first woman to do so.
77. 26th Jan 1982: Finland elects Mauno Koivisto as its President.
78. 26th Jan 1982: The unemployed population in the UK rises above 3 million, for the first time since 1930.
79. 26th Jan 1983: A Dutch/British Infrared satellite IRAF was launched from Calif.
80. 26th Jan 1984: The US Navy exhibits Piasecki heliostat-4 helicopters and a blimp able to lift 26 tons at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
81. 26th Jan 1986: In India the general congregation of sikh people, Sarbat Khalsa was convened on this day at the Akal Takht at Amritsar. The gathering passed a resolution favoring the creation of Khalistan giving rise to a militant sikh movement.

82. 26th Jan 1989: On this day L Douglas Wilder the lieutenant Governor of Virginia launched a campaign successfully to become the first black governor of the U.S. state.
83. 26th Jan 1990: The attorneys of deposed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega challenged the jurisdiction of US courts to try him on drug trafficking charges. They said he should be treated as a prisoner of war.
84. 26th Jan 1991: 200000 to 300000 people nationwide demonstrated either for or against Operation Desert Storm.
85. 26th Jan 1991: There was a shooting spree in a Taco Bell restaurant in Irving, Texas. Four people were killed in the shooting.
86. 26th Jan 1991: To curb economic crime, Soviet President Gorbachev granted KGB and Soviet Interior Ministry sweeping powers to search and seize.
87. 26th Jan 1992: Five children died in an apartment fire in Cincinnati Ohio. The fire was set by William Garner in an attempt to hide evidence of burglary. He was later convicted of murder and executed.
88. 26th Jan 1993: On this day the Secretary General of the UN Boutros Boutros-Ghali called on the security council to take whatever measures necessary to compel Israel to readmit 400 deported Palestinians
89. 26th Jan 1994: The Belarus Parliament ousted its reform-minded leader, Stanislav Shushkevich, in protest of his support of market economics.
90. 26th Jan 1996: On this day First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton testified in connection with the whitewater probe before the grand jury.
91. 26th Jan 1997: In the Australian Open championship Pete Sampras beat Carlos Moya 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
92. 26th Jan 1998: President Bill Clinton on this day reiterated that he did not have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky.

21st Century – January 26 This Day In History – The 2000s

93. 26th Jan 2001: There was a massive earthquake in Bhuj in India. The whole town was razed to the ground and 20,000 people were killed.
94. 26th Jan 2011: After a suicide bombing in Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport killed 35 people and injured 130, top airport security officials were fired.
95. 26th Jan 2011: The 41st World Economic Forum was convened on this day at Davos in Switzerland.
96. 26th Jan 2012: The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbot were trapped in a restaurant in Canberra by 200 protesters on Australia Day.
97. 26th Jan 2013: Victoria Azarenka wins the women’s singles event beating Li Na in the final.
98. 26th Jan 2014: Xu Zhiyong, a Chinese legal activist was on this day sentenced to four years in prison on charges of gathering a crowd to disturb public order.

99. 26th Jan 2014: Stanislas Wawrinka beats Rafael Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open Championship finals. This was his first grand slam title.
100. 26th Jan 2015: Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Coalition of Radical Left Party(SYRIZA) was elected as the Prime Minister of Greece on an anti-austerity platform.

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