What happened on January 26? There are more than 284 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

Interesting Facts & Myths About January 26

January 26 In HistoryJanuary 26 is the 26th day of the year 2024. There are 340 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday. This day falls under the 4th week of the year 2024.

On this day in Springbrook, Iowa 52075 sunrise occured at 07:19 AM and sunset occured at 05:09 PM (local time).

The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aquarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Garnet while the mystical birthstone is Emerald.

According to the Chinese calendar, there are 15 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024).

Birthday curiousity Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the March 31 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)

Historical Events For January 26

  • 1500
    Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil.
  • 1531
    Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake--thousands die.
  • 1564
    The Council of Trent issues its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a 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.
  • 1565
    Battle of Talikota, fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Islamic sultanates of the Deccan, leads to the subjugation, and eventual destruction of the last Hindu kingdom in India, and the consolidation of Islamic rule over much of the Indian subcontinent.
  • 1589
    Job is elected as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
  • 1699
    Treaty of Carlowitz is signed.
  • 1700
    The magnitude 9 Cascadia Earthquake takes place off the west coast of the North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.
  • 1736
    Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.
  • 1788
    The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on the continent. Commemorated as Australia Day
  • 1808
    Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia.
  • 1837
    Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
  • 1838
    Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States
  • 1841
    The United Kingdom formally occupies Hong Kong, which China later formally cedes.
  • 1855
    Point No Point Treaty is signed in Washington Territory.
  • 1856
    First Battle of Seattle. Marines from the USS Decatur drive off American Indian attackers after all day battle with settlers.
  • 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 Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
  • 1870
    American Civil War: Virginia rejoins the Union.
  • 1885
    Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum.
  • 1905
    The world’s largest diamond ever, the Cullinan weighing 3106.75 carat, is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
  • 1907
    The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III is officially introduced into British Military Service, and remains the second oldest military rifle still in official use.
  • 1911
    Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane.
  • 1911
    Richard Strauss’ opera Der Rosenkavalier receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
  • 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.
  • 1920
    Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
  • 1924
    Saint Petersburg, Russia, is renamed Leningrad.
  • 1930
    The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj (Complete Independence) which occurred 20 years later.
  • 1933
    New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Water Rooster in Chinese astrology.
  • 1934
    German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact is signed.
  • 1934
    The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
  • 1939
    Spanish Civil War: 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: The Red Army begins encircling the German Fourth Army near Heiligenbeil in East Prussia, which will end in destruction of the 4th Army two months later.
  • 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 its 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.
  • 1958
    Japanese ferry Nankai Maru capsizes off southern Awaji Island, Japan, 167 killed.
  • 1960
    Danny Heater sets a worldwide high school basketball scoring record when he records 135 points for Burnsville High School (West Virginia)
  • 1961
    John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician. This is the first time a woman holds this appointment.
  • 1962
    Ranger program: Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later misses the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
  • 1965
    Hindi becomes the official language of India.
  • 1966
    The Beaumont Children go missing from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia.
  • 1978
    The Great Blizzard of 1978, a rare severe blizzard with the lowest non-tropical atmospheric pressure ever recorded in the US, strikes the Ohio – Great Lakes region with heavy snow and winds up to 100 mph (161 km/h).
  • 1980
    Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
  • 1991
    Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.
  • 1992
    Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.
  • 1998
    Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had “sexual relations” with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
  • 2001
    An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 20,000 deaths.
  • 2004
    A whale explodes in the town of Tainan, Taiwan. A build-up of gas in the decomposing sperm whale is suspected of causing the explosion.
  • 2004
    President Hamid Karzai signs the new constitution of Afghanistan.
  • 2005
    Glendale train crash: Two trains derail killing 11 and injuring 200 in Glendale, California, near Los Angeles.
  • 2009
    Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina.

Who Were Born On January 26?

  • 1497
    Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (d. 1557)
  • 1541
    Florent Chrestien, French writer (d. 1596)
  • 1714
    Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (d. 1785)
  • 1716
    George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, British soldier and politician (d. 1785)
  • 1722
    Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (d. 1805)
  • 1763
    Charles XIV John of Sweden, Napoleonic general (d. 1844)
  • 1781
    Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet (d. 1831)
  • 1813
    Juan Pablo Duarte, Dominican founding father (d. 1876)
  • 1826
    Julia Dent-Grant, First Lady of the United States (d. 1902)
  • 1832
    George Shiras Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice (d. 1924)
  • 1842
    François Coppée, French poet and novelist (d. 1908)
  • 1852
    Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà), explorer (d. 1905)
  • 1864
    József Pusztai, Slovene writer, poet and journalist in Hungary (d. 1934)
  • 1878
    Dave Nourse, South African cricketer (d. 1948)
  • 1880
    Douglas MacArthur, American general and Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
  • 1885
    Michael Considine, Australian politician (d. 1959)
  • 1887
    François Faber, Luxembourgian cyclist (d. 1915)
  • 1887
    Marc Mitscher, American admiral (d. 1947)
  • 1891
    August Froehlich, German Roman Catholic priest, member of the resistance against Nazism and martyr (d.1942)
  • 1891
    Frank Costello, Italian-born American gangster (d. 1973)
  • 1891
    Wilder Penfield, American-born Canadian neurosurgeon (d. 1976)
  • 1892
    Bessie Coleman, American pioneer aviator (d. 1926)
  • 1892
    Zara Cully, American actress (d. 1978)
  • 1893
    Giuseppe Genco Russo, Sicilian mafioso (d. 1976)
  • 1900
    Karl Ristenpart, German conductor (d. 1967)
  • 1902
    Menno ter Braak, Dutch author and polemicist (d. 1940)
  • 1904
    Ancel Keys, American scientist (d. 2004)
  • 1904
    Seán MacBride, Irish statesman, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988)
  • 1905
    Charles Lane, American actor (d. 2007)
  • 1905
    Maria von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (d. 1987)
  • 1908
    Jill Esmond, English actress (d. 1990)
  • 1908
    Rupprecht Geiger, German painter (d. 2009)
  • 1908
    Stéphane Grappelli, French jazz violinist (d. 1997)
  • 1910
    Jean Image, Hungarian-born French animator (d. 1989)
  • 1911
    Norbert Schultze, German composer and songwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1911
    Polykarp Kusch, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1993)
  • 1913
    Jimmy Van Heusen, American songwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1914
    Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar (d. 2006)
  • 1915
    William Hopper, American actor (d. 1970)
  • 1918
    Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romanian dictator (d. 1989)
  • 1918
    Philip José Farmer, American writer (d. 2009)
  • 1919
    Bill Nicholson, English footballer and manager for Tottenham Hotspur. (d. 2004)
  • 1919
    Valentino Mazzola, Italian footballer (d. 1949)
  • 1920
    Hans Holzer, American paranormal researcher (d. 2009)
  • 1921
    Akio Morita, Japanese businessman (d. 1999)
  • 1921
    Eddie Barclay, French producer (Barclay Records) (d. 2005)
  • 1922
    Michael Bentine, British comedian (d. 1996)
  • 1922
    Seán Flanagan, Irish Gaelic footballer and politician (d. 1993)
  • 1923
    Anne Jeffreys, American actress
  • 1924
    Alice Babs, Swedish singer
  • 1924
    Annette Strauss, American philanthropist and politician (d. 1998)
  • 1924
    Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot politician
  • 1925
    Claude Ryan, Canadian newspaper editor (d. 2004)
  • 1925
    Joan Leslie, American actress
  • 1925
    Paul Newman, American actor, philanthropist, race car driver and race team owner (d. 2008)
  • 1926
    Farman Fatehpuri, Pakistani scholar
  • 1927
    Bob Nieman, American baseball player (d. 1985)
  • 1927
    José Azcona del Hoyo, President of Honduras (d. 2005)
  • 1928
    Roger Vadim, French film director and actor (d. 2000)
  • 1929
    Gordon Solie, American wrestling commentator (d. 2000)
  • 1929
    Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist and writer
  • 1930
    Napoleón Abueva, Filipino sculptor
  • 1931
    Mary Murphy, American film actress
  • 1932
    Coxsone Dodd, Jamaican record producer
  • 1932
    George Clements, American civil rights activist and Roman Catholic priest
  • 1933
    Ercole Baldini, Italian cyclist
  • 1934
    Roger Landry, Canadian businessman and newspaper publisher
  • 1935
    Bob Uecker, American baseball player and broadcaster
  • 1935
    Corrado Augias, Italian journalist, writer and TV personality
  • 1936
    Sal Buscema, American comic book artist
  • 1937
    Joseph Saidu Momoh, Sierra Leone political leader (d. 2003)
  • 1941
    Henry Jaglom, English director
  • 1941
    Scott Glenn, American actor
  • 1942
    Souad Hosni, Egyptian actress (d. 2001)
  • 1943
    Austin “Jack” Warner, Trinidadian FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President
  • 1943
    César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2005)
  • 1943
    Jean Knight, American singer
  • 1944
    Angela Davis, American feminist and activist
  • 1945
    Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
  • 1946
    Gene Siskel, American film critic (d. 1999)
  • 1947
    Michel Sardou, French singer
  • 1947
    Patrick Dewaere, French actor (d. 1982)
  • 1949
    David Strathairn, American actor
  • 1949
    Jonathan Carroll, American author
  • 1950
    Jörg Haider, Austrian far-right politician (d. 2008)
  • 1950
    Janet Lupo, American model
  • 1951
    Walt Willey, American actor
  • 1953
    Alik L. Alik, vice-president of the Federate States of Micronesie
  • 1953
    Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General of NATO
  • 1953
    Lucinda Williams, American singer
  • 1954
    Kim Hughes, Australian cricketer
  • 1955
    Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American musician (Van Halen)
  • 1958
    Anita Baker, American singer
  • 1958
    Ellen DeGeneres, American actress and comedian
  • 1958
    Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer
  • 1960
    Charlie Gillingham, American musician (Counting Crows)
  • 1960
    Road Warrior Animal, American professional wrestler
  • 1961
    Li Cunxin, Chinese-Australian ballet dancer
  • 1961
    Tom Keifer, American musician (Cinderella)
  • 1961
    Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1962
    Oscar Ruggeri, Argentine footballer
  • 1963
    Andrew Ridgeley, English musician
  • 1963
    Gisela Valcarcel, Peruvian Hostess
  • 1963
    José Mourinho, Portuguese football manager
  • 1963
    Riddell Akua, Nauruan politician
  • 1964
    Paul Johansson, American actor
  • 1964
    Peter Braunstein, American journalist, writer, playwright, and rapist
  • 1965
    Natalia Yurchenko, Soviet gymnast
  • 1965
    Thomas Östros, Swedish politician
  • 1967
    Pradip Somasundaran, Indian playback singer
  • 1968
    Ravi Teja, Tollywood film actor
  • 1969
    Michael O'Hearn, American bodybuilder
  • 1970
    Kirk Franklin, American gospel singer
  • 1970
    Tracy Middendorf, American actress
  • 1971
    Bryan Callen, American actor
  • 1971
    Dorian Gregory, American actor
  • 1973
    Mayu Shinjo, Japanese manga artist
  • 1973
    Melvil Poupaud, French actor
  • 1974
    Shannon Hale, American author
  • 1975
    Frankie Rayder, American model
  • 1976
    Hitomi, Japanese singer and songwriter
  • 1976
    Willie Adler, American guitar player
  • 1977
    Justin Gimelstob, American tennis player
  • 1977
    Tye Tribbett, American Singer
  • 1977
    Vince Carter, American basketball player
  • 1978
    Corina Morariu, American tennis player
  • 1978
    Estéban Germán, Dominican baseball player
  • 1978
    Kelly Stables, American actress
  • 1979
    Sara Rue, American actress
  • 1980
    Brian Fallon, American musician (The Gaslight Anthem)
  • 1980
    Sanae Kobayashi, Japanese voice actress
  • 1981
    Gustavo Dudamel, Venezuelan Composer/Conductor
  • 1981
    Juan Jose Haedo, Argentinian Cyclist
  • 1982
    Brahim Takioullah, Moroccan Guiness World Records holder for the “World’s largest feet”
  • 1982
    Reggie Hodges, American football player
  • 1983
    Petri Oravainen, Finnish footballer
  • 1983
    Su Hwan Lee, South Korean footballer
  • 1984
    Iain Turner, Scottish footballer
  • 1984
    Layla Kayleigh, British television personality
  • 1984
    Luo Xuejuan, Chinese swimmer
  • 1984
    Wu Qian, Chinese classical pianist
  • 1986
    Gerald Green, American basketball player
  • 1986
    Hero, South Korean singer (TVXQ)
  • 1986
    Matt Heafy, American musician (Trivium)
  • 1986
    Shantelle Malawski, Canadian professional wrestler
  • 1986
    Thiago Pereira, Brazilian swimmer
  • 1987
    Marlon Mario Brandao da Silveira, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987
    Mia Rose, English/Portuguese singer
  • 1987
    Vladimir Garin, Russian actor (d. 2003)
  • 1988
    Yukiyo Mine, Japanese footballer
  • 1989
    Emily Hughes, American figure skater
  • 1989
    Marshon Brooks, American basketball player
  • 1990
    Christopher Massey, American actor
  • 1990
    Sergio Pérez, Mexican racing driver
  • 1993
    Cameron Bright, Canadian actor
  • 1993
    Peter Čerešňák, Slovak ice hockey player
  • 1996
    Tyger Drew-Honey, British actor

Who Died On January 26?

  • 946
    Eadgyth, German Queen (b. 910)
  • 1567
    Nicholas Wotton, English diplomat
  • 1630
    Henry Briggs, English mathematician (b. 1556)
  • 1636
    Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul, French diplomat (b. 1552)
  • 1697
    Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician (b. 1640)
  • 1744
    Ludwig Andreas Graf Khevenhüller, Austrian field marshal (b. 1683)
  • 1750
    Albert Schultens, Dutch philologist (b. 1686)
  • 1795
    Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German composer (b. 1732)
  • 1799
    Gabriel Christie, British general (b. 1722)
  • 1823
    Edward Jenner, English physician (b. 1749)
  • 1824
    Théodore Géricault, French painter (b. 1791)
  • 1831
    Sangolli Rayanna, freedom fighter from Karnataka, India (b. 1798)
  • 1855
    Gérard de Nerval, French writer (b. 1808)
  • 1869
    Duncan Gordon Boyes, English recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1846)
  • 1870
    Victor de Broglie, French statesman and diplomat (b. 1785)
  • 1885
    Charles George ‘Chinese’Gordon, British general (b. 1833)
  • 1885
    Edward Davy, English inventor (b. 1806)
  • 1886
    David Rice Atchison, American politician (b. 1807)
  • 1891
    Nikolaus August Otto, German inventor (b. 1833)
  • 1893
    Abner Doubleday, American military figure, and credited inventor of baseball (b. 1819)
  • 1904
    Whitaker Wright, English mining tycoon (b. 1846)
  • 1926
    John Flannagan, American educator
  • 1932
    William Wrigley Jr., American industrialist (b. 1861)
  • 1933
    Alva Belmont, American socialite (b. 1853)
  • 1942
    Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician (b. 1868)
  • 1943
    Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenicist (b. 1880)
  • 1943
    Nikolai Vavilov, Russian botanist (b. 1887)
  • 1946
    Adriaan van Maanen, Dutch-American astronomer (b. 1884)
  • 1947
    Grace Moore, American soprano (b. 1898)
  • 1947
    Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, (b. 1906)
  • 1948
    John Lomax, American musicologist and folklorist (b. 1867)
  • 1952
    Khorloogiin Choibalsan, leader of Mongolia (b. 1895)
  • 1953
    Athanase David, Canadian politician and businessman (b. 1882)
  • 1961
    Stan Nichols, English cricketer (b. 1900)
  • 1962
    Lucky Luciano, American mobster (b. 1897)
  • 1963
    H. S. Lloyd, British dog breeder (b. 1887)
  • 1968
    Merrill C. Meigs, American newspaper publisher (b. 1883)
  • 1968
    Yvor Winters, American poet (b. 1900)
  • 1973
    Edward G. Robinson, American actor (b. 1893)
  • 1973
    Jay C. Higginbotham, American musician (b. 1906)
  • 1976
    João Branco Núncio, Portuguese Bullfighter (b. 1901)
  • 1979
    Nelson Rockefeller, American politician - 41st Vice President of the United States (b. 1908)
  • 1983
    Paul “Bear” Bryant, American football coach (b. 1913)
  • 1990
    Bob Gerard, British racing driver (b. 1914)
  • 1990
    Lewis Mumford, American historian (b. 1895)
  • 1992
    José Ferrer, Puerto Rican actor (b. 1912)
  • 1993
    Jan Gies, Dutch resistance leader (b. 1905)
  • 1993
    Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian politician (b. 1922)
  • 1993
    Robert Jacobsen, Danish artist (b. 1912)
  • 1996
    Dave Schultz, American wrestler (b. 1959)
  • 1996
    Frank Howard, American college football player and coach (b. 1909)
  • 1996
    Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg, (b. 1921)
  • 1996
    Harold Brodkey, American author (b. 1930)
  • 1996
    Henry Lewis, American musician and conductor (b. 1932)
  • 1996
    Stevie Plunder, Australian musician (b. 1963)
  • 1997
    Jeane Dixon, American astrologer (b. 1904)
  • 1998
    Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese music teacher (b. 1898)
  • 2000
    A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-born author (b. 1912)
  • 2000
    Don Budge, American tennis player (b. 1915)
  • 2000
    Kathleen Hale, British author (b. 1898)
  • 2001
    Al McGuire, American basketball coach (b. 1928)
  • 2003
    George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, British politician (b. 1931)
  • 2003
    Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, English historian (b. 1917)
  • 2003
    Valeriy Brumel, Soviet track-and-field athlete (b. 1942)
  • 2004
    Fred Haas, American golfer (b. 1916)
  • 2006
    Carol Lambrino, son of Carol II of Romania and Zizi Lambrino (b. 1920)
  • 2006
    Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Pakistani politician and statesman (b. 1917)
  • 2006
    Len Carlson, Canadian actor (b. 1937)
  • 2007
    Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
  • 2007
    Hans J. Wegner, Danish furniture designer (b. 1914)
  • 2008
    Christian Brando, American actor; son of Marlon Brando (b. 1958)
  • 2008
    Viktor Schreckengost, American industrial designer (b. 1906)
  • 2011
    Charlie Louvin, American musician (b. 1927)
  • 2011
    Gladys Horton, American musician and singer, member of the group The Marvelettes (b. 1944)

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