What Happened on January 26th in History
30 historical events on this date
The world's largest diamond ever, the Cullinan, which weighs 3,106.75 carats (0.621350Â kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
Diamond is a mineral form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is a tasteless, odorless, strong, brittle solid, a poor conductor of...
The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
Rocky Mountain National Park is a national park of the United States located approximately 55Â mi (89Â km) northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains....
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.
The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of recently independent Finland between White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic. The clashes...
The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird.
John Logie Baird was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer and innovator who demonstrated the world's first mechanical television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the first...
The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj ("Complete Independence") which occurred 17 years later.
The Indian National Congress (INC), also known as the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a big tent political party in India. It is Indiaâs oldest political party and is widely regarded as...
The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
The Apollo Theater is a multi-use theater at 253 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a popular venue for Black American performers and is the home...
GermanâPolish declaration of non-aggression is signed.
The GermanâPolish declaration of non-aggression, also known as the GermanâPolish non-aggression pact, was an agreement between Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic that was signed on 26...
Spanish Civil War: Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels. Republicans loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic...
World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe, landing in Northern Ireland.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major...
World War II: Audie Murphy displays valor and bravery in action for which he will later be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Audie Leon Murphy was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly...
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).
The Hale Telescope is a 200-inch (5.1Â m), f/3.3 reflecting telescope at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, US, named after astronomer George Ellery Hale. With funding from the...
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.
The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental...
Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
The Cairo Fire, also known as Black Saturday, was a series of riots that took place on 26 January 1952, marked by the burning and looting of some 750 buildingsâretail shops, cafes, cinemas, hotels,...
Soviet Union cedes Porkkala back to Finland.
Porkkalanniemi, often referred to simply as Porkkala, is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, located at Kirkkonummi (KyrkslÀtt) in Southern Finland.
The 41-acre (17Â ha) Chain Island is listed for sale by the California State Lands Commission, with a minimum bid of $5,226.
Chain Island is an island in Suisun Bay, downstream of the SacramentoâSan Joaquin River Delta in northern California, and the westernmost piece of land in Sacramento County. In the late 1800s, it...
Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the Moon by 22,000 miles (35,400Â km).
Ranger 3 was a space exploration mission conducted by NASA to study the Moon. The Ranger 3 robotic spacecraft was launched January 26, 1962 as part of the Ranger program. Due to a series of...
The three Beaumont children disappear from a beach in Glenelg, South Australia, resulting in one of the country's largest-ever police investigations.
Jane Nartare Beaumont, Arnna Kathleen Beaumont and Grant Ellis Beaumont, collectively referred to as the Beaumont children, were three Australian siblings who disappeared from Glenelg Beach near...
JAT Flight 367 is destroyed by a terrorist bomb, killing 27 of the 28 people on board the DC-9. Flight attendant Vesna VuloviÄ survives with critical injuries.
JAT Flight 367 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 aircraft which exploded shortly after overflying NDB Hermsdorf, Germany, while en route from Stockholm, Sweden, to Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia, on 26...
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.
Turkish Airlines Flight 301 was a passenger flight operated by a Fokker F28-1000 Fellowship of Turkish Airlines that crashed during takeoff at İzmir Cumaovası Airport on 26 January 1974 while en...
The Ugandan government of Tito Okello is overthrown by the National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni.
Tito Lutwa Okello was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the president of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986.
Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.
Mohammed Siad Barre was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 January 1991.
Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
A sex scandal involving Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, erupted in 1998. Their sexual relationship began in 1995âwhen Clinton was 49...
The 7.7 Mw Gujarat earthquake shakes Western India, leaving 13,805â20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured.
Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of...
Diane Whipple, a lacrosse coach, is killed in a dog attack in San Francisco. The resulting court case clarified the meaning of implied malice murder.
Diane Alexis Whipple was an American lacrosse player and college coach. She was killed in a dog attack in San Francisco on January 26, 2001. The dogs involved were two Presa Canarios belonging to...
Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina.
Antananarivo, also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra, is the capital of...
Nadya Suleman gives birth to the world's first surviving octuplets.
Natalie Denise Suleman, known as Octomom in the media, is an American media personality who came to international attention when she gave birth to the first surviving octuplets in January 2009. The...
An aircraft crashes at Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete, Spain, killing 11 people and injuring 21 others.
On 26 January 2015, an F-16D Fighting Falcon jet fighter of the Hellenic Air Force crashed into a flight line shortly after take-off at Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete, Spain, killing 11 people: the...
Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) recaptures the city of KobanĂź from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), marking a turning point in the Siege of KobanĂź.
The Syrian civil war was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale...
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 five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant.
The Sikorsky S-76 is a medium-size commercial utility helicopter designed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It is the company's first helicopter specifically...
Protesters and farmers storm the Red Fort near Delhi, clashing with police. One protester is killed and more than 80 police officers are injured.
The 2021 Farmers' Republic Day protest was a protest on 26 January 2021 at Delhi. Part of the 2020â2021 Indian farmers' protest. The protestors deviated from the parade to take the parade towards...