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This day in history

This day in history: 26 January

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Events49

Born on this day · Died on this day212 · 89

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Key facts

350 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 26 January.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2021: Protesters and farmers storm the Red Fort near Delhi, clashing with police. One protester is killed and more than 80 police officers are injured.

Holidays and observances

Australia Day (Australia)

Christian feast day: Blessed Gabriele Allegra

Christian feast day: January 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Saint Alberic of Cîteaux

Christian feast day: Saint Paula of Rome

Christian feast day: Saint Timothy

Christian feast day: Saint Titus

Republic Day (India)

Events

2021Protesters and farmers storm the Red Fort near Delhi, clashing with police. One protester is killed and more than 80 police officers are injured.

2020A 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.

2015An aircraft crashes at Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete, Spain, killing 11 people and injuring 21 others.

2015Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) recaptures the city of Kobanî from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), marking a turning point in the Siege of Kobanî.

2009Nadya Suleman gives birth to the world's first surviving octuplets.

2009Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina.

2001Diane Whipple, a lacrosse coach, is killed in a dog attack in San Francisco. The resulting court case clarified the meaning of implied malice murder.

2001The 7.7 Mw Gujarat earthquake shakes Western India, leaving 13,805–20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured.

1998Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

1991Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.

1986The Ugandan government of Tito Okello is overthrown by the National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni.

1974Turkish 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.

1972JAT Flight 367 is destroyed by a terrorist bomb, killing 27 of the 28 people on board the DC-9. Flight attendant Vesna Vulović survives with critical injuries.

1966The three Beaumont children disappear from a beach in Glenelg, South Australia, resulting in one of the country's largest-ever police investigations.

1962Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the Moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).

1959The 41-acre (17 ha) Chain Island is listed for sale by the California State Lands Commission, with a minimum bid of $5,226.

1956Soviet Union cedes Porkkala back to Finland.

1952Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.

1950The 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.

1949The 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).

1945World War II: Audie Murphy displays valor and bravery in action for which he will later be awarded the Medal of Honor.

1942World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe, landing in Northern Ireland.

1939Spanish Civil War: Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.

1934German–Polish declaration of non-aggression is signed.

1934The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.

1930The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj ("Complete Independence") which occurred 17 years later.

1926The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird.

1918Finnish 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.

1915The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.

1905The world's largest diamond ever, the Cullinan, which weighs 3,106.75 carats (0.621350 kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.

1885Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum, killing the Governor-General Charles George Gordon.

1870Reconstruction Era: Virginia is readmitted to the Union.

1863American 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.

1863American Civil War: Governor of Massachusetts John Albion Andrew receives permission from the Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.

1861American Civil War: The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union.

1856First Battle of Seattle: Marines from the USS Decatur drive off Native American attackers after all-day battle with settlers.

1855Point No Point Treaty is signed in Washington Territory.

1841Gordon Bremer takes formal possession of Hong Kong Island at what is now Possession Point, establishing British Hong Kong.

1837Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.

1808The Rum Rebellion is the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in New South Wales.

Born on this day

2009The Suleman octuplets

2009YaYa Gosselin, American actress

2002Darya Astakhova, Russian tennis player

2001Isaac Okoro, American basketball player

2001Latalia Bevan, Welsh artistic gymnast

2000Darius Garland, American basketball player

2000Ester Expósito, Spanish actress

1999Leonardo Balerdi, Argentine footballer

1999Travis Etienne, American football player

1998Moonbin, South Korean singer and actor. (died 2023)

1997Gedion Zelalem, German-born American soccer player

1996Hwang Hee-chan, South Korean football player

1996Zakaria Bakkali, Belgian footballer

1995Jean-Charles Castelletto, Cameroonian footballer

1995Sione Katoa, New Zealand rugby league player

1994Montrezl Harrell, American basketball player

1993Alice Powell, British racing driver

1993Florian Thauvin, French footballer

1993Kevin Pangos, Canadian-Slovenian basketball player

1993Lana Clelland, Scottish footballer

1993Miguel Borja, Colombian footballer

1992Mercedes Moné, American wrestler

1991Alex Sandro, Brazilian footballer

1991Esteban Andrada, Argentine footballer

1991Manti Te'o, American football player

1991Nicolò Melli, Italian-American basketball player

1990Brandon Bolden, American football player

1990Peter Sagan, Slovak professional cyclist

1990Sergio Pérez, Mexican race car driver

1989Emily Hughes, American figure skater

1989MarShon Brooks, American basketball player

1989Torrey Smith, American football player

1988Dan Bailey, American football player

1988Dimitrios Chondrokoukis, Greek high jumper

1987Héctor Noesí, Dominican baseball player

1987Sebastian Giovinco, Italian footballer

1986Gerald Green, American basketball player

1986Kim Jae-joong, South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, and director

1986Mustapha Yatabaré, French-Malian footballer

1985Heather Stanning, English rower

Died on this day

2025Suzanne Massie, American historian (born 1931)

2020Gianna Bryant, American student-athlete (born 2006)

2020John Altobelli, American college baseball coach (born 1963)

2020Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (born 1978)

2017Barbara Hale, American actress (born 1922)

2017Barbara Howard, Canadian sprinter and educator (born 1920)

2017Lindy Delapenha, Jamaican footballer and sports journalist (born 1927)

2017Mike Connors, American actor (born 1925)

2017Tam Dalyell, Scottish politician (born 1932)

2016Abe Vigoda, American actor (born 1921)

2016Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, Pakistani military leader, foreign minister, and diplomat (born 1920)

2015Cleven "Goodie" Goudeau, American art director and cartoonist (born 1932)

2015Tom Uren, Australian politician (born 1921)

2014José Emilio Pacheco, Mexican poet and author (born 1939)

2014Paula Gruden, Slovenian-Australian poet and translator (born 1921)

2014Tom Gola, American basketball player, coach, and politician (born 1933)

2013Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (born 1929)

2013Padma Kant Shukla, Indian physicist and academic (born 1950)

2013Shōtarō Yasuoka, Japanese author (born 1920)

2013Stefan Kudelski, Polish-Swiss engineer, inventor of the Nagra (born 1929)

2012Roberto Mieres, Argentinian race car driver (born 1924)

2011Charlie Louvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1927)

2011David Kato Kisule, Ugandan teacher and LGBT rights activist, considered a father of Uganda's gay rights movement (born 1964)

2010Louis Auchincloss, American novelist and essayist (born 1917)

2008George Habash, Palestinian politician, founder of the PFLP (born 1926)

2008Viktor Schreckengost, American sculptor and designer (born 1906)

2007Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1929)

2006Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Pakistani politician (born 1917)

2004Fred Haas, American golfer (born 1916)

2003George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, Scottish banker and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (born 1931)

Quote of the day

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

Epictetus

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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