On this day: January 26

Events on January 26

• 1564 The Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Wikipedia
• 1699 For the first time, the Ottoman Empire permanently cedes territory to the Christian powers. Wikipedia
• 1700 The 8.7–9.2 Mw Cascadia earthquake takes place off the west coast of North America, as evidenced by Japanese records. Wikipedia
• 1700 An earthquake with a moment magnitude of around 9.0 occurred off the Pacific Northwest coast of North America, as evidenced by Japanese records of tsunamis. Wikipedia
• 1765 A British naval expedition arrives at and names Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands, founding a settlement there eight days later. (Arrival was 15 January 1765 O.S.) Wikipedia
• 1788 The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on Australia. Commemorated as Australia Day. Wikipedia
• 1837 Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state. Wikipedia
• 1861 American Civil War: The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union. Wikipedia
• 1870 Reconstruction Era: Virginia is readmitted to the Union. Wikipedia
• 1905 The 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. Wikipedia
• 1905 The 3,106-carat (621 g) Cullinan Diamond, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, was discovered at the Premier Mine in Gauteng, South Africa. Wikipedia
• 1939 Spanish Civil War: Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe, landing in Northern Ireland. Wikipedia
• 1945 Audie Murphy engaged in action at the Colmar Pocket that won him a Medal of Honor and made him one of the most famous and decorated U.S. soldiers of World War II. Wikipedia
• 1950 Indian independence movement: India became a republic under a new constitution, with Rajendra Prasad as president and Jawaharlal Nehru as prime minister. Wikipedia
• 1952 Spontaneous anti-British riots erupted in Cairo following the killings of 50 Egyptian auxiliary police officers the previous day. Wikipedia
• 1952 Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. Wikipedia
• 1959 The 41-acre (17 ha) Chain Island is listed for sale by the California State Lands Commission, with a minimum bid of $5,226. Wikipedia
• 1962 Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the Moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km). Wikipedia
• 1991 Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi. Wikipedia
• 1998 In a nationally televised press conference, U.S. president Bill Clinton denied having "sexual relations" with intern Monica Lewinsky. Wikipedia
• 1998 Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Wikipedia
• 2009 Rioting broke out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that led to the deposal of President Marc Ravalomanana. Wikipedia
• 2009 Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina. Wikipedia
• 2020 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. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia

Born on January 26

• 183 Lady Zhen, wife of Cao Pi (died 221) Wikipedia
• 1715 Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (died 1771) Wikipedia
• 1763 Charles XIV John of Sweden (died 1844) Wikipedia
• 1781 Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (died 1831) Wikipedia
• 1813 Juan Pablo Duarte, Dominican philosopher and poet, founding father of the Dominican Republic (died 1876) Wikipedia
• 1880 Douglas MacArthur, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1964) Wikipedia
• 1904 Seán MacBride, Irish lawyer and politician, Irish Minister for External Affairs Nobel Prize laureate (died 1988) Wikipedia
• 1911 Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1993) Wikipedia
• 1921 Akio Morita, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (died 1999) Wikipedia
• 1925 Paul Newman, American actor, activist, director, race car driver, and businessman, co-founded Newman's Own (died 2008) Wikipedia
• 1928 Roger Vadim, French actor and director (died 2000) Wikipedia
• 1944 Angela Davis, American activist, academic, and author Wikipedia
• 1950 Jörg Haider, Austrian lawyer and politician, Governor of Carinthia (died 2008) Wikipedia
• 1953 Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Danish politician and diplomat, 39th Prime Minister of Denmark Wikipedia
• 1955 Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (died 2020) Wikipedia
• 1958 Ellen DeGeneres, American comedian, actress, and talk show host Wikipedia
• 1961 Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Wikipedia
• 1963 José Mourinho, Portuguese footballer and manager Wikipedia
• 1965 Kevin McCarthy, American politician, 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Wikipedia
• 1967 Col Needham, English businessman, co-founded Internet Movie Database Wikipedia
• 1973 Brendan Rodgers, Northern Irish footballer and manager Wikipedia
• 1990 Sergio Pérez, Mexican race car driver Wikipedia

Died on January 26

• 1390 Adolph IX, Count of Holstein-Kiel (born c. 1327) Wikipedia
• 1795 Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German harpsichord player and composer (born 1732) Wikipedia
• 1823 Edward Jenner, English physician and immunologist, creator of the smallpox vaccine (born 1749) Wikipedia
• 1824 Théodore Géricault, French painter and lithographer (born 1791) Wikipedia
• 1855 Gérard de Nerval, French poet and translator (born 1808) Wikipedia
• 1891 Nicolaus Otto, German engineer, invented the internal combustion engine (born 1833) Wikipedia
• 1895 Arthur Cayley, English mathematician and academic (born 1825) Wikipedia
• 1943 Nikolai Vavilov, Russian botanist and geneticist (born 1887) Wikipedia
• 1962 Lucky Luciano, Italian-American mob boss (born 1897) Wikipedia
• 1973 Edward G. Robinson, Romanian-American actor (born 1893) Wikipedia
• 1979 Nelson Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 41st Vice President of the United States (born 1908) Wikipedia
• 1992 José Ferrer, Puerto Rican-American actor (born 1912) Wikipedia
• 2008 George Habash, Palestinian politician, founder of the PFLP (born 1926) Wikipedia
• 2020 Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (born 1978) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Saint Alberic of Cîteaux Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Gabriele Allegra Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Saint Paula of Rome Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Saint Timothy Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Saint Titus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: January 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Australia Day (Australia) Wikipedia
• Republic Day (India) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “January 26” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.