History Events on January 26

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

#Michigan

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

#Diamond

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

#Indian_National_Congress

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

#Ranger_3

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

#Audie_Murphy

Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.

#Israel

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

#World_War_II

The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird.

#John_Logie_Baird

American 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.

#Governor_of_Massachusetts

For the first time, the Ottoman Empire permanently cedes territory to the Christian powers.

#Ottoman_Empire

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.

#Finnish_Civil_War

Battle of Talikota, fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates, 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.

#Battle_of_Talikota

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.

#Ambrose_Burnside

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

#American_Civil_War

Glenn Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane.

#Glenn_Curtiss

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

#Siad_Barre

The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph.

#Rashidun_Caliphate

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

#Rum_Rebellion

Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.

#Boris_Yeltsin

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

#Battle_of_Seattle_(1856)

The Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.

#Council_of_Trent

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.

#Constitution_of_India

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

#Antananarivo

German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact is signed.

#German-Polish_Non-Aggression_Pact

Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil.

#Vicente_Yáñez_Pinzón

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

#Muhammad_Ahmad

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

#JAT_Flight_367

Hindi becomes the official language of India.

#Hindi

John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be the first woman Physician to the President.

#John_F._Kennedy

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.

#First_Fleet

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tsardom of Russia in the Battle of Ula during the Livonian War.

#Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania

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

#2015_Los_Llanos_Air_Base_crash

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.

#Red_Army

Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.

#Ford_Motor_Company

The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.

#Apollo_Theater

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

#Rocky_Mountain_National_Park

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

#Spanish_Civil_War

Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States

#Tennessee

The 7.7 Mw Gujarat earthquake shakes Western India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 13,805-20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured.

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

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

Soviet Union cedes Porkkala back to Finland.

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

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).

Reconstruction Era: Virginia rejoins the Union.

Point No Point Treaty is signed in Washington Territory.

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

Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.

The 8.7-9.2 Mw Cascadia earthquake takes place off the west coast of North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.

The 6.4-7.1 Mw Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people.