January 26
1788 - The first European settlers landed in Sydney, Australia.
1802 - Congress passed an act calling for the establishment of a library within the U.S. Capitol.
1837 - Michigan became the 26th state.
1861 - Louisiana seceded from the Union.
1870 - Virginia rejoined the Union.
1907 - Congress passed the Tillman Act, which prohibited corporations from making direct campaign contributions to federal election candidates.
1950 - India, three years after gaining independence from Britain, formally became a republic.
1961 - President John F. Kennedy appointed Dr. Janet G. Travell to be his personal physician; she was the first woman to hold the job.
1962 - The United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon -- but the probe ended up missing its target by more than 22,000 miles.
1979 - Former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller died in New York at age 70.
1988 - Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" opened on Broadway. It would go on to become the longest-running show in Broadway history.
1992 - Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, appearing with his wife, Hillary, on CBS's "60 Minutes," acknowledged "causing pain in my marriage" but said past problems were not relevant to the campaign.
1993 - Vaclav Havel was elected president of the new Czech Republic.
1996 - First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton testified before a grand jury connected to the Whitewater probe.
1998 - President Bill Clinton forcefully denied having an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, telling reporters, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
2001 - A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Indian state of Gujarat, killing more than 20,000 people.
2004 - President Hamid Karzai signed the new constitution of Afghanistan.
2006 - Confronted by Oprah Winfrey on her syndicated talk show, author James Frey acknowledged lies in his addiction memoir "A Million Little Pieces."
2009 - "Octomom" Nadya Suleman of Whittier, California gave birth to a set of octuplets conceived by in vitro fertilization; criticism followed when the public learned that the unemployed, single mother had gotten pregnant via in vitro while already a mother of six other children.
2016 - The FBI arrested the leaders of an armed group that was occupying a national wildlife refuge in Oregon for more than three weeks during a traffic stop that left one man, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, dead.
2016 - The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that its symbolic “Doomsday Clock” remained at three minutes to midnight, citing rising tension between Russia and the U.S., North Korea’s recent nuclear test and a lack of aggressive steps to address climate change.
2020 - The U.S. consulate in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, said it would evacuate its personnel and some private citizens aboard a charter flight. Five cases of the new coronavirus were now confirmed in the United States, including new cases in California and Arizona; all involved people who had traveled to Wuhan.
2020 - Eighteen-year-old singer Billie Eilish made history at the Grammy Awards, becoming the youngest to win one of Grammy’s top awards and the first to sweep all four in nearly 40 years.
Birthdays
21 - Ester Exposito (actress)
25 - Maria Pedraza (actress)
29 - Sasha Banks (professional wrestler)
40 - Colin O'Donoghue (actor)
43 - Sarah Rue (actor)
44 - Vince Carter (basketball player)
45 - Tye Tribbett (singer)
45 - Giles Marini (actor)
47 - Matilda Szydagis (actor)
48 - Jennifer Crystal (actress)
49 - Nate Mooney (actor)
51 - Kirk Franklin (singer)
54 - Bryan Callen (actor)
57 - Paul Johansson (actor)
60 - Wayne Gretzky (hockey player)
63 - Ellen DeGeneres (actress/talk show host)
68 - Lucinda Williams (country singer)
72 - David Strathairn (actor)
74- Richard Portnow (actor)
82 - Scott Glenn (actor)
86 - Bob Uecker (sportscaster/actor)
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Today in Sports History - January 26
1913 - Jim Thorpe relinquishes his 1912 Olympic medals for playing as a professional.
1924 - Charles Jewtraw of the United States won the 500-meter speed skating. He was the first Gold Medalist at the Winter Olympics.
1956 - Hank Greenberg and Joe Cronin are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1960 - NFL owners selected Pete Rozelle to be the new commissioner, succeeding the late Bert Bell.
1960 - The Oakland Raiders join the AFL.
1985 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) became the first NHL player to score 50 goals in 49 games.
1986 - The Chicago Bears defeat the New England Patriots 46-10 in New Orleans to win Super Bowl XX. Chicago defensive end Richard Dent is named MVP.
1991 - Jan Stenerud becomes the first placekicker to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
1992 - The Washington Redskins defeat the Buffalo Bills 37-24 to win Super Bowl XXVI in Minneapolis; Washington quarterback Mark Rypien is named MVP.
1995 - With a record 6,254,427 ballots cast by fans in NBA All-Star Voting, Detroit's Grant Hill becomes the first rookie to lead all NBA players in All-Star votes received, earning #1 on 1,289,585 ballots.
1997 - The Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots 35-21 to win Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans; Green Bay kick returner Desmond Howard is named MVP.
1997 - Mario Lemieux ties NHL record with 4 goals in the 3rd period as Pittsburgh wins, 5-2 at Montreal; 39th career hat trick and 13th 4-goal game, tying NHL record shared by Wayne Gretzky & Mike Bossy.
2003 - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders 48-21 to win Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego; Tampa Bay safety Dexter Jackson is named MVP. Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden became the youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl at age 39.
2020 - NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed when their helicopter plunged into a steep hillside in dense morning fog in Southern California; the former Lakers star was 41 years old.
1788 - The first European settlers landed in Sydney, Australia.
1802 - Congress passed an act calling for the establishment of a library within the U.S. Capitol.
1837 - Michigan became the 26th state.
1861 - Louisiana seceded from the Union.
1870 - Virginia rejoined the Union.
1907 - Congress passed the Tillman Act, which prohibited corporations from making direct campaign contributions to federal election candidates.
1950 - India, three years after gaining independence from Britain, formally became a republic.
1961 - President John F. Kennedy appointed Dr. Janet G. Travell to be his personal physician; she was the first woman to hold the job.
1962 - The United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon -- but the probe ended up missing its target by more than 22,000 miles.
1979 - Former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller died in New York at age 70.
1988 - Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" opened on Broadway. It would go on to become the longest-running show in Broadway history.
1992 - Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, appearing with his wife, Hillary, on CBS's "60 Minutes," acknowledged "causing pain in my marriage" but said past problems were not relevant to the campaign.
1993 - Vaclav Havel was elected president of the new Czech Republic.
1996 - First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton testified before a grand jury connected to the Whitewater probe.
1998 - President Bill Clinton forcefully denied having an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, telling reporters, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
2001 - A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Indian state of Gujarat, killing more than 20,000 people.
2004 - President Hamid Karzai signed the new constitution of Afghanistan.
2006 - Confronted by Oprah Winfrey on her syndicated talk show, author James Frey acknowledged lies in his addiction memoir "A Million Little Pieces."
2009 - "Octomom" Nadya Suleman of Whittier, California gave birth to a set of octuplets conceived by in vitro fertilization; criticism followed when the public learned that the unemployed, single mother had gotten pregnant via in vitro while already a mother of six other children.
2016 - The FBI arrested the leaders of an armed group that was occupying a national wildlife refuge in Oregon for more than three weeks during a traffic stop that left one man, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, dead.
2016 - The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that its symbolic “Doomsday Clock” remained at three minutes to midnight, citing rising tension between Russia and the U.S., North Korea’s recent nuclear test and a lack of aggressive steps to address climate change.
2020 - The U.S. consulate in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, said it would evacuate its personnel and some private citizens aboard a charter flight. Five cases of the new coronavirus were now confirmed in the United States, including new cases in California and Arizona; all involved people who had traveled to Wuhan.
2020 - Eighteen-year-old singer Billie Eilish made history at the Grammy Awards, becoming the youngest to win one of Grammy’s top awards and the first to sweep all four in nearly 40 years.
Birthdays
21 - Ester Exposito (actress)
25 - Maria Pedraza (actress)
29 - Sasha Banks (professional wrestler)
40 - Colin O'Donoghue (actor)
43 - Sarah Rue (actor)
44 - Vince Carter (basketball player)
45 - Tye Tribbett (singer)
45 - Giles Marini (actor)
47 - Matilda Szydagis (actor)
48 - Jennifer Crystal (actress)
49 - Nate Mooney (actor)
51 - Kirk Franklin (singer)
54 - Bryan Callen (actor)
57 - Paul Johansson (actor)
60 - Wayne Gretzky (hockey player)
63 - Ellen DeGeneres (actress/talk show host)
68 - Lucinda Williams (country singer)
72 - David Strathairn (actor)
74- Richard Portnow (actor)
82 - Scott Glenn (actor)
86 - Bob Uecker (sportscaster/actor)
===========================================
Today in Sports History - January 26
1913 - Jim Thorpe relinquishes his 1912 Olympic medals for playing as a professional.
1924 - Charles Jewtraw of the United States won the 500-meter speed skating. He was the first Gold Medalist at the Winter Olympics.
1956 - Hank Greenberg and Joe Cronin are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1960 - NFL owners selected Pete Rozelle to be the new commissioner, succeeding the late Bert Bell.
1960 - The Oakland Raiders join the AFL.
1985 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) became the first NHL player to score 50 goals in 49 games.
1986 - The Chicago Bears defeat the New England Patriots 46-10 in New Orleans to win Super Bowl XX. Chicago defensive end Richard Dent is named MVP.
1991 - Jan Stenerud becomes the first placekicker to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
1992 - The Washington Redskins defeat the Buffalo Bills 37-24 to win Super Bowl XXVI in Minneapolis; Washington quarterback Mark Rypien is named MVP.
1995 - With a record 6,254,427 ballots cast by fans in NBA All-Star Voting, Detroit's Grant Hill becomes the first rookie to lead all NBA players in All-Star votes received, earning #1 on 1,289,585 ballots.
1997 - The Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots 35-21 to win Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans; Green Bay kick returner Desmond Howard is named MVP.
1997 - Mario Lemieux ties NHL record with 4 goals in the 3rd period as Pittsburgh wins, 5-2 at Montreal; 39th career hat trick and 13th 4-goal game, tying NHL record shared by Wayne Gretzky & Mike Bossy.
2003 - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders 48-21 to win Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego; Tampa Bay safety Dexter Jackson is named MVP. Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden became the youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl at age 39.
2020 - NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed when their helicopter plunged into a steep hillside in dense morning fog in Southern California; the former Lakers star was 41 years old.