“The First Fleet entering Port Jackson January 26 1788,” by E. Le Bihan, 1888

Today in History

• The British First Fleet arrives in Port Jackson (Sydney Harbor) (1888)
• Michigan becomes a US state (1837)
• Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the US (1838)
• British Hong Kong is established (1841)
• The Cullinan diamond, the world’s largest stone (3,106.75 carats) is discovered (1905)
• John Logie Baird demonstrates television for the first time (1926)
• Harlem’s Apollo Theater opens (1934)
• Audie Murphy earns the Medal of Honor (1945)
• The 200-inch Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory, then the world’s largest, makes its first observations (1949)
• Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations (1980)
• US President Bill Clinton denies having “sexual relations” with Monica Lewinsky (1998)

Birthdays

• Douglas MacArthur, US general (18800)
• Frank Costello, mob boss (1891)
• Maria von Trapp, singer (1905)
• Stéphane Grappelli, jazz violinist (1908)
• Akio Morita, founder of Sony (1921)
• Paul Newman, actor and food manufacturer (1925)
• Roger Vadim, filmmaker (1928)
• Jules Feiffer, cartoonist (1929)
• Bob Uecker, baseball player and sportscaster (1935)
• Scott Glenn, actor (1941)
• Angela Davis, activist (1944)
• Jerry Sandusky, football coach and serial child molester/rapist (1944)
• Gene Siskel, film critic (1946)
• Eddie Van Halen, musician (1955)
• Anita Baker, singer-songwriter (1958)
• Ellen DeGeneres, comedian, actress, and talk show host (1958)
• Wayne Gretzky, ice hockey player (1961)

Deaths

• Abner Doubleday, US general and reputed creator of baseball (1893)
• William Wrigley, Jr., chewing gum magnate (1932)
• Lucky Luciano, mob boss (1962)
• Edward G. Robinson, actor (1973)
• Nelson Rockefeller, US politician (1979)
• Bear Bryant, football coach (1983)
• José Ferrer, actor 91992)
• Jeane Dixon, astrologer (1997)
• A. E. van Vogt, author (200)
• Abe Vigoda, actor (2016)
• Mike Connors, actor (2017)

Holidays and Celebrations

• Australia Day (Australia)
• Duarte Day (Dominican Republic)
• Engineer’s Day (Panama)
• International Customs Day
• Liberation Day (Uganda)
• Republic Day (India)

January 26 is the 26th day of the year. There are 339 days (340 in leap years) remaining until the end of the year.