On this day: 26 January

Selected events and births on 26 January, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 1788 – Captain Arthur Phillip and the British First Fleet landed at Sydney Cove on the shore of Port Jackson, establishing the first permanent European settlement in Australia. Read more: Arthur Phillip First Fleet Sydney Cove
• 1841 – Commodore Gordon Bremer took formal possession of Hong Kong Island for the United Kingdom at Possession Point. Read more: Gordon Bremer Hong Kong Island Possession Street
• 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. Read more: Carat (mass) Cullinan Diamond Diamond
• 1926 – Oliver Hutchinson appeared on television in inventor John Logie Baird's first successful demonstration of using the technology to show humans. Read more: Oliver Hutchinson John Logie Baird
• 1934 – Hurtig & Seamon's New Burlesque Theater in New York City reopened as the Apollo Theater, becoming one of the nation's premier venues for African-American performers. Read more: Apollo Theater African Americans
• 1949 – The Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory in California, the largest aperture optical telescope in the world for 28 years, saw first light. Read more: Hale Telescope Palomar Observatory Aperture
• 1950 – Indian independence movement: India became a republic under a new constitution, with Rajendra Prasad as president and Jawaharlal Nehru as prime minister. Read more: Indian independence movement Constitution of India Rajendra Prasad
• 1966 – The three Beaumont children disappeared from a beach in Glenelg, South Australia, resulting in one of the country's largest-ever police investigations. Read more: Disappearance of the Beaumont children Glenelg, South Australia

Born on this day

• 1953 – Alik L. Alik, Micronesian politician, 7th Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia Read more: Alik Alik Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia
• 1953 – Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Danish politician and diplomat, 39th Prime Minister of Denmark Read more: Anders Fogh Rasmussen Prime Minister of Denmark
• 1965 – Kevin McCarthy, American politician, 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Read more: Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
• 1967 – Col Needham, English businessman, co-founded Internet Movie Database Read more: Col Needham IMDb
• 1999 – Leonardo Balerdi, Argentine footballer Read more: Leonardo Balerdi
• 2000 – Ester Expósito, Spanish actress Read more: Ester Expósito
• 2000 – Darius Garland, American basketball player Read more: Darius Garland
• 2001 – Latalia Bevan, Welsh artistic gymnast Read more: Latalia Bevan
• 2001 – Isaac Okoro, American basketball player Read more: Isaac Okoro
• 2002 – Darya Astakhova, Russian tennis player Read more: Darya Astakhova
• 2009 – YaYa Gosselin, American actress Read more: YaYa Gosselin
• 2009 – The Suleman octuplets Read more: Suleman octuplets

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / January 26 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.