2024January

January 26: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Facts & Historic Events That Happened on January 26

Share:

Share

January 26th is officially Spouse’s Day and Australia Day.

We’re getting close to the end of January, how’s your year been so far?

To keep you going here are many historical events & need to know facts, including famous people born on this day and how this day changed history.

Did you know that on this day in 1972, flight attendant Vesna Vulović survived the world’s highest recorded fall? She fell 33,330 feet without a parachute after a briefcase bomb destroyed her plane.

Keep reading for more fun & interesting facts about January 26th in history!

Events

What memorable events happened on January 26 in history? Keep reading to find out!

2020

A helicopter carrying nine people, including Kobe Bryant and his daughter, crashed in California with no survivors.

2015

England’s first female bishop of the Church of England, Libby Lane, was ordained.

2015

A drone crashed onto the White House lawn.

OTD in 2015: A drone crashed onto the White House lawn.

The pilot faced charges, which were later dropped due to it being an accident.

2004

A 60-ton decomposing whale exploded onto the busy streets of Taipei, Taiwan.

The dead 56-foot-long sperm whale was sitting on the back of a lorry on its way to be researched. She exploded because of the gasses building up inside her during decay. The flying debris literally washed the surrounding street, and nearby cars as witnesses watched in horror.

1980

Frank Sinatra performed to 175,000 people who paid to see him in Rio de Janeiro.

1972

Flight attendant Vesna Vulović survived the world’s highest fall without a parachute after falling 33,330 feet.

OTD in 1972: Flight attendant Vesna Vulović survived the world's highest fall without a parachute after falling 33

Amazingly she went on to fully recover. She even wanted to return to work on planes, but her manager moved her to the airline offices.

1966

The Beaumont children, Jane, Arnna, and Grant, vanished from a beach in Adelaide, Australia, and were never found.

The children were last seen playing at the beach with an unknown man. The kids or the mysterious man were never seen again.

1962

The Ranger 3 robotic spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The Ranger 3 could have made history as the first US spacecraft to land on the Moon, but a number of malfunctions caused the spacecraft to miss the Moon by 22,000 miles (35,000 km). While part of the mission’s goal was to crash onto the Moon, it was also meant to transmit photographs of the Moon’s surface back to Earth in its final 10 minutes before impact.

1961

Elvis Presley reached number one in the UK charts with “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”

1936

Stalin and officials walked out of Lady Macbeth opera, calling it a “muddle,” not music.

1926

Scottish inventor John Logie Baird changed the world of communication and entertainment forever when he demonstrated television for the first time.

OTD in 1926: Scottish inventor John Logie Baird changed the world of communication and entertainment forever when he demonstrated television for the first time.

Baird showed his audience a puppet show that was performing out of view of them to demonstrate his invention.

1924

The first Winter Olympics medal was awarded to American Skater Charles Jewtraw after skating 5,000 meters in just 44 seconds.

OTD in 1924: The first Winter Olympics medal was awarded to American Skater Charles Jewtraw after skating 5

1905

After being unearthed in South Africa, a 3,106-carat diamond became the world’s largest.

1837

Michigan became the 26th state to join the United States of America.

1531

Thirty thousand lives were lost after a major earthquake shook Lisbon.

Friars later spread rumors that the earthquake was a punishment from God because of the Jewish community. A poet named Gil Vicente diffused the situation and possibly prevented a grand massacre of Jewish people.

Famous Births

Is today your birthday? If so, you share the same birthday with Ellen DeGeneres. Here are a few other famous people born on this day.

1958

Ellen DeGeneres

American

Comedian

Ellen DeGeneres

Age:

66 years old

Born In:

Louisiana, USA

2004

Addison Riecke

American

Actress

Addison Riecke

Age:

20 years old

Born In:

Louisiana, USA

1991

Nico Mirallegro

English

Actor

Nico Mirallegro

Age:

33 years old

Born In:

England, UK

1996

Tyger Drew-Honey

English

Actor

Tyger Drew-Honey

Age:

28 years old

Born In:

England, UK

Famous Deaths

Unfortunately, January 26th has also been a day where we’ve had to say some goodbyes over the years…

1978

2020

Kobe Bryant

American

Basketball Player

Kobe Bryant

1978

2020

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was an American basketball player born on August 23, 1978. He died on this day in 2020, at age 41 in Calabasas, California, USA.

Died On:

Jan 26, 2020 (Age 41)

Died In:

California, USA

Quotes

Below are the most famous quotes people have said or written on this day throughout history.

2009

Anytime someone tells me that I can’t do something, I want to do it more.

Special Holidays

If you can spare some time today, here are some unique holidays you could get involved with.

January 26: National Spouse's Day
United States

National Spouse’s Day

Life gets busy with all the daily commitments we have, and it’s often easy to take your other half for granted without realizing it. Spouse’s Day is all about appreciating your partner and doing something extra nice for them – go on, put a smile on their face.

January 26: Australia Day
Australia

Australia Day

Fire up the bbq and get your pool up and running; it’s Australia Day! There’s no better way to celebrate this momentous day than to have a pool party with all your friends and family, just don’t forget to stock your eskies full of drinks!

THe Fact Site’s

Fun Fact Of The Day

A bolt of lightning can reach 53,540 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s five times hotter than the surface of the sun, which is 10,340°F.

Birthday & Zodiac

For those of you who were born on January 26, your star sign is Aquarius.

Aquarians like to get to the point. They are very blunt and straightforward and will not tolerate any messing around.

People born during January have the Garnet birthstone. The garnet is a colorful gem that provides the wearer protection on their journey through life.

If you were born today, you would likely have been conceived on or around May 5 of the previous year.

A baby conceived on this day will likely be born around October 19, 2024.

Fact Check

We have a thorough fact-checking process and a dedicated team verifying our content for accuracy. However, occasionally, we may get things wrong, or information becomes outdated. If you believe something to be incorrect, please leave us a message below.

Leave a Comment