A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
January 26
| 1699 | The Treaty of Karlowitz ends the war between Austria and the Turks. | |
| 1720 | Guilio Alberoni is ordered out of Spain after his abortive attempt to restore his country’s empire. | |
| 1788 | A fleet of ships carrying convicts from England lands at Sydney Cove in Australia. The day is since known as Australia’s national day. | |
| 1861 | Louisiana secedes from the Union. | |
| 1863 | President Lincoln names General Joseph Hooker to replace Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac. | |
| 1875 | Pinkerton agents, hunting Jesse James, kill his 18-year-old half-brother and seriously injure his mother with a bomb. | |
| 1885 | General “Chinese” Gordon is killed on the palace steps in Khartoum by Sudanese Mahdists in Africa. | |
| 1924 | Petrograd is renamed Leningrad. | |
| 1934 | Germany signs a 10-year non-aggression pact with Poland, breaking the French alliance system. | |
| 1942 | American Expeditionary Force lands in Northern Ireland. | |
| 1943 | The first OSS (Office of Strategic Services) agent parachutes behind Japanese lines in Burma. | |
| 1964 | Eighty-four people are arrested in a segregation protest in Atlanta. | |
| 1969 | California is declared a disaster area after two days of flooding and mud slides. | |
| 2005 | Condoleezza Rice is appointed to the post of secretary of state. The post makes her the highest ranking African-American woman ever to serve in an U.S. presidential cabinet. | |
| Born on January 26 | ||
| 1715 | Claude Helvétius, French philosopher. | |
| 1826 | Julia Dent Grant, wife of Ulysses S. Grant. | |
| 1880 | Douglas MacArthur, U.S. general in World War I, World War II and Korea. | |
| 1893 | Bessie Coleman, pioneer aviator. | |
| 1944 | Angela Davis, American activist. | |
– See more at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
Jan 26, 1788:
