- 1784 – In a letter dated January 26, 1784, Benjamin Franklin writes to his daughter Sarah (Sally) Bache expressing his dismay that the eagle is chosen as an American symbol. To his mind, the turkey would be a more appropriate bird.
- 1788 – British settlement begins in Australia with 11 ships of convicts. It is now celebrated as Australia Day, although many Aboriginal Australians call it “Invasion Day.”
- 1826 – Julia Boggs Dent is born. She later marries Ulysses S. Grant and becomes the 19th First Lady of the United States.
- 1837 – Michigan admitted as 26th U.S. state.
- 1838 – Tennessee passes nation’s first prohibition law.
- 1861 – Louisiana secedes from the Union.
- 1880 – Douglas Macarthur is born.
- 1893 – Bessie Coleman is born. In pursuit of becoming a pilot, Coleman traveled to France after being denied the opportunity in the United States. In France, she learned to fly, returning to the United States as the first female African American and Native American pilot.
- 1905 – Maria von Trapp is born.
- 1918 – Ukraine declares its independence.
- 1925 – Paul Newman is born.
- 1954 – Ground is broken for Disneyland.
- 1958 – Ellen DeGeneres is born.
- 1961 – JFK appoints first female presidential physician, Janet Travell.
- 1962 – Bishop Burke of Buffalo Catholic dioceses declares Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” to be impure and bans it from all Catholic schools.
- 1980 – Mary Decker became the first woman to run a mile under 4 1/2 minutes, running it at 4:17.55
- 1988 – “Phantom of the Opera” opens in NYC, goes on for 4000+ performances.
- 1998 – President Bill Clinton says “I want to say one thing to the American people; I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
- 2005 – George W. Bush appoints Condoleeza Rice as secretary of state.
- 2010 – The World Health Organization rejects claims that it overstated the severity of the swine flu pandemic.
- 2020 – Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna die in a helicopter crash.
