January 26
Overview
Holidays & Observances
Christianfeast day:
Saint Alberic of Cîteaux, Blessed Gabriele Allegra, Saint Paula of Rome, January 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
A collective Christian feast day commemorating Saint Alberic of Cîteaux, Blessed Gabriele Allegra, and Saint Paula of Rome on January 26.
Australia Day(Australia)
National day celebrating the arrival of the First Fleet at Port Jackson in 1788, marking the founding of modern Australia.
Republic Day (India)
National holiday marking the day the Constitution of India came into effect in 1950, establishing the Republic of India.
Saint Alberic of Cîteaux
Feast day honoring Saint Alberic of Cîteaux, a 12th-century Cistercian monk and abbot celebrated for his spiritual writings and monastic leadership.
Blessed Gabriele Allegra
Commemorates Blessed Gabriele Allegra, a 20th-century Italian Franciscan missionary renowned for translating the Bible into Chinese.
Saint Paula of Rome
Feast day celebrating Saint Paula of Rome, a noblewoman and disciple of Saint Jerome known for her biblical scholarship and charitable works.
January 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Liturgical calendar observances for January 26 in the Eastern Orthodox Church, honoring various saints and commemorations.
Events
The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph.
Ali, the last Rashidun caliph, is assassinated, marking the end of the Rashidun Caliphate.
The 6.4–7.1 Mw Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people.
A powerful earthquake strikes Lisbon in 1531, causing widespread devastation and killing around thirty thousand people.
The Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
The Council of Trent formally defines doctrinal differences between Roman Catholicism and emerging Protestant movements.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tsardom of Russia in the Battle of Ula during the Livonian War.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania secures a decisive victory over the Tsardom of Russia at the Battle of Ula during the Livonian War.
For the first time, the Ottoman Empire permanently cedes territory to the Christian powers.
Under the Treaty of Karlowitz on January 26, 1699, the Ottoman Empire permanently cedes key territories to Christian European powers for the first time.
The 8.7–9.2 Mw Cascadia earthquake takes place off the west coast of North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.
A massive magnitude 8.7–9.2 earthquake strikes the Cascadia Subduction Zone, its effects documented by Japanese coastal records.
A British naval expedition arrives at and names Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands, founding a settlement there eight days later. (Arrival was 15 January 1765 O.S.)
A British naval expedition reaches the Falkland Islands and names Port Egmont, later establishing a settlement eight days afterward.
The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on Australia. Commemorated as Australia Day.
Captain Arthur Phillip’s First Fleet arrives at Port Jackson, founding Sydney—the first permanent European settlement in Australia, now commemorated as Australia Day.
The Rum Rebellion is the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in New South Wales.
Colonial officers overthrow Governor William Bligh in the Rum Rebellion, the only successful armed takeover of government in New South Wales.
Births
Lady Zhen
Consort of Cao Pi, the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.
Florent Chrestien
French Renaissance poet and translator celebrated for his humanist works at the court of Catherine de' Medici.
Jakob Ebert
German Lutheran theologian and hymnist whose works remain part of Protestant worship traditions.
Giovanni Lanfranco
Italian Baroque painter known for his dynamic frescoes and illusionistic ceiling paintings.
William Wake
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 to 1737, influential in guiding the Anglican Church through early Georgian England.
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle
Prominent French Rococo sculptor celebrated for his expressive neoclassical works and portrait busts.
Claude Adrien Helvétius
French Enlightenment philosopher known for his advocacy of utilitarian ethics and education reform.
George Germain
English Army officer and statesman, Secretary of State for the Colonies during the American Revolutionary War.
Alexander Carlyle
Scottish Church of Scotland minister and historian, key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment.
Deaths
John of Dailam
John of Dailam was a 7th-8th century Syrian monk and saint honored in the Church of the East.
Adolph IX
Adolph IX was a medieval German noble who ruled as Count of Holstein-Kiel in the late 14th century.
Nicholas Wotton
Nicholas Wotton was an influential English courtier and diplomat who served under Henry VIII and his successors.
Amar Singh I
Amar Singh I was the ruler of the Mewar kingdom in northwestern India, known for his resistance to Mughal expansion.
Henry Briggs
Henry Briggs was an English mathematician who made foundational contributions to the development of logarithms.
Lawrence Hyde
Lawrence Hyde was an English lawyer known for his service in the early Stuart court.
Georg Mohr
Georg Mohr was a Danish mathematician best known for demonstrating that all straightedge-and-compass constructions can be done with a compass alone.
Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller
Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller was an Austrian field marshal celebrated for his victories in the wars against France and the Ottoman Empire.
Albert Schultens
Albert Schultens was a Dutch philologist who pioneered the comparative study of Semitic languages.