Historical Events on January 26

Phantom of the Opera

Here are some historical events that happened on January 26:

1788: The British First Fleet, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived at Botany Bay, Australia. This event marked the beginning of European settlement in Australia.

1837: Michigan was admitted as the 26th U.S. state.

1905: The world's largest diamond, the Cullinan, was found in the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa.

1934: Germany signed a 10-year non-aggression pact with Poland, breaking the Treaty of Versailles.

1942: The first American Expeditionary Force to go to Europe during World War II arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1950: India officially became a republic, replacing the Dominion of India.

1988: The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Phantom of the Opera" had its world premiere in London's West End.

1998: President Bill Clinton denied having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

2001: An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale hit the Indian state of Gujarat, killing thousands of people.

2015: A terrorist attack on a hotel in Tripoli, Libya, killed at least nine people.

These are just a few examples, and many more events, both significant and minor, have occurred on January 26 throughout history.