Today is Sunday, Jan. 26, the 26th day of 2020. There are 340 days left in the year.
Today’s highlights: On Jan. 26, 2005, a U.S. Marine helicopter crashed in western Iraq, killing 30 Marines and a Navy medic aboard. A man parked his SUV on railroad tracks in Glendale, California, setting off a crash of two commuter trains that killed 11 people. (The SUV’s driver, Juan Alvarez, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms.)
On this date:
In 1788, the first European settlers in Australia, led by Capt. Arthur Phillip, landed in present-day Sydney.
In 1837, Michigan became the 26th state.
In 1870, Virginia rejoined the Union.
In 1934, the 125th Street Apollo Theater opened in New York City’s Harlem district.
In 1962, the United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon — but the probe ended up missing its target by more than 22,000 miles.
In 1973, actor Edward G. Robinson died in Los Angeles at age 79.
In 1988, Australians celebrated the 200th anniversary of their country as a grand parade of tall ships re-enacted the voyage of the first European settlers. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Phantom of the Opera” opened at Broadway’s Majestic Theater.
In 1993, Vaclav Havel was elected president of the Czech Republic.
In 1994, a scare occurred during a visit to Sydney, Australia, by Britain’s Prince Charles as college student David Kang lunged at the prince, firing two blank shots from a starter’s pistol. (Kang was later sentenced to 500 hours of community service.)
In 1998, President Bill Clinton forcefully denied having an affair with a former White House intern, telling reporters, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”
In 2009, the impeachment trial of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich opened in Springfield, with Blagojevich refusing to take part, saying the rules were biased against him. Nadya Suleman gave birth at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center in California to six boys and two girls, the world’s longest-surviving set of octuplets. Criticism came after the public learned that the unemployed, single mother had gotten pregnant through in vitro fertilization.
Today’s birthdays: Cartoonist Jules Feiffer is 91. Sportscaster-actor Bob Uecker is 85. Actor Scott Glenn is 81. Activist Angela Davis is 76. Rock musician Corky Laing (Mountain) is 72. Actor David Strathairn is 71. Alt-country singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams is 67. Rock singer-musician Eddie Van Halen is 65. Actress-comedian-talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is 62. Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky is 59.
Thought for today: “Time is not measured by the passing of years but by what one does, what one feels, and what one achieves.” — Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian statesman (1889-1964).
— Associated Press
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