Today is January 26 2014

National Peanut Brittle Day.: More

• Toad Hollow Day of Encouragement!: More
  
• Grammy Awards Night: More
• Australia Day: More

• In 1788, The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on the continent. Commemorated as Australia Day.
  From Wikipedia: 'Australia officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is an Oceanian country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. '
  
  'For about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages grouped into roughly 250 language groups. After the European discovery of the continent by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788.'
  
  'The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at the Pennefather River near the modern town of Weipa on Cape York.'
  
  'In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.'.
  
  'With the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the "First Fleet", under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales. A camp was set up and the flag raised at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, on 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day, Australia Day, although the British Crown Colony of New South Wales was not formally promulgated until 7 February 1788.
  
  The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration and settlement of other regions'. More
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• In 1802, President Thomas Jefferson donates books for the revival of the Library of Congress.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Library of Congress is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress, but which is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. The Library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and also maintains the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, which houses the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center'.
  
  'The library is the second largest library by collection size, with the largest being the British Library.'.
  
  'The small Congressional Library was housed in the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century until the early 1890s. Most of the original collection had been destroyed by the British in 1814 during the War of 1812. To restore its collection in 1815, the library bought from former president Thomas Jefferson his entire personal collection of 6,487 books'. More
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• In 1837, Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
  From Wikipedia: 'Michigan is a state in the Great Lakes region of the Midwestern United States. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake". Michigan is the tenth most populous of the 50 United States, with the 11th most extensive total area (the largest state by total area east of the Mississippi River). Its capital is Lansing, and the largest city is Detroit'. More
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• In 1875, The electric dental drill was patented by George F Green.
  From Wikipedia: 'In later times, mechanical hand drills were used. Like most hand drills, they were quite slow, with speeds of up to 15 rpm. In 1864, British dentist George Fellows Harrington invented a clockwork dental drill named Erado. The device was much faster than earlier drills, but also very noisy. In 1868, American dentist George F. Green came up with a pneumatic dental drill powered with pedal-operated bellows. James B. Morrison devised a pedal-powered burr drill in 1871'.
  
  'The first electric dental drill was patented in 1875 by Green, a development that revolutionized dentistry. By 1914, electric dental drills could reach speeds of up to 3000 rpm. A second wave of rapid development occurred in the 1950s and 60s, including the development of the air turbine drill'. More
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• In 1905, The world's largest diamond ever, the Cullinan weighing 3,106.75 carats (0.621350 kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Cullinan diamond is a non-carbonado and gem-quality diamond. At the time of its discovery in South Africa, the rough and unpolished original weighed 3,106.75 carats (621.350 g; 21.9175 oz).[3] About 10.5 cm (4.1 inches) long in its largest dimension, it was found on 26 January 1905, in the Premier No. 2 mine, near Pretoria, South Africa'. More
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• In 1911, Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane.
  From Wikipedia: 'Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 - July 23, 1930) was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early as 1904, he began to manufacture engines for airships. In 1908 Curtiss joined the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), a pioneering research group, founded by Alexander Graham Bell at Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia to build flying machines.'
  
  'On January 26, 1911, he flew the first seaplane from the water in the United States'. More
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• In 1915, The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
  From Wikipedia: 'Rocky Mountain National Park is a national park located in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Colorado. It features majestic mountain views, mountain lakes, a variety of wildlife, varied climates and environments-from wooded forests to mountain tundra-and easy access to back-country trails and campsites. The park is located northwest of Boulder, Colorado, and includes the Continental Divide and the headwaters of the Colorado River'. More
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• In 1920, Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
  From Wikipedia: 'Henry Leland, a former manager of the Cadillac division of General Motors, and his son, Wilfred Leland, formed The Lincoln Motor Company in August 1917. The Lincoln Motor Company Plant was at 6200 West Warren Avenue (at Livernois) in Detroit, Michigan. Leland named the new company after Abraham Lincoln, his hero and for whom he cast his first presidential vote in 1864, when he was 21. Lincoln's first source of revenue came from assembling Liberty aircraft engines, using cylinders supplied by Ford Motor Company, to fulfill World War I government contracts'. More
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• In 1926, An early Television prototype is first demonstrated by John L Baird, London.
  From Wikipedia: 'On 26 January 1926, Baird repeated the transmission for members of the Royal Institution and a reporter from The Times in his laboratory at 22 Frith Street in the Soho district of London. By this time, he had improved the scan rate to 12.5 pictures per second. It was the first demonstration of a television system that could broadcast live moving images with tone graduation'. More
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• In 1945, The most decorated man in WW II, Audie Murphy was wounded. For his action on this day, he receives the Medal Of Honor.
  From Wikipedia: 'Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 - 28 May 1971) was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II, receiving every military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. At the age of 19, Murphy received the Medal of Honor after single-handedly holding off an entire company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, then leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition'. More
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• In 1949, The Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory sees first light under the direction of Edwin Hubble, becoming the largest aperture optical telescope (until BTA-6 is built in 1976).
  From Wikipedia: 'The Hale Telescope is a 200-inch (5.1 m), f/3.3 reflecting telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California, US, named after astronomer George Ellery Hale. With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, he orchestrated the planning, design, and construction of the observatory, but did not live to see its commissioning. The Hale was groundbreaking for its time, with double the diameter of the next largest telescope and pioneering the use of many technologies such as vapor deposited aluminum and low thermal expansion glass. It is still in active use.'
  
  'The 200-inch (510 cm) Hale saw first light on January 26, 1949 under the direction of American astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble, targeting NGC 2261, an object also known as Hubble's Variable Nebula. The photographs made then were published in the astronomical literature and in the May 7, 1949 issue of Collier's Magazine.'. More
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• In 1950, The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India. More
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• In 1972, Air stewardess Vesna Vulovic survives a 10,160m fall in the wreckage of a bombed airplane.
  From Wikipedia: 'Vesna Vulovic, born 3 January 1950) is a Serbian former flight attendant. She holds the distinction of being the world record holder, according to the Guinness Book of Records, for surviving the highest fall without a parachute: 10,160 metres (33,333 ft).'
  
  'On 26 January 1972, an explosion on JAT Flight 367, while over Srbsk  Kamenice in Czechoslovakia (now in the Czech Republic) caused the plane to break apart. Vulovic, 22 years old at the time, was a flight attendant on board. She was not scheduled to be on that flight; she had been mixed up with another flight attendant who was also named Vesna'. More
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• In 1979, The TV show 'Dukes of Hazzard' premieres.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts'. More
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• In 1988, The 'Phantom of the Opera', has its first performance on Broadway at the Majestic Theater. It's first performance was in London in 1986.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Phantom of the Opera is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Charles Hart with additions from Richard Stilgoe. Lloyd Webber and Stilgoe also wrote the musical's book together. Based on the French novel Le Fant“me de l'Op‚ra by Gaston Leroux, its central plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daa‚, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius'. More
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• In 2006, Western Union discontinues the use of its telegram service.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Western Union Company is an American financial services and communications company. Its North American headquarters is in Meridian, Colorado, though the postal designation of nearby Englewood is used in its mailing address. Up until it discontinued the service in 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S. company in the business of exchanging telegrams.'
  
  'On January 26, 2006, First Data Corporation announced plans to spin Western Union off as an independent, publicly traded company. Western Union's focus will remain money transfers. The next day, Western Union announced that it would cease offering telegram transmission and delivery, the product most associated with the company throughout its history. This was, however, not the original Western Union telegram service, but a new service of First Data under the Western Union banner; the original telegram service was sold off after New Valley Corporation's bankruptcy and now operates as iTelegram'. More
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Nothing. Looks like I was lazy on this day.

No. 1 song

• I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Beatles: More
  The Beatles have there first hit the No. 1 in the US.

Top movie

• The Sword in the Stone More
  It will stay on top until the weekend box office ratings of February 2, 1964, when Dr. Strangelove takes over

• FamousBirthdays.com: January 26 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: January 26 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 26th January More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 26th January More
• On-This-day.com history 26th January More
• On-This-day.com music history 26th January More
• Wikipedia.com: History January 26 More

National: Egg Month, Hot Tea Month, Oatmeal Month, Soup Month.

January is:

January origin (from Wikipedia): 'January is named after Janus, the God of beginnings and transitions; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latin word for door since January is the door to the year.'

'January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter) and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer). In the Southern hemisphere, January is the seasonal equivalent of July in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa.'

January at Wikipedia: More

If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago, or your 45 RPM record player was broke, you might watch one of these shows on TV.
From this Wikipedia article: More

Best selling books of 1964 More

• Astronomy Picture of the Day: More
• NOAA: - National Hurricane Center - Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook: More
• Listen to Old Radio Shows: (streaming mp3 with schedule) More
• NASA TV: (video feed) More
  NASA TV schedule: More
• Public Domain eBook Links

  Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More

• Podcast: A Moment of Science. Approximately 1 minute general science facts.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Podcast: The Naked Scientists. Current science, medicine, space and other science
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Podcast: Quirks & Quarks. Current science news.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Articles and videos: Universe Today. Current space and astronomy news.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Old Picture of the Day - "Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph."
  Home page: More
  RSS: More

Below, are listed several holiday sites that I reference in addition to other holiday researches.

US Government Holidays

• 2014 Postal Holidays More
• 2014 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

• List of holidays by country More
• Holidays and Observances around the World More