HISTORY AT A GLANCE
TODAY is Thursday, January 26, the 26th day of 2017. There are 339 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
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. 1952 – Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo’s central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. 1958 – Japanese ferry Nankai Maru capsizes off southern
Awaji Island, Japan, 167 killed. 1962 – Ranger program: Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km). 1965 – Hindi becomes the official language of India. 1980 – Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations. 1986 – The Ugandan government of Tito Okello is overthrown by the National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni. 1991 – Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi. 1992 – Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting
United States cities with nuclear weapons. 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had “sexual relations” with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. 2001 – An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than
20,000 deaths. 2004 – President Hamid Karzai signs the new constitution of
Afghanistan. 2004 – A whale explodes in the town of Tainan, Taiwan. A build-up of gas in the decomposing sperm whale is suspected of causing the explosion. 2005 – Glendale train crash: Two trains derail killing 11 and
injuring 200 in Glendale, California, near Los Angeles. 2009 – Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina. 2015 – A giant snow storm hits much of the Northeastern
United States. 2015 – A plane crash at Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete,
Spain kills 11 people and injures 21 others. 2015 – Libby Lane becomes the first woman ordained a
bishop of the Church of England.