TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS TUESDAY, JAN. 26, the 26th day of 2021. There are 339 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 2020, NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed when their helicopter plunged into a steep hillside in dense morning fog in Southern California; the former Lakers star was 41.
In 1788, the first European settlers in Australia, led by Capt. Arthur Phillip, landed in present-day Sydney.
In 1907, Congress passed the Tillman Act, which prohibited corporations from making direct campaign contributions to federal election candidates.
In 1960, National Football League team owners chose Pete Rozelle to be the new commissioner, succeeding the late Bert Bell.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Dr. Janet G. Travell to be his personal physician; she was the first woman to hold the job.
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 1988, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Phantom of the Opera” opened at Broadway’s Majestic Theater.
In 1992, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, appearing with his wife, Hillary, on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” acknowledged “causing pain in my marriage,” but said past problems were not relevant to the campaign.
In 1993, Vaclav Havel was elected president of the newly formed 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 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.)
In 2009, Nadya Suleman gave birth at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center in California to six boys and two girls; criticism came after the public learned that the unemployed, single mother had gotten pregnant with the octuplets and six elder children through in vitro fertilization.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Cartoonist Jules Feiffer is 92. Sportscaster-actor Bob Uecker is 86. Actor Scott Glenn is 82. Singer Jean Knight is 78. Activist Angela Davis is 77. Actor Richard Portnow is 74. Rock musician Corky Laing (Mountain) is 73. Actor David Strathairn is 72. Producer-director Mimi Leder is 69. Alt-country singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams is 68. Reggae musician Norman Hassan (UB40) and actor-comedian-talk show host Ellen DeGeneres are 63. Rock musician Charlie Gillingham (Counting Crows) is 61. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Wayne Gretzky is 60. Musician Andrew Ridgeley and R&B singer Jazzie B (Soul II Soul) are 58. Actor Paul Johansson is 57. Director Lenny Abrahamson is 55. Actor Bryan Callen is 54. Gospel singer Kirk Franklin is 51. Actor Nate Mooney is 49. Actor Jennifer Crystal is 48. Rock musician Chris Hesse (Hoobastank) and actor Matilda Szydagis are 47. Actor Gilles Marini and gospel singer Tye Tribbett are 45. Retired NBA player Vince Carter is 44. Actor Sarah Rue is 43. Actor Colin O’Donoghue is 40.