TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, Jan. 26, the 26th day of 2024 There are 340 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Jan. 26, 2020, NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna 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.

On this date:

In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Rocky Mountain National Park Act, which created America’s 10th national park.

In 1962, the United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon. (The probe ended up missing its target by more than 22,000 miles.)

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 2005, a U.S. Marine helicopter crashed in western Iraq, killing 30 Marines and a Navy medic aboard.

Today’s birthdays: Cartoonist Jules Feiffer is 95. Sportscaster-actor Bob Uecker is 89. Actor Scott Glenn is 85. Activist Angela Davis is 80. Actor Richard Portnow is 77. Actor David Strathairn is 75. Producer-director Mimi Leder is 72. Alt-country singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams is 71. Actor-comedian-talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is 66. Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky is 63. Musician Andrew Ridgeley is 61. Actor Gilles Marini is 48. Actor Sarah Rue is 46.