January 26: What Happened on This Day in History (Elementary Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 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
2. 1837 - Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
3. 1915 - The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
4. 1961 - John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician. This is the first time a woman holds the appointment of Physician to the President.
5. 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).
6. Famous Birthdays: Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (French sculptor), Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (Italian-French explorer), Wilder Penfield (American-Canadian neurosurgeon), Rupprecht Geiger (German painter), Polykarp Kusch (German-American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: January 25

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: January 27

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.