This day in history

[January 26, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Jan. 26, the 26th day of 2010. There are 339 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Jan. 26, 1950, India officially proclaimed itself a republic as Rajendra Prasad took the oath of office as president.

On this date:

In 1788, the first European settlers in Australia, led by Capt. Arthur Phillip, landed in present-day Sydney.

In 1837, Michigan became the 26th state.

In 1841, Britain formally occupied Hong Kong, which the Chinese had ceded to the British.

In 1861, Louisiana seceded from the Union.

In 1870, Virginia rejoined the Union.

In 1925, actor Paul Newman was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

In 1942, the first American expeditionary force to go to Europe during World War II went ashore in Northern Ireland.

In 1960, National Football League team owners chose Pete Rozelle to be the new commissioner, succeeding the late Bert Bell.

In 1962, the United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon -- but the probe missed its target by more than 22,000 miles.

In 1979, former Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller died in New York at age 70.

Ten years ago: The grandmothers of Elian Gonzalez hugged and kissed the 6-year-old boy during a tense, 90-minute meeting in Miami Beach that had been arranged by the U.S. government. Tennis great Don Budge, who in 1938 became the first Grand Slam winner, died in Scranton, Pa. at age 84.

Five years ago: 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, Calif., 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.) Condoleezza Rice was sworn in as secretary of state, following her confirmation by the Senate.

One year ago: Timothy Geithner was sworn in as the nation's 75th treasury secretary, less than an hour after winning Senate confirmation. The impeachment trial of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-uh-vich) opened in Springfield, with Blagojevich refusing to take part, saying the rules were biased against him. Nadya Suleman gave birth at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center in California to the world's longest-surviving set of octuplets.

Today's birthdays: Actress Anne Jeffreys is 87. Actress Joan Leslie is 85. Cartoonist Jules Feiffer is 81. Sportscaster-actor Bob Uecker is 75. Actor Scott Glenn is 71. Singer Jean Knight is 67. Activist Angela Davis is 66. Rock musician Corky Laing (Mountain) is 62. Actor David Strathairn (streh-THEHRN') is 61. Alt-country singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams is 57. Rock singer-musician Eddie Van Halen is 55. Reggae musician Norman Hassan (UB40) is 52. Actress-comedian-talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is 52. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Wayne Gretzky is 49. Musician Andrew Ridgeley is 47. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jazzie B. (Soul II Soul) is 47. Actor Paul Johansson is 46. Gospel singer Kirk Franklin is 40. Actress Jennifer Crystal is 37. Rock musician Chris Hesse (Hoobastank) is 36. Actor Gilles Marini (ZHEEL ma-REE'-nee) is 34. Orlando Magic player Vince Carter is 33. Actress Sarah Rue is 32. Country musician Michael Martin (Marshall Dyllon) is 27.

Thought for today: "As long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think, free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost, and science can never regress." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist (1904-1967)

[Associated Press]

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