Important Events From This day in History January 26

 

1988 The Phantom of the Opera

1988 : Andrew Lloyd Webber's Musical The Phantom of the Opera ( Based on the French novel Le Fantome de lOpera 1909 by Gaston Leroux ) has its first performance on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre in New York and is now the longest running Broadway show in history.

2006 Telegram Ends

2006 : Western Union announces the end of Telegram Services from January 31st 2006 the last telegram is sent the next day. The Telegram service more than any other is superceded by the use of E-Mail with the dawning of the Internet age but still exists in some form or other around the world but not as the primary force of fast communication it was at it's beginnings when the Telephone still only had limited numbers. Today when it is used it is for such things as weddings, births, funerals and graduations and even as a secure form of communication ( due to perceptions of the Internet as an insecure medium.

2005 Glendale Train Crash

A Metrolink commuter train collides with a SUV abandoned on the track causing two trains to derail killing 11 and injuring 200 in Glendale, California, near Los Angeles. The orinal plan of the SUV owner was to commit suicide but he lost his nerve at the last moment he was later arrested and charged and found guilty of 11 counts of murder with "special circumstances."

1945 Auschwitz

Soviet troops enter Auschwitz, Poland, freeing 7,000 starving camp survivors from the network of concentration camps revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there.

Following the repudiation of oil concessions to the Anglo Persian Oil company by the Persian Government in October last year Persia has gone to the league of nations telling of British threats to Persian Sovereignty. The British government is the major shareholder in the Anglo Persian Oil Company and denies claims by Persia that they are giving back the 10% of profits agreed in the 1901 agreement between the two countries and that profits have declined due to economic circumstances.

1939 Nationalists enters Barcelona

Barcelona, the Republican capital of Spain, falls to the Nationalist forces of General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War .

1950 India Independence

India Formally becomes a republic no longer under British rule. The new President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, takes the oath of office. Dr Prasad was a key campaigner in the nationalist movement of Mahatma Gandhi, along with India's interim Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

1952 Anti British Riots

Anti British riots in the capital of Egypt Cairo have left 17 British residents murdered or burnt to death during the trouble. King Farouk has declared martial law and A dawn to dusk curfew has been imposed and police have been given orders to shoot on sight.

1964 JFK Dallas Police Officer

A report in a newspaper dated today had revealed that the funds raised for the family of an assassination victim had reached over $700,000 dollars. The victim of this murder crime was a J.D. Tibbit, a Dallas police officer, who was believed to have been shot by the same man who was suspected to have killed John F. Kennedy.

Governor John Connally was nearly killed as well on the same day as JFK. He was admitted into the hospital in critical condition shortly after the assassination shootings took place.

On this day 1964), Nellie Connally, Governor Connally's wife is seen in great distress on the day of a 16-gun solute that took place at Bergstrom Air Force Base. This was the first day that she had heard a gunshot since the near-death of her husband, and had symptoms of post-traumatic stress, such as severe shivering and crying.

1965 India Hindi

Hindi becomes the official language of India.

1968 Switzerland Avalanche

1968 : Millions of tons of ice and wet snow tumbled rapidly down from the peaks of Swiss Alps. Casualties and damage occurred in an area of over 120 miles right in the midst of central Europe. At least 15 people had died as a result, as reported two days later, and at least 13 more people were yet to be found.

The fear as of this report was that there were actually hundreds more that were dead or missing than those confirmed. Roads and railways were blocked, and it was speculated that thousands of visitors and tourists were isolated in villages and resorts.

1969 Czechoslovakia Student Unrest

Violence erupts after police using truncheons and tear gas to disperse crowds gathered at the foot of the Wenceslas Statue, to pay tribute to Jan Palach, the student who burned himself to death in protest at the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia.

1972 Vietnam War

A recap was printed in a U.S. newspaper which revealed a summary of Nixon's Eight-Point plan to end the Vietnam War. One of the actions revealed in this recount of Nixon's plan was that of an action proposed eight months prior to this time.

The plan presented eight months prior was a plea for the release of all prisoners of war in exchange for U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam. In addition to U.S. withdrawal, this plan also included an agreement that South Vietnam's Nguyen would step down come time for a new election.

It was also recorded in print on this day that Nixon had dispatched Henry Kissinger, his security advisor, to Paris at least a dozen times since August 4 , 1969. The reason for these attempted contacts was to make negotiations with North Vietnam.

In one news source, a quote by Nixon revealed what Nixon has said was the original withdrawal date from Vietnam-May 31, 1971. This plan was rejected by North Vietnam at the next private meeting which had taken plan on June 26th , only less than a month later.

Instead, North Vietnam made a counter nine-point offer that insisted that the U.S. overthrow the government of North Vietnam. If North Vietnam had accepted the United State's original

eight-point plan presented by Nixon, the U.S. troops would have withdrawn within six months and Indo-China cease-fire would have taken place.

1974 Australia Cyclone Wanda

Following unusualy high amounts of Rainfall in Queensland Australia causing rivers to be at maximum, and when Cyclone Wanda came ashore bringing even more rain significant portions of Brisbane covered by two feet of water.

1982 England Unemployment

Unemployment in the UK has risen above three million for the first time since the Thirties.

1995 Norway Missile Launch

Unexpected missile launch was detected near Norway by Russians early-warning defense radar system. This sudden missile launch occurred must a few minutes away from Moscow.

As it turns out, the missile was launched in Spitzbergen, Norway. The purpose of this launch was to carry out scientific measurements. Norway had actually notified 35 countries including Russia of this launch, but the Russian Defense Ministry had failed to report that information to early-warning defense personnel.

1998 Clinton / Lewinsky

1998: President Bill Clinton appears on American Television and denies having "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky

2001 India Earthquake

An earthquake that registered 7.9 on the Richter scale destroyed the city of Bhuj, India claiming the lives of 20,000 people and could be felt as far away as 1,200 miles from the epicenter.

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