January 26 is:
Spouse’s Day
National Peanut Brittle Day
1564 – The Council of Trent issued its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. It is considered to be one of the Church’s most important councils. It specified Catholic doctrine on salvation, the sacraments, and the Biblical canon. The precepts agreed to have been affirmed by recent Popes.
Publication of Federalist Paper #45: The Alleged Danger From the Powers of the Union to the State Governments Considered written by James Madison in 1788. Madison declares that the Primary Purpose of government is the happiness of the people. He shows that states will “retain extensive portion of active sovereignty”. The federal government will be involved in war, peace, immigration, taxation, and trade. The states retain all other powers. Madison fortells the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights which states that the federal government has only those powers delegated to it; all remaining powers are reserved for the states or the people. He refers to “Achaean League” and “Lycian Confederation” which were associations of Greek city-states which enjoyed “home rule”.
From Turkish Coalition of America:
In summary, the Lycian confederacy made three contributions to the American Constitution. First, it was a model of a federal union the strength of whose parts in the national councils is proportionate to their size. Second, it showed the possibility of popular government that was representative. Third, it offered the example of a strong national government with its own strong officers and the power to make laws that applied directly to individual citizens.
Madison never viewed a national government which would be involved in social issues (abortion, drinking and drug use, gay rights, etc.), education, minimum wages, fuel efficiency, global warming, light bulbs, seat belts, and all the other issues currently discussed at a federal level.
Birthday of Julia Grant (1826), wife of Ulysses S Grant; First Lady 1869-1877. Per Wikipedia:
As First Lady it was suggested to her that she have an operation to correct her crossed eyes, but President Grant said that he liked her that way.
Michigan Day On Jan 26, 1837 Michigan became the twenty-sixth state.
- Capital: Lansing
- Nickname: Great Lakes State/Wolverine State/Water Wonderland
- Motto: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.
- Bird: Robin
- Fish – brook trout
- Flower: Apple blossom
- Fossil – mastodon
- Game Mammal – white-tailed deer
- Gem – Isle Royal greenstone
- Reptile – painted turtle
- Stone – Petoskey stone
- Tree: White Pine
- Wildflower – dwarf lake iris
See our page for the state of Michigan for more interesting facts and trivia about Michigan.
Tennessee enacted the first prohibition law in the United States on Jan 26, 1838.
1855 – Point No Point Treaty was signed in Washington Territory. Point No Point is on the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. The treaty was with the S’Klallam, the Chimakum, and the Skokomish tribes which ceded ownership of their land in exchange for a small reservation and payment of $60,000 from the federal government. The land is now owned jointly by the U. S. Coast Guard and a private landowner and is one of the best birdwatching sites in the state of Washington.
On January 26, 1870, the state of Virginia rejoined the Union.
On Jan. 26, 1880, Douglas MacArthur, the American general who achieved acclaim as a grand strategist in World War II and in Korea, was born.
The Rocky Mountain National Park was established by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1915.
1920 – Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launched the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
Actor Paul Newman was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio on January 26, 1925. He died Sept 26, 2008 in Westport, Connecticut. As well as acting and directing, Paul Newman was a professional race car driver and enthusiast and co-founder of Newman’s Own, a food company from which all profits are donated to charity.
1956 – At Decca Records’ Nashville studios, Buddy Holly‘s first official recording session took place. “Blue Days, Black Nights” was recorded and became his debut single.
1988 The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Phantom of the Opera,” the longest-running show in Broadway history, opened at the Majestic Theater in New York.