Other Notable Events, January 26

In 1788, the first shipload of British convicts arrived in Australia. The establishment of an Australian prison colony was aimed at relieving overcrowding in British prisons.

In 1837, Michigan joined the United States as the 26th state.

In 1861, Louisiana seceded from the United States.

In 1875, the electric dental drill was patented by George Green of Kalamazoo, Mich.

In 1918, to promote food conservation during World War I, the U.S. government called for one meatless day, two wheatless days and two porkless days each week.

In 1949, the 200-inch Hal Telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California has first-light exposure.

In 1950, India ceased to be a British dominion and became the Republic of India, most populous democracy in the world.

In 1980, six Americans hidden for three months in the Canadian Embassy in Tehran were smuggled out of Iran by Canadian diplomats.

In 1988, The Phantom of the Opera opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre in New York.

In 1990, hurricane-force winds pounded the British Isles and much of Northern Europe, killing at least 92 people and knocking out power to nearly 1 million people.

In 1991, Iraq fired Scuds at Israel and Saudi Arabia but most were intercepted by Patriot missiles.

In 1996, the U.S. Senate ratified SALT II. President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin had signed the arms reduction agreement three years before.

In 1998, in response to allegations that he had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, U.S. President Bill Clinton declared, I did not have sexual relations with that woman.

In 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton welcomed Pope John Paul II to St. Louis.

In 2001, more than 20,000 people were killed when a magnitude-7.9 earthquake rocked western India.

In 2005, a Marine helicopter crashed in Iraq killing all 31 Americans aboard.

In 2006, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and his Cabinet resigned after their party was defeated by Hamas in the parliamentary election. However, President Mahmoud Abbas of the defeated Fatah party remained in office.

In 2008, Kenya sent military forces into the Rift Valley to deal with escalating ethnic violence growing from the disputed Dec. 30 election that has killed an estimated 650 people and displaced tens of thousands.

In 2009, a 33-year-old single California mom gave birth to eight babies, reported to be only the second set of octuplets ever to be born alive in the United States. The six boys and two girls ranged in weight from 1 1/2 pounds to just more than 3 pounds. Nadya Suleman earlier had six other children. All 14 of her children were conceived through in vitro fertilization.

In 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a TV interview he would rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president.

In 2011, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed past the 12,000 mark for the first time since June 2008.

In 2012, The U.S. Federal Reserve said low interest rates were likely to be the status quo through late 2014 because of the slumping American economy. Reaction among investors was mixed. To some, it was good news; others saw it as an admission the economic recovery would remain tepid for an additional 18 months.