| 10621 | January 26 | Event | 1907 – The Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk III is officially introduced into British Military Service, and remains the second oldest military rifle still in official use. |
| 10622 | January 26 | Event | 1911 – Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane. |
| 10623 | January 26 | Event | 1911 – Richard Strauss' opera Der Rosenkavalier receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera. |
| 10624 | January 26 | Event | 1915 – The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress. |
| 10625 | January 26 | Event | 1918 – Finnish Civil War: A group of Red Guards hangs a red lantern atop the tower of Helsinki Workers' Hall to symbolically mark the start of the war. |
| 10626 | January 26 | Event | 1920 – Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer. |
| 10627 | January 26 | Event | 1924 – Saint Petersburg, Russia, is renamed Leningrad. |
| 10628 | January 26 | Event | 1930 – The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj ("Complete Independence") which occurred 17 years later. |
| 10629 | January 26 | Event | 1934 – The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City. |
| 10630 | January 26 | Event | 1934 – German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact is signed. |
| 10631 | January 26 | Event | 1939 – Spanish Civil War – Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona. |
| 10632 | January 26 | Event | 1942 – World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe landing in Northern Ireland. |
| 10633 | January 26 | Event | 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins encircling the German Fourth Army near Heiligenbeil in East Prussia, which will end in destruction of the 4th Army two months later. |
| 10634 | January 26 | Event | 1945 – World War II: Audie Murphy in action for which he will be awarded the Medal of Honor. |
| 10635 | January 26 | Event | 1949 – The Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory sees first light under the direction of Edwin Hubble, becoming the largest aperture optical telescope (until BTA-6 is built in 1976). |
| 10636 | January 26 | Event | 1950 – The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India. |
| 10637 | January 26 | Event | 1952 – Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. |
| 10638 | January 26 | Event | 1956 – Soviet Union hands Porkkala back to Finland. |
| 10639 | January 26 | Event | 1958 – Japanese ferry Nankai Maru capsizes off southern Awaji Island, Japan, 167 killed. |
| 10640 | January 26 | Event | 1960 – Danny Heater sets a worldwide high school basketball scoring record when he records 135 points for Burnsville High School (West Virginia) |
| 10641 | January 26 | Event | 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. |
| 10642 | January 26 | Event | 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). |
| 10643 | January 26 | Event | 1965 – Hindi becomes the official language of India. |
| 10644 | January 26 | Event | 1966 – The Beaumont Children go missing from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia. |
| 10645 | January 26 | Event | 1978 – The Great Blizzard of 1978, a rare severe blizzard with the lowest non-tropical atmospheric pressure ever recorded in the US until October 2010, strikes the Ohio – Great Lakes region with heavy snow and winds up to 100 mph (161 km/h). |
| 10646 | January 26 | Event | 1980 – Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations. |
| 10647 | January 26 | Event | 1986 – The Ugandan government of Tito Okello is overthrown by the National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni. |
| 10648 | January 26 | Event | 1991 – Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi. |
| 10649 | January 26 | Event | 1992 – Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons. |
| 10650 | January 26 | Event | 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. |