This Day In History : January 26

1998 United States

Intel Launches 333 MHz Pentium II Chip

On January 26, 1998, Intel launched the 333 MHz Pentium II chip, enhancing computing power and performance for personal computers. This advancement marked a significant step forward in processor technology, catering to the growing demands of software and applications.

Also on This Day in History January 26

Discover what happened on January 26 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, January 26
  • 1911 Polykarp Kusch

    German-American physicist who shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1955 for his accurate determination that the magnetic moment of the electron is greater than its theoretical value.

  • 1907 Hans Selye

    Hans Hugo Bruno Selye was an Austrian-born Canadian endocrinologist known for his studies of the effects of stress on the human body.

  • 1904 Ancel Keys

    American nutritionist and epidemiologist who was the first to identify the role of saturated fats in causing heart disease.

  • 1892 Bessie Coleman

    American aviator who was the first African-American to qualify for a pilot license.

  • 1810 Joseph Rogers Brown

    American inventor and manufacturer who made numerous advances in the field of fine measurement and machine-tool production.

Deaths on This Day, January 26
  • 1939 Albert Sauveur

    Belgian-born American metallurgist whose microscopic and photomicroscopic studies of metal structures make him one of the founders of physical metallurgy.

  • 1895 Arthur Cayley

    English mathematician who played a leading role in founding the modern British school of pure mathematics.

  • 1891 Nikolaus August Otto

    German engineer and inventor who developed the four-stroke internal-combustion engine, which offered the first practical alternative to the steam engine as a power source.

  • 1885 Edward Davy

    English physician, chemist and inventor of an electromagnetic repeater for relaying telegraphic signals (1836) and an electrochemical telegraph (1838). 

  • 1630 Henry Briggs

    English mathematician who constructed the decimal-based common (Briggsian) logarithms that use base 10, and popularized them in Europe.

1905

Largest diamond

In 1905, the world's largest gem-quality diamond was discovered in the Premier mines in Transvaal (a British crown colony that later became part of South Africa).
1700

Canadian earthquake

In 1700, an earthquake, the most intense Canada has ever seen, hit the sea floor off the British Columbia coast.
1911

Hydroplane

In 1911, Glenn Curtiss piloted the first hydroplane flight at North Island, San Diego, California, with a successful take-off from water and landing on water.
1950

India becomes a republic

On January 26, 1950, India officially became a republic, adopting its new constitution and declaring itself a sovereign state. This transformation ended British rule and began India's journey as the world's largest democracy.
Holiday
Special day
Discover invention