The following events occurred in January 1926:
January 1, 1926 (Friday) Flooding of the Rhine River struck the German city of Köln and 50,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. The torrent of water rose for the worst flooding there in more than 100 years. Radio programming was introduced to Ireland as its first radio station, 2RN (later Radio Éireann), began regular broadcasting. The unbeaten and untied (9–0–0) Alabama Crimson Tide, champion of the Southern Conference played against unbeaten and the once-tied (10–0–1) Pacific Coast Conference champion Washington Huskies met in the Rose Bowl at Pasadena, California before 56,000 spectators. Despite trailing, 12–0 at halftime, Alabama scored three touchdowns in the 3rd quarter to take a 20–12 lead and won by a single point, 20 to 19. The victory has been referred to at Alabama as "the game that changed the South" because it showed to the American public that the impoverished Deep South states could compete with the western and eastern programs that had previously dominated college football. Earlier in the day, the collapse of wooden seats during the annual Tournament of Roses Parade severely injured 30 people and hurt more than 200 others. The U.S. city of Daytona Beach, Florida was created by the merger of the towns of Daytona, Daytona Beach, Kingston, and Seabreeze. Born: V. K. Ramasamy, Indian comedian and film actor who appeared in more than 500 films over a 54-year career; as Virudhunagar Kanthan Ramasamy, in Virudhunagar, Presidency of Fort St. George, British India (present-day Tamil Nadu, India) (d. 2002) James E. Johnson, U.S. Marine and posthumous Medal of Honor recipient for his heroism in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War; in Pocatello, Idaho, United States (d. 1950, killed in action) Robert Descharnes, French photographer who served as business manager and press agent for the artist Salvador Dalí; in Nevers, Nièvre département, France (d. 2014) D. Jamison Cain, United States Postal Service employee who coined the terms "Zone Improvement Plan" and "ZIP code" to describe the five-digit postal code launched in the U.S. on July 1, 1963; as David Jamison Cain Jr., in Sumter, South Carolina, United States (d. 2010)
January 2, 1926 (Saturday) An explosion of pine gases in the U.S. city of Pensacola, Florida, killed 12 people and injured 17 others. The United States Lawn Tennis Association announced that Bill Tilden was ranked as the U.S. national champion for the sixth consecutive year, surpassing the record set by William A. Larned of five titles in a row from 1907 to 1911. Flooding continued to ravage Europe, from England to Romania, due to heavy rains and unseasonably high temperatures. Born: Bruce Harlan, American Olympic diver, gold medalist in the 1948 Summer Olympics, and later the diving coach at the University of Michigan; in Marple Newtown, Pennsylvania, United States (d. 1959) Moideen Kutty, Pakistani footballer and captain of the Pakistan national football team in 1954; in Melmuri, Presidency of St. George, British India (present-day Kerala, India) (d. 2005 or 2011) Harold Bradley, American country music guitarist; in Nashville, Tennessee, United States (d. 2019) Howard Caine, American character actor, best known for the recurring role of Major Hochstetter on Hogan's Heroes; as Howard Cohen, in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States (d. 1993) Died: Richard Caton, 83, English physiologist noted for his 1875 discovery of the electrical nature of the brain and laying the groundwork for the 1929 discovery of the alpha wave rhythm in the human brain (b. 1842) John Gray McKendrick, 84, Scottish physiologis and co-founder of the Physiological Society (b. 1841)
January 3, 1926 (Sunday) General Theodoros Pangalos, who had become Prime Minister of Greece on June 24, 1925 in a coup d'état and restricted freedom of the press, declared a state of emergency and assumed dictatorial powers. Born: George Martin, English record producer and composer, producer for The Beatles; in London, England (d. 2016) W. Michael Blumenthal, German-American economist and politician, served as the 64th United States Secretary of the Treasury; as Werner Michael Blumenthal, in Oranienburg, Germany (alive in 2026)
January 4, 1926 (Monday)
The Parliament of Romania voted to accept Crown Prince Carol's renunciation of his right to the throne in the wake of his scandalous affair with Magda Lupescu, the Roman Catholic daughter of a Jewish pharmacist. Carol's four-year-old son Michael became the new Crown Prince. Carol would later renege on the renunciation and reigned as King of Romania from 1930 to 1940. Andrey Lyapchev took office as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria, forming a government to succeed Aleksandar Tsankov. Lyapchev would serve until 1931. Died: Margherita of Savoy, 74, Queen of Italy from 1878 to 1900 as wife of King Umberto I (b. 1851) Mary Eliza Mahoney, 80, American nurse, was the first African American to study and work as a professionally-trained nurse (b. 1845)
January 5, 1926 (Tuesday) In the United Kingdom, the first Widow's Pensions were paid out at post offices. Born: Ghassan Tueni, Lebanese journalist and publisher of An Nahar; in Beirut, Greater Lebanon (present-day Lebanon) (d. 2012) W.D. Snodgrass, American poet who wrote under his own name and the backward pseudonym "S. S. Gardons"; as William De Witt Snodgrass, in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, United States (d. 2009) Nandanar, Indian novelist; as P. C. Gopalan, in Angadippuram, Madras presidency, British India (present-day Kerala, India) (d. 1974, committed suicide) Candida Tobin, British music educator known for creating the Tobin Method; in Chingford, Essex, England (d. 2008)
January 6, 1926 (Wednesday) The airline Deutsche Luft Hansa (DLH), whose name and staff were used by as part of the 1953 creation of the West German national airline Lufthansa was created in Berlin by the merger of the two largest airlines in Germany, Deutsche Luft-Reederei and Junkers Luftverkehr. Born: Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born American bodybuilder and 1955 Mr. Universe; as Miklós Károly Hargitay, in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (present-day, Hungary) (d. 2006)
January 7, 1926 (Thursday) Ongoing downpours in Europe submerged Great War cemeteries in France and flooded the London subway system. The 15th Canadian Parliament was seated. William Lyon Mackenzie King continued as Prime Minister despite the Conservatives winning more seats in the last federal election, by forming a coalition with the Progressives. King had no seat in the House of Representatives after losing the election in the district of York North, Ontario. The Dartmouth Indians were announced as having been the number one team in U.S. college football for the 1925 season, as a University of Illinois economics professor released the first ratings under what was called the Dickinson System. Under his ratings, which used a measurement that considered overall records, number of games, margins of victory or loss, and strength of the opponent, Dartmouth College finished first with 20.00 points, while University of Michigan and University of Alabama were tied for second at 19.18 points. In order, the other teams in the Top 11 were Colgate University (18.75), University of Missouri (16.25), Tulane University (15.00), University of Washington (14.75), University of Wisconsin and Stanford University (13.75), University of Pittsburgh (12.50), and Lafayette College (11.88).
The comedy team of Burns and Allen was created as vaudevillians Gracie Allen and George Burns were married by a justice of the peace in Cleveland, Ohio. The Royal Academy of Italy was created by the Fascist Party with a declared purpose "to promote and coordinate Italian intellectual activity" and "to preserve the integrity of the national spirit, according to the genius and tradition of the race". The Royal Academy was dissolved after the fall of the Mussolini government in 1943.*. Born: Lieutenant General Srinivas Kumar Sinha, Indian military officer and politician, served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff in 1983, as Governor of Assam from 1997 to 2003 and as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir from 2003 to 2008; in Patna, Bihar and Orissa Province, British India (present-day Bihar, India) (d. 2016) Rosekrans Hoffman, American children's book author; as Ruth Olive Rosekrans, in Denton, Nebraska, United States (d. 2007)
January 8, 1926 (Friday) At the Imperial City of Huế, the 12-year-old Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy was crowned as Emperor of Vietnam, taking the regnal name Bảo Đại. His father, the Emperor Khải Định, had died two months earlier on November 6. At the Grand Mosque of Mecca, Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud, Sultan of Nejd, was proclaimed King of Hejaz by the Public Assembly in a ceremony that included his taking of the oath of allegiance (the bayaa), completing the conquest that would lead to the creation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Three brothers, Herman, Henry and Hillel Hassenfeld incorporated the Hassenfeld Brothers company, initially to manufacture school supplies. The company would eventually begin making toys, under the name Hasbro. Born: Chester Feldman, American game show producer; in The Bronx, New York City, United States (d. 1997) Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano; as Evelyn Shulman, in Brooklyn, New York City, United States (d. 2012) Hanae Mori, Japanese fashion designer; in Yoshika, Shimane, Empire of Japan (present-day Japan) (d. 2022) Kerwin Mathews, American actor known for starring as the title character in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Three Worlds of Gulliver (1960), and Jack the Giant Killer (1962); as Verne Kerwin Mathews, in Seattle, United States (d. 2007) Soupy Sales; American comedian; as Milton Supman, in Franklinton, North Carolina, United States (d. 2009) Died: Andy Smith, 42, American college football player and coach, served as the head coach of the California Golden Bears from 1916 until his death and led the team to win 3 national championships; died of pneumonia (b. 1883)
January 9, 1926 (Saturday) A band of 20 Mexican rebels, under the command of Colonel Manuel Núñez, opened fire aboard a train traveling from Guadalajara to Mexico City, then looted and burned the cars. The train had passed Vista Hermosa de Negrete and was approaching Yurécuaro in the state of Michoacan when the bandits brought it to a halt. Afterward, the bandits escaped on the engine, "carrying away 300,000 pesos in plunder" (equivalent to about U.S.$150,000) of cash and bar silver. Although initial reports reported that as many as 50 guards and passengers were murdered, the figure was later revised to 11 deaths, all of whom had been guards. The Navy League of the United States released a report finding the United States Navy to be unprepared for war and well short of the tonnage limitation set by the Washington Naval Treaty. In Botswana, at the time the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Tshekedi Khama was named as the regent for his 4-year-old nephew, future Botswana president Seretse Khama and Kgosi (monarch) of the ruling Bamangwato people. Tshkedi would serve as the de facto ruler of the Bechuanaland natives until 1949, when he would step aside in light of the reaffirmation of Seretse's rule by the tribal elders. Born: James M. Beggs, American businessman and consultant, served as Administrator of NASA from 1981 to 1985; in Pittsburgh, United States (d. 2020) Chérifa, Algerian singer and songwriter; as Ouardia Bouchemlal, at Ait Hallia, El Main, French Algeria (present-day Algeria) (d. 2014) Died: William Henry Warren, 73, Australian engineer, lawyer and professor (b. 1852)
January 10, 1926 (Sunday) Hernando Siles was sworn into office as the new President of Bolivia after having won the presidential election held on December 1, 1925.