Today is January 26: Discover the significance of this date and the historical events that occurred on this day.

On January 26, 2009, the first surviving octuplets in the world were born. In 2001, the Ukrainian ship "Memory of Mercury" sank in the Black Sea. In 1972, Yugoslav flight attendant Vesna Vulović became the sole survivor of the DC-9 plane crash over Hinterhermsdorf. In 1934, a non-aggression pact was signed between Germany and Poland. In 1905, the world's largest diamond, the "Cullinan," was discovered. In 1788, the "First Fleet" reached the shores of Australia. In 1244, the name of the settlement Berlin was mentioned for the first time in chronicles.

Holidays and Commemorative Dates on January 26

January 26 is the Day of the Employee of the State Audit Office of Ukraine in Ukraine.

Worldwide, it is International Customs Day, World Environmental Education Day, and World Leprosy Day (the last Sunday in January).

Also today: Australia Day, International Internet-Free Day (observed on the last Sunday in January), and International Clean Energy Day.

January 26 in History

January 26, 1244 marks the first mention of the name of the settlement Berlin in chronicles. Read more.

January 26, 1788 saw the "First Fleet" anchor in Port Jackson Bay, Australia. Read more.

January 26, 1905 was when the world's largest diamond, the "Cullinan," was discovered in South Africa. Read more.

January 26, 1934 marked the signing of a non-aggression pact between Germany and Poland (the Hitler-Piłsudski Pact). Read more.

January 26, 1972 was when Yugoslav flight attendant Vesna Vulović became the only survivor of the DC-9 crash over Hinterhermsdorf. Read more.

January 26, 1992 saw Ukraine establish diplomatic relations with Japan.

January 26, 2001 was the day when the Ukrainian ship "Memory of Mercury" sank in the Black Sea (150 km from Sevastopol). Read more.

January 26, 2009 was when the first surviving octuplets in California were born. Their mother, Nadya Suleman, set a Guinness World Record and became internationally famous. For a time, her fame brought in significant money, but eventually, she faced difficult times.

At the time Nadya gave birth to the octuplets, she already had six children, all raised by her alone—without a husband. All were conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Nadya underwent her first IVF at the age of 21 (in 1997). All fertilizations were performed by Dr. Michael Kamrava, who was later expelled from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and lost his license. During her seventh IVF, the doctor implanted 12 embryos in Suleman. He later claimed that the decision to keep all eight that "took" was hers. However, Nadya stated that the doctor deceived her, promising that there would only be two children. The multiple births occurred prematurely, at 31 weeks of pregnancy, and were attended by 46 medical professionals. The babies were delivered via cesarean section, with doctors expecting seven children; the eighth was a surprise. The smallest infant weighed only 680 grams, while the largest weighed 1.5 kg. Despite needing artificial ventilation for two of them, all survived, and within six days after birth, all eight were breathing independently.

“A week after the octuplets' birth, Suleman set the record for the longest-living octuplets in U.S. history… Suleman set the Guinness World Record for the most surviving children born at once,” writes the English-language Wikipedia.

Ten days after giving birth to the octuplets, Nadya was discharged from the hospital. The identity of the biological father of all the children remains unknown. She named the sperm donor but insisted she did not know him personally. Nadya's parents helped her raise the children.

Due to the fact that the doctor implanted too many embryos for a woman of her age, investigations were initiated against him. Eventually, the doctor was expelled from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and had his license revoked. The sensational story was actively covered by the media, and the public called for legislation to limit the number of simultaneous embryo implants.

Nadya initially experienced extraordinary popularity, earning money through numerous interviews and participation in shows. However, she later went through a prolonged crisis period—media portrayed her as insane, and she made money as best as she could, even resorting to pornography and stripping, subsequently facing issues with alcohol and drugs, and underwent rehabilitation.

Despite this, over time, it seems Nadya managed to regain control and cope with the enormous number of children. At least, this was the conclusion reached in 2018 by a reporter from The New York Times who visited the family.

“A total of 14 siblings—so many that they eat in shifts. Some sleep on the couch. The octuplets are small for their age, but they are polite