Today is Wednesday, Jan. 28, the 28th day of 2026. There are 337 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida, killing all seven crew members including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
Also on this date:
In 1547, England’s King Henry VIII died at age 55; he was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI.
In 1813, the novel “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen was first published, anonymously, in London.
In 1922, 98 people were killed when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre in Washington, D.C., collapsed under the weight of nearly 2 feet of snow.
In 1956, Elvis Presley made his first national TV appearance on “Stage Show,” a CBS program hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.
In 1980, six U.S. diplomats who had avoided being taken hostage at their embassy in Tehran flew out of Iran with the help of Canadian diplomats; the events were later dramatized in the film “Argo.”
In 1985, to raise funds in support of famine relief in Ethiopia, the supergroup USA For Africa recorded the song “We Are the World.”
In 2011, protesters opposed to Hosni Mubarak’s nearly 30-year rule of Egypt seized the streets of Cairo, battling police, burning down ruling party headquarters and defying a military curfew. Hundreds of protesters would be killed in ensuing days in attempts to crush the uprising before Mubarak stepped down as president that February.
In 2017, Serena Williams won her record 23rd Open Era Grand Slam singles title, defeating her sister Venus at the Australian Open for what would be her final major championship.
In 2024, three American troops were killed and 25 were injured in a drone strike in Jordan near the border with Syria. President Joe Biden blamed Iran-backed militias for the first U.S. fatalities after months of strikes by the groups against American forces across the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Today’s birthdays: Actor Alan Alda is 90. Former NBA coach Gregg Popovich is 77. Golf Hall of Famer Nick Price is 69. Film director Frank Darabont is 67. Singer Sarah McLachlan is 58. Rapper Rakim is 58. Humorist Mo Rocca is 57. R&B singer Anthony Hamilton is 55. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is 54. Rapper Rick Ross is 50. Singer Joey Fatone Jr. (’N Sync) is 49. Singer Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) is 46. Actor Elijah Wood is 45. Rapper J. Cole is 41. Actor Ariel Winter is 28.
By The Associated Press
