It is now 26 January in Australia. Some Australians celebrate, others protest, most just sort of sit around at home and feel hot. But aside from THE 1788 INCIDENT, what else has happened on 26 January in history?
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In 1564 after nearly a decade of deliberation, the Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Catholicism and Protestantism, mainly so they can condemn the latter. These days they'd just get someone to pass an executive order.
In 1808, the New South Wales Corps launched the only successful military coup in Australian history, arresting chronic mutiny-victim William Bligh and declaring martial law. Bligh's big crime was to oppose the corrupt practices of the 'Rum Corps' officers. The government was restored in 1810.
In 1841, after one of the more morally dubious conflicts in British history (the First Opium War), Commodore Gordon Bremer takes possession of Hong Kong Island for Great Britain. Britain will remain in control until 1997, apart from a brief Japanese occupation from 1941-45.
In 1885, war hero and complete nutter General Charles George Gordon is killed when the forces of the self-declared Madhi, Muhammed Ahmad, capture Khartoum. Gordon had been expressly ordered to leave Khartoum but had refused; his death leads to the fall of William Gladstone's second ministry.
In 1952, following an engagement between British and Egyptian forces at Ismailia in the Suez Canal Zone, an anti-royal and anti-British riot breaks out in Cairo. 26 are killed and 552 are injured. In July, a military coup will overthrow King Farouk, leading to the rule Gamal Abdel Nasser.
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