Reuters historical calendar - January 26

London, Jan 25 (Reuters) Following are some of the major events to have occurred on January 26 in history: 1905 - The world's largest diamond, the Cullinan, was discovered near Pretoria, weighing 3,106 carats.

1931 - In India, Mahatma Gandhi was released from prison to hold talks with the government during his civil disobedience campaign.

1939 - In the Spanish Civil War, Gen Francisco Franco and his forces captured Barcelona.

1965 - The South Vietnamese military seized power, ousting the civilian government of Tran Van Huong.

1986 - Yoweri Museveni took power in Uganda after a five-year guerrilla war.

1994 - Romania became the first former Cold War foe of NATO to sign a partnership document with the military alliance.

1996 - The US Senate approved the START-2 treaty to reduce US and Russian strategic nuclear missiles.

2001 - An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the western Indian state of Gujurat killing some 18,000 people.

2003 - US tennis star Martina Navratilova became the oldest player to win a Grand Slam title when at 46 she took the Australian Open mixed doubles with partner Leander Paes.

2006 - Islamic militant group Hamas won 74 seats in the 132-member Palestinian parliament, defeating President Mahmoud Abbas's long-dominant Fatah with 45 seats.

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