March 26

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March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 280 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1199 - Richard the Lionheart is fatally wounded by a crossbow bolt during a siege in France, he dies eleven days later. The marksman, a french noble named Pierre Basile, is executed.
• 1484 - William Caxton printed his translation of Aesop's Fables.
• 1552 - Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh Guru.
• 1636 - Utrecht University is founded in The Netherlands.
• 1808 - Charles IV of Spain abdicates in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII.
• 1812 - An earthquake destroys Caracas, Venezuela.
• 1839 - The first Henley Royal Regatta is held.
• 1881 - Thessaly is freed and becomes part of Greece again.
• 1913 - Balkan War: Bulgarian forces take Adrianople.
• 1917 - World War I: First Battle of Gaza - British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
• 1934 - Driving test introduced in the United Kingdom.
• 1942 - World War II: In Poland, Auschwitz receives its first female prisoners.
• 1945 - World War II: In Iwo Jima, US forces declare Iwo Jima as "secure."
• 1953 - Jonas Salk announces his polio vaccine.
• 1958 - The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
• 1958 - The African Regroupment Party (PRA) is launched at a meeting in Paris.
• 1965 - A truck loses control down Moosic Street, Scranton, Pennsylvania, killing the driver. This accident later inspired the 1974 Harry Chapin song, "30,000 Pounds of Bananas."
• 1967 - Ten thousand people gather for the Central Park Be-In.
• 1971 - East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form People's Republic of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Liberation War begins.
• 1975 - The Biological Weapons Convention enters into force.
• 1976 - Queen Elizabeth II sent out the first royal email, from the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment.
• 1977 - Focus on the Family is founded by Dr. James Dobson
• 1979 - Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in Washington, DC.
• 1982 - A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, DC.
• 1995 - The Schengen Treaty goes into effect.
• 1996 - The International Monetary Fund approves a $10.2 billion loan for Russia.
• 1997 - Thirty-nine bodies found in the Heaven's Gate cult suicides.
• 1998 - Oued Bouaicha massacre in Algeria; 52 people killed with axes and knives, 32 of them babies under the age of 2.
• 1999 - The "Melissa worm" infects Microsoft word processing and e-mail systems around the world.
• 1999 - A jury in Michigan finds Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man.
• 2000 - Vladimir Putin is elected 2nd President of Russia.
• 2005 - The Taiwanese government calls on 1 million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei, in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China. Around 200,000 to 300,000 attend the walk.
• 2006 - In Scotland, the prohibition of smoking in all substantially enclosed public places comes into force.
• 2006 - The military junta ruling Myanmar officially named Naypyidaw, a new city in Mandalay Division, as the new capital. Yangon had formerly been the nation's capital.

Births

• 1516 - Conrad Gessner, Swiss naturalist (d. 1565)
• 1554 - Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, French military leader (d. 1611)
• 1698 - Václav Prokop Diviš, Czech theologian and natural scientist (d. 1765)
• 1749 - William Blount, American Statesman (d. 1800)
• 1753 - Benjamin Thompson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1814)
• 1773 - Nathaniel Bowditch, American mathematician and navigation expert (d. 1838)
• 1794 - Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter (d. 1872)
• 1859 - Alfred Edward Housman, English poet (d. 1936)
• 1859 - Adolf Hurwitz, German mathematician (d. 1919)
• 1868 - King Fuad I of Egypt (d. 1936)
• 1874 - Robert Frost, American poet (d. 1963)
• 1875 - Max Abraham, German physicist (d. 1922)
• 1875 - Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea (d. 1965)
• 1876 - Prince William of Wied, sovereign Prince of Albania (d. 1945)
• 1879 - Othmar Ammann, Swiss-born bridge engineer (d. 1965)
• 1882 - Hermann Obrecht, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1940)
• 1884 - Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist (d. 1969)
• 1886 - Hugh Mulzac, America military officer (d. 1971)
• 1894 - Viorica Ursuleac, Romanian soprano (d. 1985)
• 1896 - Rudolf Dassler, Founder of PUMA AG (d. 1974)
• 1898 - Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (d. 1979)
• 1888 - Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse (d. 1948)
• 1893 - Palmiro Togliatti, Italian communist leader (d. 1964)
• 1904 - Joseph Campbell, American author (d. 1987)
• 1904 - Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, screenwriter and film director (d. 1986)
• 1904 - Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2004)
• 1905 - Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1997)
• 1906 - Rafael Mendez, Mexican trumpetist (d. 1981)
• 1908 - Franz Stangl, German commandant of Nazi concentration camps (d. 1971)
• 1911 - Bernard Katz, German-born biophysicist, Nobel laureate (d. 2003)
• 1911 - Tennessee Williams, American dramatist (d. 1983)
• 1911 - T. Hee, American animator (d. 1988)
• 1913 - Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1996)
• 1914 - Toru Kumon, Japanese educator (d. 1995)
• 1914 - William Westmoreland, U.S. general (d. 2005)
• 1916 - Christian B. Anfinsen, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1995)
• 1916 - Bill Edrich, English cricketer (d. 1986)
• 1916 - Sterling Hayden, American actor (d. 1986)
• 1917 - Rufus Thomas, American musician (d. 2001)
• 1919 - Strother Martin, American actor (d. 1980)
• 1922 - Oscar Sala, Italian-born physicist
• 1923 - Gert Bastian, German politician (d. 1992)
• 1923 - Bob Elliott, American comedian
• 1925 - Pierre Boulez, French composer and conductor
• 1925 - James Moody, American jazz musician, composer, and actor
• 1930 - Gregory Corso, American poet (d. 2001)
• 1930 - Sandra Day O'Connor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• 1931 - Leonard Nimoy, American actor and director
• 1934 - Alan Arkin, American actor
• 1935 - Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestine National Authority
• 1937 - Wayne Embry, American basketball player
• 1938 - Anthony James Leggett, American physicist, Nobel laureate
• 1940 - James Caan, American actor
• 1940 - Nancy Pelosi, American politician and 60th Speaker of the House
• 1941 - Richard Dawkins, British evolutionary biologist
• 1941 - Yvon Marcoux, Quebec politician
• 1942 - Erica Jong, American author
• 1943 - Bob Woodward, American journalist
• 1944 - Diana Ross, American singer (Supremes)
• 1945 - Mikhail Voronin, Soviet gymnast (d. 2004)
• 1946 - Johnny Crawford, American actor
• 1946 - Alain Madelin, French politician
• 1947 - Dar Robinson, American stuntman (d. 1986)
• 1948 - Richard Tandy, British keyboardist (Electric Light Orchestra)
• 1948 - Steven Tyler, American singer (Aerosmith)
• 1949 - Vicki Lawrence, American actress and singer
• 1949 - Patrick Süskind, German writer
• 1950 - Teddy Pendergrass, American singer
• 1950 - Martin Short, Canadian comedian
• 1950 - Ernest Thomas, American actor
• 1951 - Carl Wieman, American physicist, Nobel laureate
• 1952 - Didier Pironi, French Formula One driver (d. 1987)
• 1953 - Elaine Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor
• 1953 - Lincoln Chafee, American Senator from Rhode Island
• 1953 - Youssouf Togoïmi, Chadian rebel (d. 2002)
• 1954 - Kazuhiko Inoue, Japanese seiyu (voice actor)
• 1954 - Curtis Sliwa, American founder of the Guardian Angels
• 1955 - Danny Arndt, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1956 - Charly McClain, American singer
• 1957 - Leeza Gibbons, American television host
• 1957 - Paul Morley, English music journalist and musician
• 1958 - Chris Codiroli, American baseballer
• 1958 - Elio de Angelis, Italian racing driver (d. 1986)
• 1959 - Chris Hansen, American reporter and correspondent
• 1960 - Catherine Keener, American actress
• 1960 - Marcus Allen, American football player
• 1960 - Jennifer Grey, American actress
• 1961 - William Hague, British politician
• 1962 - John Stockton, American basketball player
• 1962 - Paul de Leeuw, Dutch television host
• 1963 - Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese writer
• 1963 - Amparo Larrañaga, Spanish actress
• 1963 - Roch Voisine, Canadian singer and songwriter
• 1964 - Martin Donnelly, Irish racecar driver
• 1964 - Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1966 - Nick Wirth, British engineer
• 1966 - Michael Imperioli, actor on The Sopranos
• 1968 - Kenny Chesney, American singer
• 1968 - James Iha, American musician (The Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle)
• 1968 - Laurent Brochard, French cyclist
• 1971 - Behzad Ghorbani, Iranian zoologist and sociobiologist
• 1972 - Jon Reep, American comedian and actor
• 1973 - Heather Goldenhersh, American actress
• 1973 - Lawrence E. Page, American search engine pioneer
• 1973 - T.R. Knight, American actor
• 1974 - Mike Peca, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1976 - Amy Smart, American actress
• 1976 - Natalia Livingston, American Soap actress
• 1976 - Nurgül Yeşilçay, Turkish actress
• 1976 - Ufuk Talay, Australian soccer player
• 1977 - Kevin Davies, English footballer
• 1977 - Sylvain Grenier, Canadian professional wrestler
• 1978 - Anastasia Kostaki, Greek basketball player
• 1979 - Hiromi Uehara, Japanese jazz pianist
• 1979 - Pierre Wome, Cameroonian footballer
• 1981 - Baruch Dego, Israeli football player
• 1981 - Josh Wilson, American baseball player
• 1982 - Mikel Arteta, Spanish footballer
• 1983 - David Bennett, Canadian powerlifter and steamfitter
• 1983 - Michael Brendli, American professional wrestler
• 1984 - Gregory Strydom, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1984 - Stéphanie Lapointe, Canadian artist and singer, 2004 Star Académie winner
• 1984 - Sara Jean Underwood, American model
• 1985 - Keira Knightley, English actress
• 1985 - Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwean cricket captain
• 1985 - Jonathan Groff, American stage actor
• 1987 - Yui, Japanese musician
• 1991 - Brittney Wilson, Canadian actress

Deaths

• 304 - Saint Emmanuel, Christian martyr killed under Diocletian
• 922 - Al-Hallaj, Persian Sufi teacher and writer
• 1130 - King Sigurd I of Norway (b. ca. 1090)
• 1212 - King Sancho I of Portugal (b. 1154)
• 1517 - Heinrich Isaac, Flemish composer
• 1535 - Georg Tannstetter, Austrian scientist (b. 1482)
• 1546 - Thomas Elyot, English diplomat
• 1566 - Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish composer (b. 1510)
• 1649 - John Winthrop, second governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
• 1679 - Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian-born humanist (b. 1621)
• 1697 - Godfrey McCulloch, Scottish politician and murderer (executed) (b. 1640)
• 1726 - Sir John Vanbrugh, English dramatist (b. 1664)
• 1772 - Charles Pinot Duclos, French writer (b. 1704)
• 1776 - Samuel Ward, American politician (b. 1725)
• 1780 - Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b. 1713)
• 1793 - John Mudge, English physician (b. 1721)
• 1797 - James Hutton, Scottish geologist (b. 1726)
• 1814 - Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, namesake of the guillotine (b. 1738)
• 1827 - Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (b. 1770)
• 1858 - John Addison Thomas, American soldier (b. 1811)
• 1881 - Roman Sanguszko, Polish aristocrat (b. 1800)
• 1892 - Walt Whitman, American poet (b. 1819)
• 1902 - Cecil Rhodes, English explorer (b. 1853)
• 1905 - Maurice Barrymore, actor; patriarch of the Barrymore family (b. 1849)
• 1910 - Auguste Charlois, French astronomer (b. 1864)
• 1910 - An Jung-geun, Japanese assassin of Ito Hirobumi (executed) (b. 1879)
• 1920 - William Chester Minor, American surgeon and contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary (b. 1834)
• 1923 - Sarah Bernhardt, French actress (b. 1844)
• 1926 - Konstantin Fehrenbach, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1852)
• 1929 - Katharine Lee Bates, American poet (b. 1859)
• 1933 - Eddie Lang, American musician (b. 1902)
• 1940 - Spiridon Louis, Greek runner, winner of the first modern Olympics marathon (b. 1873)
• 1942 - Jimmy Burke, American baseball player (b. 1874)
• 1945 - David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1863)
• 1951 - James F. Hinkle, American politician, sixth Governor of New Mexico (d. 1864)
• 1957 - Édouard Herriot, French politician (b. 1872)
• 1958 - Phil Mead, English cricketer (b. 1887)
• 1959 - Raymond Chandler, American-born novelist (b. 1888)
• 1969 - John Kennedy Toole, American author (b. 1937)
• 1973 - Noel Coward, English composer and playwright (b. 1899)
• 1973 - Johnny Drake, American football player (b. 1916)
• 1973 - Don Messer, Canadian fiddler (b. 1909)
• 1973 - George Sisler, American baseball player (b. 1893)
• 1976 - Josef Albers, German artist (b. 1888)
• 1976 - Lin Yutang, Chinese writer (b. 1895)
• 1978 - Wilfred Pickles, English actor and broadcaster (b. 1904)
• 1983 - Anthony Blunt, British art historian and spy (b. 1907)
• 1984 - Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea (b. 1922)
• 1987 - Eugen Jochum, German conductor (b. 1902)
• 1990 - Halston, American fashion designer (b. 1932)
• 1992 - Barbara Frum, Canadian journalist (b. 1937)
• 1995 - Eazy-E, American rapper (b. 1963)
• 1996 - Edmund Muskie, American politician (b. 1914)
• 1996 - David Packard, American engineer and businessman (b. 1912)
• 1997 - Marshall Applewhite, American cult leader (b. 1931)
• 2000 - Alex Comfort, American author (b. 1920)
• 2002 - Randy Castillo, American drummer (Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe) (b. 1950)
• 2003 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator (b. 1927)
• 2004 - Jan Berry, American musician (Jan and Dean) (b. 1941)
• 2004 - Jan Sterling, American actress (b. 1921)
• 2005 - James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1912)
• 2005 - Paul Hester, Australian drummer (Split Enz and Crowded House) (b. 1959)
• 2005 - Marius Russo, American baseball player (b. 1914)
• 2006 - Anil Biswas, Indian politician (b. 1944)
• 2006 - Paul Dana, American race car driver (b. 1975)
• 2006 - Nikki Sudden, British singer/songwriter (b. 1956)

Holidays and observances

• Independence Day - Bangladesh
• Zoroastrianism - Prophet Zoroaster's Birthday.
• Prince Kuhio Day in Hawaii
• Saint Emmanuel (died 304)
• Saint Ludger
• Saint Larissa
• Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Church: Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
• Orthodox Christian liturgical calendar - Synaxis of St. Gabriel the Archangel
• Document Freedom Day created in 2008.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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