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.
- 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 "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.
- 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)
- 1871 - Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, later a US Congressman (d. 1922)
- 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 - Roger Leger, Quebec ice hockey player (d. 1965)
- 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
- 1950 - Alan Silvestri, American film score composer
- 1951 - Carl Wieman, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1951 - Richard C. Wiggers American Architect
- 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 - 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
- 1973 - Matt Burke, Australian Rugby Union player
- 1974 - Mike Peca, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 - Joachim Alcine, Haitian-born Quebec boxer
- 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 - Jay Sean, British Asian R&B singer
- 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 crickaeter
- 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, Korean 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 - Gérard Filion, Quebec businessman and journalist (b. 1909)
- 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