March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). There are 280 days remaining.
Events
- 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1552 - Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh Guru
- 1636 - Utrecht University is founded in The Netherlands
- 1707 - The Act of Union becomes law, making England and Scotland one country.
- 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.
- 1871 - The Paris Commune is formally established in Paris.
- 1881 - Domnitor Carol I of the Principality of Romania is proclaimed the first King of Romania.
- 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.
- 1937 - In Crystal City, Texas, spinach growers erect a statue of the cartoon character Popeye.
- 1942 - World War II: In Poland, Auschwitz receives its first female prisoners.
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of Komandorski Islands - In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
- 1953 - Jonas Salk announces his polio vaccine.
- 1958 - The United States Army launches Explorer III.
- 1958 - The African Regroupment Party (PRA) is launched at a meeting in Paris.
- 1971 - East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form People's Republic of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Liberation War begins.
- 1973 - The soap opera The Young and the Restless debuts on CBS television.
- 1975 - The Biological Weapons Convention enters into force.
- 1979 - Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egyptian-Israeli 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 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 - The Seattle Kingdome is imploded to make room for a new stadium.
- 2000 - Presidential elections are held in Russia, and Vladimir Putin is elected President.
- 2003 - The Supreme Court of the United States hears oral arguments in Lawrence v. Texas.
- 2005 - The Revived Series of British Science Fiction Program Doctor Who begins Broadcasting on British Television
Births
- 1516 - Conrad Gessner, Swiss naturalist (d. 1565)
- 1554 - Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, French military leader (d. 1611)
- 1753 - Benjamin Thompson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1814)
- 1859 - Alfred Edward Housman, English poet (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)
- 1879 - Othmar Ammann, Swiss-born bridge engineer (d. 1965)
- 1884 - Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist (d. 1969)
- 1888 - Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse (d. 1948)
- 1904 - Joseph Campbell, American author (d. 1987)
- 1904 - Xenophon Zolotas, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2004)
- 1905 - Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1997)
- 1911 - Tennessee Williams, American dramatist (d. 1983)
- 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 Prize laureate (d. 1995)
- 1916 - Sterling Hayden, American actor (d. 1986)
- 1917 - Rufus Thomas, American musician (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Strother Martin, American actor (d. 1980)
- 1923 - Bob Elliott, American comedian
- 1925 - Pierre Boulez, French composer and conductor
- 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 Palestine National Authority
- 1938 - Anthony James Leggett, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 - James Caan, American actor
- 1940 - Nancy Pelosi, American politician
- 1942 - Erica Jong, American author
- 1943 - Bob Woodward, American journalist
- 1944 - Diana Ross, American singer (Supremes)
- 1946 - Johnny Crawford, American actor
- 1947 - Dar Robinson, American stunt man (d. 1986)
- 1948 - Steven Tyler, American musician (Aerosmith)
- 1949 - Vicki Lawrence, American actress and singer
- 1949 - Patrick Süßkind, German writer
- 1950 - Teddy Pendergrass, American singer
- 1950 - Martin Short, Canadian comedian
- 1950 - Ernest Thomas, American actor
- 1951 - Carl Wieman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1953 - Elaine Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor
- 1954 - Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels
- 1956 - Charly McClain, American singer
- 1957 - Leeza Gibbons, American television host
- 1960 - Marcus Allen, American football player
- 1960 - Jennifer Grey, American actress
- 1961 - William Hague, British politician
- 1962 - John Stockton, American basketball player
- 1963 - Kyogoku Natsuhiko, Japanese writer
- 1968 - James Iha, American musician (Smashing Pumpkins)
- 1971 - Behzad Ghorbani, Iranian zoologist and sociobiologist
- 1985 - Keira Knightley, English actress
Deaths
- 922 - Al-Hallaj, Persian Sufi teacher and writer
- 1212 - King Sancho I of Portugal (b. 1154)
- 1517 - Heinrich Isaac, Flemish composer
- 1546 - Thomas Elyot, English diplomat
- 1566 - Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish composer (b. 1510)
- 1679 - Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian-born humanist (b. 1621)
- 1697 - Godfrey McCulloch, Scottish politican and murderer (executed) (b. 1640)
- 1726 - Sir John Vanbrugh, English dramatist and architect (b. 1664)
- 1772 - Charles Pinot Duclos, French writer (b. 1704)
- 1814 - Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French inventor of the guillotine (b. 1738)
- 1827 - Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (b. 1770)
- 1892 - Walt Whitman, American poet (b. 1819)
- 1902 - Cecil Rhodes, English explorer and entrepreneur (b. 1853)
- 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)
- 1929 - Katharine Lee Bates, American poet (b. 1859)
- 1933 - Eddie Lang, American musician (b. 1902)
- 1940 - Spiridon Louis, Greek runner (b. 1873)
- 1945 - David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1863)
- 1958 - Phil Mead, English cricketer (b. 1887)
- 1959 - Raymond Chandler, American novelist (b. 1888)
- 1969 - John Kennedy Toole, American author (b. 1937)
- 1973 - Noel Coward, English composer and playwright (b. 1899)
- 1976 - Josef Albers, German artist (b. 1888)
- 1976 - Lin Yutang, Chinese writer (b. 1895)
- 1983 - Anthony Blunt, British 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)
- 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)
- 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, baseball player (b. 1914)
Holidays and observances
- Zoroastrianism - Prophet Zarthushtra's (Zoroaster's) Birthday
- Holi in Hinduism (2005)
- International Railway Workers Day
- Megan Day (Lithuania)
- [1]
2005 Blue Bear Ging
External links
March 25 - March 27 - February 26 - April 26 -- listing of all days
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