March 26

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

Events

Up to 1900

590 – Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius co–emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
1027 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor is crowned.
1169 – Saladin becomes Emir of Egypt.
1344 – The Siege of Algeciras, one of the first European military engagements where gunpowder was used, comes to an end.
1351 – Combat of the Thirty: 30 Breton knights call out and defeat 30 English knights
1511 – An earthquake on the Balkan peninsula and Italy kills 6,000 people.
1552 – Guru Amar Das becomes the third Sikh Guru.
1636 – Utrecht University is founded in the Netherlands.
1808 – Charles IV of Spain abdicates in favour of his son, Ferdinand VII.
1812 – Caracas, Venezuela, is destroyed in an earthquake, killing 12,000 people.
1830 – The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.
1839 – The first Henley Royal Regatta is held.
1866 – Carol I becomes Prince of Romania.
1872 – An earthquake kills 27 people in Lone Pine, California.
1881 – The Principality of Romania declares itself a Kingdom.
1885 – The Metis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North–West Rebellion against Canada.
1898 – Kruger National Park is founded in South Africa.

1901 – 2000

1913 – Gas explosions occur after the floods in Dayton, Ohio.
1917 – World War I: The Battle of Gaza takes place.
1931 – SwissAir is founded.
1934 – The Driving Test is introduced in the United Kingdom.
1939 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists under Francisco Franco begin their final offensive of the war.
1942 – The first female prisoners arrive at Auschwitz.
1945 – The US declares Iwo Jima secure.
1958 – The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
1971 – East Pakistan declares independence under the name of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Liberation War begins.
1973 – The Young and The Restless airs for the first time.
1974 – In Caracas, Venezuela, George Foreman wins the Heavyweight Boxing title against Ken Norton.
1975 – The Biological Weapons Convention comes into force.
1976 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom sends the first royal email.
1979 – Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, and Jimmy Carter sign the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in Washington, DC.
1980 – Arianespace, European space organization, is founded.
1982 – The foundation stone is laid for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.
1991 – The Mercosur Common Market is founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
1995 – The Schengen Treaty comes into effect.
1997 – Members of the Heaven's Gate cult commit suicide.
1998 – Oued Bouaicha massacre in Algeria: 52 people, including 32 children under the age of two, are murdered with knives and axes.
1999 – The Melissa worm infects Microsoft Word Processing and email systems.
1999 – A jury in Michigan finds Jack Kevorkian guilty of second–degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man.
2000 – Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia.
2000 – Greece joins the Schengen Treaty.

From 2001

2006 – Burma's military junta moves its seat, capital city, from Rangoon to Naypyidaw in the Mandalay Division.
2006 – Smoking is banned in all public places in Scotland.
2009 – In New York City, the Freedom Tower, still under construction, is renamed One World Trade Center.
2010 – The South Korean warship ROKS Cheonan sinks, killing 46 seamen. It is believed that a North Korean torpedo was responsible.
2015 – King Richard III of England is reburied at Leicester Cathedral. His remains had been found in a car park in the city in 2012.
2015 – Germanwings Flight 9525: It is revealed that the plane's co–pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed it two days earlier, in the French Alps.

Births

Up to 1800

603 – Pacal II, Mayan ruler (d. 683)
1031 – King Malcolm III of Scotland (d. 1093)
1516 – Conrad Gessner, Swiss naturalist (d. 1565)
1554 – Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, French military leader (d. 1611)
1634 – Domenico Freschi, Italian composer (d. 1710)
1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover (d. 1757)
1698 – Prokop Divis, Czech theologian and natural scientist (d. 1765)
1740 – Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., Governor of Connecticut (d. 1809)
1749 – William Blount, American politician (d. 1800)
1753 – Benjamin Thompson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1814)
1773 – Nathaniel Bowditch, American mathematician and navigator (d. 1838)
1784 – John W. Taylor, American politician (d. 1854)

1801 – 1900

1814 – Charles Mackay, Scottish poet, journalist and writer (d. 1889)
1819 – Louise Otto-Peters, German writer and social activist (d. 1895)
1819 – Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (d. 1904)
1849 – Armand Peugeot, French businessman (d. 1915)
1854 – Maurice Lecoq, French target shooter (d. 1925)
1856 – William Massey, 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1925)
1858 – Luis Barros Borgono, President of Chile (d. 1943)
1859 – Alfred Edward Housman, English poet (d. 1936)
1859 – Adolf Hurwitz, German mathematician (d. 1919)
1860 – André Prévost, French tennis player (d. 1919)
1866 – Fred Karno, English theatre producer (d. 1941)
1868 – King Fuad I of Egypt (d. 1936)
1871 – Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole, Hawaiian prince and politician (d. 1922)
1873 – Dorothea Bleek, South African–German anthropologist and philologist (d. 1948)
1874 – Robert Frost, American poet (d. 1963)
1874 – Oskar Nedbal, Bohemian composer and conductor (d. 1930)
1875 – Max Abraham, German physicist (d. 1922)
1875 – Rhee Syng-man, President of South Korea (d. 1965)
1876 – William, Prince of Albania (d. 1945)
1879 – Othmar Ammann, Swiss–American engineer (d. 1965)
1879 – Waldemar Tietgens, German rower (d. 1917)
1881 – Guccio Gucci, Italian businessman and fashion designer (d. 1953)
1882 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss jurist (d. 1940)
1884 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist (d. 1969)
1893 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian Communist leader (d. 1964)
1893 – James Bryant Conant, American chemist, academic and diplomat (d. 1978)
1894 – Viorica Ursuleac, Romanian operatic soprano (d. 1985)
1896 – Rudolf Dassler, German sportswear executive (d. 1974)
1900 – Giovanni Urbani, Archbishop of Venice (d. 1969)

1901 – 1950

1904 – Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician (d. 2004)
1904 – Attilio Ferraris, Italian footballer (d. 1947)
1904 – Joseph Campbell, American professor and writer (d. 1987)
1905 – Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1997)
1907 – Leigh Harline, American movie score composer (d. 1969)
1908 – Franz Stangl, Nazi Concentration Camp commandant (d. 1971)
1911 – Bernard Katz, German biophysicist (d. 2003)
1911 – J. L. Austin, British philosopher (d. 1960)
1911 – Robert B. Crosby, Governor of Nebraska (d. 2000)
1911 – Tennessee Williams, American writer and playwright (d. 1983)
1913 – Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1996)
1913 – Jacqueline de Romilly, French philologist, classical scholar and fiction writer (d. 2010)
1914 – William Westmoreland, American military commander (d. 2005)
1915 – Hwang Sunwon, Korean writer (d. 2000)
1916 – Christian B. Anfinsen, American chemist (d. 1995)
1916 – Harry Rabinowitz, South African–American composer and conductor (d. 2016)
1917 – Rufus Thomas, American blues musician (d. 2001)
1920 – Sergio Livingstone, Chilean footballer (d. 2012)
1922 – William Milliken, American politician, former Governor of Michigan (d. 2019)
1923 – Gert Bastian, German politician (d. 1992)
1923 – Bob Elliott, American actor and comedian (d. 2016)
1923 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, British writer (d. 2014)
1925 – Pierre Boulez, French composer and conductor (d. 2016)
1925 – James Moody, American jazz musician (d. 2010)
1925 – Vesta Roy, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 2002)
1929 – Tom Foley, American politician (d. 2013)
1930 – Gregory Corso, American poet (d. 2001)
1930 – Sandra Day O'Connor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
1931 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (d. 2015)
1933 – Tinto Brass, Italian movie director and screenwriter
1934 – Alan Arkin, American actor
1935 – Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian politician
1936 – Giora Feidman, Israeli clarinetist
1937 – Ahmed Qurei, Palestinian politician
1937 – James Lee, 26th Premier of Prince Edward Island
1937 – Wayne Embry, American basketball player and manager
1938 – Anthony James Leggett, British–American physicist
1940 – James Caan, American actor
1940 – Nancy Pelosi, American politician
1941 – Richard Dawkins, British evolutionary biologist
1942 – Erica Jong, American novelist and poet
1943 – Bob Woodward, American journalist
1943 – Mustafa Kalemli, Turkish physician and politician
1944 – Diana Ross, American singer (The Supremes)
1944 – Igor Mitoraj, Polish sculptor (d. 2014)
1945 – Mikhail Voronin, Soviet gymnast (d. 2004)
1945 – Paul Bérenger, former Prime Minister of Mauritius
1946 – Alain Madelin, French politician
1946 – Johnny Crawford, American actor, singer and musician
1948 – Richard Tandy, British musician
1948 – Steven Tyler, American singer (Aerosmith)
1948 – Nash the Slash, Canadian musician (d. 2014)
1948 – Kyung-wha Chung, South Korean violinist
1949 – Jon English, English–Australian singer-songwriter, musician and actor (d. 2016)
1949 – Patrick Süskind, German writer
1949 – Vicki Lawrence, American actress, comedienne and singer
1950 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
1950 – Martin Short, Canadian actor and screenwriter
1950 – Alan Silvestri, American composer

1951 – 1975

1951 – Carl Wieman, American physicist
1952 – Didier Pironi, French racing driver (d. 1987)
1953 – Lincoln Chafee, American politician, former Governor of Rhode Island
1953 – Elaine Chao, American politician
1953 – Tatyana Providokhina, Russian middle–distance runner
1956 – Charly McClain, American singer
1956 – Park Won-soon, South Korean lawyer and politician
1957 – Fiona Bruce, British politician
1958 – Elio de Angelis, Italian racing driver (d. 1986)
1960 – Marcus Allen, former American football running back, television personality, actor, and crewman
1960 – Jennifer Grey, American actress
1961 – William Hague, British politician
1962 – Kevin Seitzer, American baseball player
1962 – Yuri Gidzenko, Russian cosmonaut
1963 – Rich Voisine, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor
1964 – Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish ice hockey player
1964 – Todd Barry, American comedian
1964 – Maria Miller, British politician
1965 – Violeta Szekely, Romanian runner
1968 – Kenny Chesney, American singer
1968 – James Iha, American musician
1969 – Alessandro Moscardi, Italian rugby player
1971 – Martyn Day, Scottish politician
1972 – Leslie Mann, American actress
1973 – Kyung-wha Chung, South Korean violinist
1973 – Larry Page, American co–founder of Google
1974 – Christina Surer, Swiss racing driver
1975 – Juvenile, American rapper

From 1976

1976 – Amy Smart, American actress
1976 – Alex Varas, Chilean footballer
1977 – Kevin Davies, English footballer
1977 – Bianca Kajlich, American actress
1979 – Nacho Novo, Spanish footballer
1979 – Roisin Conaty, English comedienne
1981 – Massimo Donati, Italian footballer
1982 – Mikel Arteta, Spanish footballer
1982 – Andreas Hinkel, German footballer
1983 – Roman Bednar, Czech footballer
1984 – Felix Neureuther, German skier
1985 – Keira Knightley, British actress
1985 – Jonathan Groff, American actor
1987 – Steven Fletcher, Scottish footballer
1987 – Yui, Japanese singer, musician and actress
1989 – Simon Kjaer, Danish footballer
1990 – Takaki Yuya, Japanese singer and actor
1990 – Matteo Guidicelli, Filipino actor, singer and racing driver
1992 – Haley Ramm, American actress
1992 – Nina Agdal, Danish model
1994 – Mayu Watanabe, Japanese actress and singer (AKB48)
1996 – Kathryn Bernardo, Filipina actress

Deaths

Up to 1900

304 – Saint Emmanuel, Christian martyr
752 – Pope-elect Stephen
922 – Al-Hallaj, Persian Sufi teacher and writer
1130 – King Sigurd I of Norway (b. 1090)
1212 – King Sancho I of Portugal (b. 1154)
1535 – Georg Tannstetter, Austrian mathematician, astronomer and cartographer (b. 1482)
1649 – John Winthrop, English lawyer and politician
1685 – Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (b. 1638)
1726 – Johan Vanbrugh, English playwright and architect (b. 1664)
1793 – John Mudge, English physician (b. 1721)
1797 – James Hutton, Scottish geologist (b. 1726)
1814 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician (b. 1738)
1827 – Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (b. 1770)
1881 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish aristocrat (b. 1800)
1888 – Barghash bin Said, Sultan of Zanzibar (b. 1837)
1892 – Walt Whitman, American poet (b. 1819)

1901 – 2000

1902 – Cecil Rhodes, English explorer and colonial politician (b. 1853)
1905 – Maurice Barrymore, American actor (b. 1849)
1910 – An Jung-geun, Korean general (b. 1879)
1910 – Auguste Charlois, French astronomer (b. 1864)
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 jazz musician (b. 1902)
1940 – Spyridon Louis, Greek marathon runner (b. 1873)
1945 – David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1863)
1951 – James F. Hinkle, Governor of New Mexico (b. 1864)
1954 – Charles Perrin, French rower (b. 1875)
1957 – Edouard Herriot, Prime Minister of France (b. 1872)
1959 – Raymond Chandler, American–born novelist (b. 1888)
1969 – John Kennedy Toole, American writer (b. 1937)
1973 – Noël Coward, British composer and playwright (b. 1899)
1973 – George Sisler, American baseball player (b. 1893)
1976 – Josef Albers, German artist (b. 1888)
1980 – Roland Barthes, French linguist and critic (b. 1915)
1983 – Anthony Blunt, English historian and spy (b. 1907)
1984 – Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea (b. 1922)
1987 – Eugen Jochum, German conductor (b. 1902)
1987 – Walter Abel, American poet (b. 1898)
1989 – Hai Zi, Chinese poet (b. 1964)
1993 – J. Caleb Boggs, American politician, 62nd Governor of Delaware (b. 1909)
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, leader of the Heaven's Gate cult (b. 1931)

From 2001

2003 – Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American politician (b. 1927)
2005 – James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1912)
2006 – Nikki Sudden, British singer–songwriter (b. 1956)
2008 – Manuel Marulanda, Colombian guerrilla (b. 1930)
2011 – Paul Baran, American computer programmer (b. 1926)
2011 – Geraldine Ferraro, American lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
2011 – Diana Wynne Jones, British writer (b. 1934)
2013 – Jerzy Nowak, Polish actor (b. 1923)
2013 – Don Payne, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1964)
2014 – George Bookasta, American actor and director (b. 1917)
2014 – Dick Guidry, American businessman and politician (b. 1929)
2015 – Karl Moik, Austrian television presenter and singer (b. 1938)
2015 – John Renbourn, English guitarist (b. 1944)
2015 – Dinkha IV, Catholicos–Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East (b. 1935)
2015 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet (b. 1931)
2015 – Friedrich L. Bauer, German computer scientist (b. 1924)
2015 – Fred Robsahm, Norwegian actor (b. 1943)
2016 – David Baker, American jazz musician (b. 1931)
2016 – Norm Hadley, Canadian rugby player (b. 1964)
2016 – Jim Harrison, American writer and screenwriter (b. 1937)
2016 – Igor Pashkevich, Soviet–Russian figure skater (b. 1971)
2017 – Mai Dantsig, Belarusian artist (b. 1930)
2017 – Vladimir Kazachyonok, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1952)
2017 – Roger Wilkins, American civil rights activist and journalist (b. 1932)

Observances

Independence Day in Bangladesh
Prince Kuhio Day (Hawaii)
Prophet Zoroaster's Birthday (Zoroastrianism)
Day of Democracy (Mali)