March 26

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, Holy Roman Emperor Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1707 - The Act of Union with Scotland 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.
• 1913 - Balkan War[?]: Bulgarian forces take Adrianople[?].
• 1917 - World War I: Battle of Gaza[?] - British cavalry troops retreat 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[?].
• 1971 - East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan and the establishment of Bangladesh.
• 1982 - A ground breaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, DC.
• 1996 - The International Monetary Fund approves a $10.2 billion loan to Russia with economic reform.
• 1997 - Thirty-nine bodies found in the Heaven's Gate cult suicides.
• 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 (the incident was videotaped and aired on September 17, 1998 edition of 60 Minutes).
• 2000 - The Seattle Kingdome is imploded to make room for a new stadium.
• 2000 - Presidential elections in Russia, Vladimir Putin elected President.
• 2003 - The United States Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Lawrence v. Texas

Births

• 1859 - Alfred Edward Housman, poet (+ 1936)
• 1874 - Robert Frost, poet (+ 1963)
• 1875 - Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea (+ 1965)
• 1879 - Othmar Ammann, engineer, Verrazano Narrows Bridge[?] (+ 1965)
• 1884 - Wilhelm Backhaus[?], pianist (+ 1969)
• 1888 - Elsa Brändström, "The Angel of Siberia"
• 1893 - James Bryan Conant[?], chemist and politician (+ 1978)
• 1904 - Joseph Campbell, author, mythologist (+ 1987)
• 1911 - Tennessee Williams, dramatist (+ 1983)
• 1914 - General William Westmoreland, United States commander during the Vietnam War
• 1923 - Bob Elliott, comedian
• 1925 - Pierre Boulez, French composer and conductor
• 1930 - Sandra Day O'Connor, United States Supreme Court Justice
• 1931 - Leonard Nimoy, actor, director
• 1934 - Alan Arkin, actor
• 1939 - James Caan[?], actor
• 1942 - Erica Jong, author
• 1943 - Bob Woodward, journalist
• 1944 - Diana Ross, singer
• 1948 - Steven Tyler[?], musician ("Aerosmith")
• 1949 - Patrick Süskind[?], writer (The Perfume)
• 1950 - Teddy Pendergras[?], singer
• 1960 - Marcus Allen[?], American football star

Deaths

• 1517 - Heinrich Isaac, composer
• 1827 - Ludwig van Beethoven, aged 56, composer
• 1892 - Walt Whitman, poet
• 1902 - Cecil Rhodes, imperialist
• 1920 - William Chester Minor, one of the Oxford English Dictionary's most famous contributors.
• 1923 - Sarah Bernhardt, French actress
• 1945 - David Lloyd George, ex-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1959 - Raymond Chandler, novelist
• 1969 - John Kennedy Toole, author
• 1973 - Noel Coward, composer, playwright
• 1990 - Halston[?], fashion designer
• 1996 - David Packard[?], engineer
• 2000 - Alex Comfort, author (The Joy of Sex)
• 2003 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan, retired United States Senator

Holidays and observances

March 25 - March 27 - February 26 - April 26 -- listing of all days

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