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. [edit] Events - 1026 – Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1484 – William Caxton prints 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.
- 1830 – The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.
- 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 – The driving test is 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.
- 1967 – Ten thousand people gather for one of many Central Park Be-Ins in New York City
- 1971 – East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form People's Republic of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Liberation War begins.
- 1974 – Gaura Devi leads a group of 27 women of Laata village, Henwalghati, Garhwal Himalayas, to form circles around trees to stop them being felled, thus sparking the Chipko Movement in India.
- 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.
- 1979 – Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C..
- 1982 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C..
- 1991 – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay signed the Treaty of Asunción, establishing South Common Market (Mercosur its acronym in Spanish)
- 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 Burma officially names Naypyidaw, a new city in Mandalay Division, as the new capital. Yangon had formerly been the nation's capital.
[edit] Births - 603 – Pacal II ruler of the Maya polity of Palenque (d. 683)
- 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 Hawaii (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 (d. 1945)
- 1879 – Othmar Ammann, Swiss bridge engineer (d. 1965)
- 1882 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss jurist (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)
- 1905 – Monty Berman, British film and television producer (d. 2006)
- 1906 – Rafael Mendez, Mexican trumpetist (d. 1981)
- 1908 – Franz Stangl, German concentration camp commandant (d. 1971)
- 1908 – Henry (Hank) Sylvern, U.S. radio personality (d. 1964)
- 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)
- 1916 – Harry Rabinowitz, South African composer and conductor
- 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
- 1927 – Harold Chapman, British photographer
- 1929 – Edwin Turney, American businessman
- 1929 – Tom Foley, American politician, former Speaker of the House
- 1930 – Gregory Corso, American poet (d. 2001)
- 1930 – Sandra Day O'Connor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- 1931 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor and director
- 1933 – Vine Deloria, Indigenous-American scholar (d. 2005)
- 1934 – Alan Arkin, American actor
- 1935 – Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestine National Authority
- 1936 – Harry Kalas, American sportscaster
- 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
- 1952 – Didier Pironi, French Formula One driver (d. 1987)
- 1953 – Elaine Chao, Former 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 baseball player
- 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 – Leigh Bowery, Australian-born English fashion performance artist (d. 1994)
- 1961 – William Hague, British politician
- 1962 – John Stockton, American basketball player
- 1962 – Paul de Leeuw, Dutch television host
- 1963 – Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese writer
- 1963 – Roch Voisine, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1964 – Martin Donnelly, Irish racecar driver
- 1964 – Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1964 – Baz Warne, English Guitarist (The Stranglers)
- 1964 – Hai Zi, Chinese Poet (d. 1989)
- 1966 – Nick Wirth, British engineer
- 1966 – Michael Imperioli, American actor
- 1967 – Mark Carroll, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1968 – Kenny Chesney, American singer
- 1968 – James Iha, American musician (The Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle)
- 1968 – Laurent Brochard, French cyclist
- 1970 – Paul Bosvelt, Dutch football player
- 1970 – Martin McDonagh, Anglo-Irish playwright and film director
- 1971 – Behzad Ghorbani, Iranian zoologist and sociobiologist
- 1972 – Jon Reep, American comedian and actor
- 1972 – Jason Maxwell, American baseball player
- 1972 – Leslie Mann, American actress
- 1973 – Heather Goldenhersh, American actress
- 1973 – Lawrence E. Page, American search engine pioneer
- 1973 – T.R. Knight, American actor
- 1973 – Matt Burke, Australian rugby player
- 1974 – Mike Peca, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Joachim Alcine, Haitian-born Quebec boxer
- 1976 – Amy Smart, American actress
- 1976 – Natalia Livingston, American actress
- 1976 – Nurgül Yeşilçay, Turkish actress
- 1976 – Ufuk Talay, Australian footballer
- 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
- 1979 – Nacho Novo, Spanish footballer
- 1980 – Son Ho Young, Korean singer
- 1981 – Baruch Dego, Israeli football player
- 1981 – Jay Sean, British R&B singer
- 1981 – Josh Wilson, American baseball player
- 1982 – Mikel Arteta, Spanish footballer
- 1983 – Roman Bednar, Czech footballer
- 1983 – Michael Brendli, American professional wrestler
- 1984 – Gregory Strydom, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1984 – Stéphanie Lapointe, French-Canadian singer
- 1984 – Sara Jean Underwood, American model
- 1984 – David McGowan, English footballer
- 1985 – Keira Knightley, English actress
- 1985 – Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwean cricket captain
- 1985 – Jonathan Groff, American stage actor
- 1986 – Jonny Craig, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1987 – YUI, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1988 – Suvi Koponen, Finnish model
- 1989 – Josiah Leming, American singer-songwriter
- 1990 – Yuya Takaki, Japanese actor and singer
- 1990 – Yūya Yagira, Japanese actor
- 1992 – Haley Ramm, americian actress
[edit] Deaths - 304 – Saint Emmanuel, Christian martyr killed under Diocletian
- 922 – Al-Hallaj, Persian Sufi teacher and writer
- 1130 – King Sigurd I of Norway (b. c. 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)
- 1885 – Anson Stager, American telegraphist (b. 1825)
- 1888 – Barghash bin Said, second Sultan of Zanzibar (b. 1837)
- 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)
- 1948 – Emile St. Godard, Canadian dog sled racer (b. 1905}
- 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)
- 1989 – Hai Zi, Chinese poet (b. 1964)
- 1990 – Halston, American fashion designer (b. 1932)
- 1992 – Barbara Frum, Canadian journalist (b. 1937)
- 1995 – Eazy-E, American rapper (N.W.A) (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)
- 2008 – Heath Benedict, American Football Player (b. 1983)
- 2008 – Robert Fagles, American translator and professor (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Wally Phillips, American radio personality (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Manuel Marulanda Velez aka Tirofijo, founder and lifelong leader of Colombian rebel group FARC-EP (b. 1930)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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