March 26 facts for kids

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.

Welcome to the page for March 26th! This day has seen many interesting events throughout history, from ancient empires to modern times. Let's explore some of the important things that happened, and meet some famous people who were born or passed away on this date.

Events

Historic Moments (Before 1600)

• 590 – Emperor Maurice of the Byzantine Empire made his son, Theodosius, a co-emperor. This meant they would rule together.
• 624 – The very first Eid al-Fitr celebration took place. This is an important holiday for Muslims.
• 1027 – Pope John XIX crowned Conrad II as the Holy Roman Emperor. This was a big deal for his power.
• 1169 – Saladin, a famous military leader, became the ruler (emir) of Egypt.
• 1344 – The Siege of Algeciras ended. This was one of the first battles in Europe where gunpowder was used.
• 1351 – The Combat of the Thirty happened. Thirty knights from Brittany challenged and defeated thirty English knights in a famous fight.
• 1484 – William Caxton printed his translation of Aesop's Fables. These are classic stories with moral lessons.
• 1552 – Guru Amar Das became the Third Sikh guru, an important spiritual leader for the Sikh faith.

From 1601 to 1900

• 1636 – Utrecht University was founded in the Netherlands. It is still a well-known university today.
• 1640 – The Royal Academy of Turku, the first university in Finland, was started in Turku.
• 1651 – A Spanish ship called San José, carrying lots of silver, was caught in strong winds and crashed off the coast of southern Chile. The people who survived were sadly killed by the local Cuncos.
• 1700 – William Dampier became the first European to sail all the way around New Britain. He discovered it was an island, not part of New Guinea.
• 1812 – A huge earthquake hit and destroyed much of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.
• 1812 – The word "gerrymander" was first used in a political cartoon. It describes drawing strange-shaped voting areas to help one politician win.
• 1830 – The Book of Mormon was published in Palmyra, New York.
• 1839 – The first Henley Royal Regatta was held. This is a famous rowing event in England.
• 1871 – Elections were held for the council of the Paris Commune, a revolutionary government in Paris.
• 1885 – The Métis people in Canada, led by Louis Riel, began the North-West Rebellion against the Canadian government.
• 1896 – A terrible explosion at the Brunner Mine in New Zealand killed 65 coal miners. It was the country's worst industrial accident.

Modern Times (1901–Present)

• 1913 – During the Balkan Wars, Bulgarian forces successfully captured Adrianople.
• 1915 – The Vancouver Millionaires won the 1915 Stanley Cup Finals, a major ice hockey championship.
• 1917 – In World War I, British troops were stopped by 17,000 Turkish soldiers during the First Battle of Gaza.
• 1931 – Swissair was founded as the main airline of Switzerland.
• 1934 – The United Kingdom driving test was introduced. This meant people had to pass a test to get a driver's license.
• 1939 – The Nationalists began their final attack in the Spanish Civil War.
• 1942 – The first female prisoners arrived at Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland during World War II.
• 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima officially ended, with American forces taking control of the island.
• 1954 – A powerful nuclear weapon test called the Romeo shot happened at Bikini Atoll. It had a huge explosive power of 11 megatons.
• 1958 – The United States Army launched Explorer 3, a satellite.
• 1967 – Ten thousand people gathered for a "be-in" in Central Park in New York City, a type of peaceful gathering.
• 1971 – East Pakistan declared its independence from Pakistan and became Bangladesh. This started the Bangladesh Liberation War.
• 1975 – The Biological Weapons Convention officially came into force. This agreement bans the development and use of biological weapons.
• 1979 – Anwar Sadat (Egypt), Menachem Begin (Israel), and Jimmy Carter (USA) signed the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in Washington, D.C. This was a big step for peace in the Middle East.
• 1982 – A ceremony was held to start building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
• 1991 – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay signed the Treaty of Asunción, creating Mercosur, a common market for South American countries.
• 2005 – Hundreds of thousands of people in Taiwan protested in Taipei against a law from China.
• 2010 – The South Korean Navy ship Cheonan was hit by a torpedo, and 46 sailors died. An international investigation later blamed North Korea.
• 2017 – Large anti-corruption protests took place in 99 cities across Russia. Many people supported the protests and felt that President Putin was responsible for high-level corruption.

Births

Born Before 1900

• 1516 – Conrad Gessner, a Swiss scientist who studied plants and animals.
• 1633 – Mary Beale, a British artist.
• 1656 – Nicolaas Hartsoeker, a Dutch mathematician and physicist.
• 1698 – Prokop Diviš, a Czech priest, scientist, and inventor.
• 1773 – Nathaniel Bowditch, an American mathematician and expert navigator.
• 1824 – Julie-Victoire Daubié, a French journalist and one of the first women to earn a university degree in France.
• 1850 – Edward Bellamy, an American author known for his utopian novels.
• 1856 – William Massey, who became the 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• 1859 – A. E. Housman, a famous English poet and scholar.
• 1868 – King Fuad I of Egypt.
• 1874 – Robert Frost, a very well-known American poet.
• 1875 – Syngman Rhee, who became the first President of South Korea.
• 1879 – Othmar Ammann, a Swiss-American engineer who designed famous bridges like the George Washington Bridge.
• 1881 – Guccio Gucci, the Italian fashion designer who founded the famous brand Gucci.
• 1893 – James Bryant Conant, an American chemist and diplomat.
• 1898 – Rudolf Dassler, a German businessman who founded the sports brand Puma SE.

Born After 1900

• 1904 – Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist and author.
• 1905 – Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist.
• 1911 – Bernard Katz, a German-English biophysicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1911 – Tennessee Williams, a famous American playwright.
• 1913 – Paul Erdős, a Hungarian mathematician known for his many collaborations.
• 1914 – William Westmoreland, an American general.
• 1916 – Christian B. Anfinsen, an American biochemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1916 – Sterling Hayden, an American actor and author.
• 1931 – Leonard Nimoy, a beloved American actor, famous for playing Spock in Star Trek.
• 1934 – Alan Arkin, a talented American actor.
• 1938 – Anthony James Leggett, an English-American physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1940 – James Caan, an American actor.
• 1940 – Nancy Pelosi, an American politician who served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
• 1941 – Richard Dawkins, a Kenyan-English scientist and author known for his work in biology.
• 1942 – Erica Jong, an American novelist and poet.
• 1944 – Diana Ross, a very famous American singer and actress.
• 1948 – Steven Tyler, the lead singer of the rock band Aerosmith.
• 1949 – Vicki Lawrence, an American actress and comedian.
• 1950 – Martin Short, a Canadian-American actor and comedian.
• 1950 – Alan Silvestri, an American composer who writes music for movies.
• 1951 – Carl Wieman, an American physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1953 – Elaine Chao, a Taiwanese-American politician who served as U.S. Secretary of Labor.
• 1954 – Curtis Sliwa, an American activist who founded the Guardian Angels.
• 1960 – Marcus Allen, a famous American football player.
• 1960 – Jennifer Grey, an American actress.
• 1962 – John Stockton, a well-known American basketball player.
• 1968 – Kenny Chesney, a popular American country music singer.
• 1972 – Leslie Mann, an American actress.
• 1973 – Larry Page, an American computer scientist who co-founded Google.
• 1976 – Amy Smart, an American actress.
• 1981 – Leonard Nimoy, an American actor, director, and author, famous for playing Spock in Star Trek.
• 1985 – Keira Knightley, a famous English actress.
• 1985 – Jonathan Groff, an American actor and singer.
• 1989 – Simon Kjær, a Danish footballer.
• 1989 – Von Miller, an American football player.
• 1990 – Choi Woo-shik, a South Korean actor.
• 1992 – Nina Agdal, a Danish model.
• 1994 – Paige VanZant, an American mixed martial artist and model.

Deaths

Passed Away Before 1900

• 752 – Pope-elect Stephen, who was chosen to be Pope but died before he could be officially made one.
• 809 – Ludger, a Frisian missionary.
• 903 – Sugawara no Michizane, a Japanese poet and scholar.
• 922 – Mansur Al-Hallaj, a Persian mystic and poet.
• 973 – Guntram the Rich, a Frankish nobleman.
• 1130 – Sigurd the Crusader, a Norwegian king.
• 1212 – Sancho I of Portugal, a king of Portugal.
• 1350 – Alfonso XI of Castile, a king of Castile.
• 1517 – Heinrich Isaac, a Flemish composer.
• 1546 – Thomas Elyot, an English scholar and diplomat.
• 1566 – Antonio de Cabezón, a Spanish organist and composer.
• 1649 – John Winthrop, an English lawyer and the second Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• 1726 – John Vanbrugh, an English playwright and architect who designed famous buildings like Blenheim Palace.
• 1797 – James Hutton, a Scottish geologist and physician, known as the "Father of Modern Geology."
• 1814 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French physician who helped develop the guillotine.
• 1827 – Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most famous German composers and pianists of all time.
• 1885 – Anson Stager, an American general and businessman who helped found Western Union.
• 1892 – Walt Whitman, a very important American poet and journalist.

Passed Away After 1900

• 1902 – Cecil Rhodes, an English-South African colonialist and politician.
• 1923 – Sarah Bernhardt, a very famous French actress and screenwriter.
• 1932 – Henry M. Leland, an American engineer who founded the car companies Cadillac and Lincoln.
• 1940 – Spyridon Louis, a Greek runner who won the first modern Olympic marathon.
• 1945 – David Lloyd George, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1959 – Raymond Chandler, an American crime novelist and screenwriter.
• 1973 – Noël Coward, a famous English playwright, actor, and composer.
• 1980 – Roland Barthes, a French linguist and critic.
• 1984 – Ahmed Sékou Touré, the first President of Guinea.
• 1995 – Eazy-E, an American rapper and producer.
• 1996 – David Packard, an American engineer and businessman who co-founded Hewlett-Packard.
• 2005 – James Callaghan, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 2009 – Shane McConkey, a Canadian skier and BASE jumper known for extreme sports.
• 2011 – Geraldine Ferraro, an American lawyer and politician, the first woman to be nominated for Vice President by a major U.S. political party.
• 2011 – Diana Wynne Jones, an English author of fantasy novels.
• 2015 – Tomas Tranströmer, a Swedish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 2016 – Jim Harrison, an American novelist, essayist, and poet.
• 2023 – Jacob Ziv, an Israeli electrical engineer who helped create important data compression methods.

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast days:
  • Castulus
  • Emmanuel and companions
  • Felicitas
  • Harriet Monsell (Church of England)
  • Larissa
  • Ludger
  • Richard Allen (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • March 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Independence Day and National Day (Bangladesh), celebrates the declaration of independence from Pakistan in 1971.
• Martyr's Day or Day of Democracy (Mali)
• Prince Kūhiō Day (Hawaii, United States)
• Purple Day (Canada and United States)
• Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel (Eastern Christianity)

See also

In Spanish: 26 de marzo para niños