Today in History - March 26
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752 Mar 26, Pope
Stephen II died 4 days after his election.
(SS, 3/26/02)(PTA, 1980, p.184)
1027 Mar 26, John XIX crowned
Conrad II the Salier Roman German emperor.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1150 Mar 26, Tichborne family of
Hampshire, England, started tradition of giving a gallon of flour to
each resident to keep deathbed promise.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1258 Mar 26, Floris the Guardian,
count-regent of Holland, died.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1479 Mar 26, Vasili III, great
prince of Moscow (1505-33), son of Ivan III, was born.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1516 Mar 26, Konrad von Gesner,
naturalist (Bibliotheca Universalis), was born in Zurich, Switzerland.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1517 Mar 26, The famous Flemish
composer Heinrich Issac, died. His music fused Flemish, Italian and
Germanic styles.
(HN, 3/26/99)
1526 Mar 26, King François
I returned Spanish captivity to France.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1534 Mar 26, Lübeck accepted
free Dutch ships into East Sea.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1636 Mar 26, University of Utrecht
held its opening ceremony.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1649 Mar 26, John Winthrop,
Puritan and 1st Gov. of Massachusetts, died. [see Apr 5]
(SS, 3/26/02)
1659 Mar 26, William Wollaston,
English philosopher, was born.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1668 Mar 26, England took control
of Bombay, India.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1692 Mar 26, King Maximilian was
installed as land guardian of South Netherlands.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1753 Mar 26, Benjamin Thompson
(d.1814), Count Rumford, English physicist and diplomat, was born. He
was a Tory spy in the American Revolution and discovered that heat
equaled motion, which led to the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
(WUD, 1994, p.1477)(WSJ, 7/28/98, p.A16)(SS, 3/26/02)
1773 Mar 26, Nathaniel Bowditch
(d.1838), mathematician, astronomer, polyglot, author (Marine Sextant),
was born in Salem, Mass. In 1802 he published “The New American
Practical Navigator.”
(SS, 3/26/02)(AH, 12/02, p.22)
1780 Mar 26, The 1st British
Sunday newspaper appeared as the British Gazette and Sunday Monitor.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1790 Mar 26, US Congress passed a
Naturalization Act. It required a 2-year residency.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1793 Mar 26, Pro-royalist uprising
took place in Vendée region of France.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1797 Mar 26, James Hutton,
geologist, died.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1798 Mar 26, Tunis, under the rule
of Bey Hamuda Pasha, signed a treaty of peace and friendship with the
US following negotiations with William Eaton. The American
Revolutionary War veteran had been recently appointed consul to the
North African kingdom.
(ON, 10/06, p.7)
1799 Mar 26, Napoleon Bonaparte
captured Jaffa, Palestine.
(HN, 3/26/99)
1804 Mar 26, Congress ordered the
removal of Indians east of the Mississippi to Louisiana.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1804 Mar 26, The Louisiana
Purchase was divided into the Territory of Orleans and the District of
Louisiana.
(AP, 3/26/97)(HN, 3/25/98)
1812 Mar 26, Earthquake destroyed
90% of Caracas; about 20,000 died.
(SS, 3/26/02)(PCh, 1992, p.376)
1819 Mar 26, Louise Otto, German
feminist author, was born.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1821 Mar 26, Franz Grillparzer's
"Das Goldene Vliess" premiered in Vienna.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1824 Mar 26, 1st performance of
Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis."
(SS, 3/26/02)
1827 Mar 26, Ludwig von Beethoven
(56), German composer, died in Vienna. He had been deaf for the later
part of his life, but said on his death bead “I shall hear in heaven.”
It was later determined that he suffered from lead poisoning. In 1995
Tia DeNora authored “Beethoven and the Construction of Genius.” In 2000
Russell Martin authored “Beethoven’s Hair: An Extraordinary Historical
Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved.”
(WSJ, 5/29/96, p.A5)(AP, 3/256/97)(HN, 3/26/99)(SFC,
10/18/00, p.A2)(WSJ, 1/17/02, p.A12)
1831 Mar 26, An interim government
was set up in Raseiniai as a Lithuanian revolt against Russian rule
began. There was a major uprising led by the Polish nobility in Warsaw
against Russian rule. Russian forces began to march through Lithuania
and this led many people of Lithuania to join in the rebellion against
Russian rule. Serf uprisings also followed. The rebellion was
eventually quelled by Russian force.
(H of L, 1931, p.85-86)(LHC, 3/26/03)
1832 Mar 26, Famed western artist
George Catlin began his voyage up the Missouri River aboard the
American Fur Company steamship Yellowstone.
(HN, 3/26/99)
1845 Mar 26, Joseph Francis, New
York NY, patented a corrugated sheet-iron lifeboat.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1845 Mar 26, Patent was awarded
for adhesive medicated plaster, precursor of band aid.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1850 Mar 26, Edward Bellamy
(d.1898), writer, was born. His work included the utopian novel
"Looking Backward, 2000-1887," which forecast what America might look
like if people worked together for the common good.
(WSJ, 12/10/99, p.W17)(HN, 3/26/01)
1859 Mar 26, A.E. Houseman
(d.1936), critic, classics scholar and poet (A Shropshire Lad), was
born. A 1997 fictionalized portrait of Alfred Edward Housman, "The
Invention of Love: Memory Play," was written by Tom Stoppard. He is
best known for his work "A Shropshire Lad."
(SFEC, 3/29/98, p.T9)(SFC, 1/15/00, p.B1)(HN,
3/26/01)
1859 Mar 26, 1st sighting of
Vulcan, a planet thought to orbit inside Mercury.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1862 Mar 26, Battle of La Glorieta
Pass, New Mexico Territory (Apache Canyon, Pigeon's Ranch).
(SS, 3/26/02)
1863 Mar 26, Henry Royce, founder
(Rolls-Royce Limited in 1884), was born. [see Mar 27]
(SS, 3/26/02)
1863 Mar 26, Voters in West
Virginia approved the gradual emancipation of slaves.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1868 Mar 26, Fuad I, king of Egypt
(1922-36), was born.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1871 Mar 26, Serafín
Alvarez Quintéro, Spanish dramatist, playwright (El Flechazo),
was born.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1871 Mar 26, Paris Commune was
founded. The Parisians revolted against their government and tried to
secede by electing their own government. The Commune of Paris refused
to obey Adolphe Thiers, the elected president of the country. Thiers
asked the Germans to release thousands of French prisoners and
organized a powerful force to overcome the Commune.
(V.D.-H.K.p.260)(SS, 3/26/02)
1872 Mar 26, Thomas J. Martin
patented a fire extinguisher.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1872 Mar 26, A 7.8 earthquake
shook the Owens Valley, California.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1874 Mar 26, Robert Frost, poet
(d.1963), was born in San Francisco. Robert Lee Frost, American poet.
In a biography of Frost by Jeffrey Myers: “Robert Frost: A Biography,”
the author claims that Frost moved his birthday up a year to make
himself legitimate. A 3-volume biography by Lawrence Thompson was
completed in 1976. Myers reveals that Frost’s lover, Kay Morrison, was
also involved with Lawrence Thompson, but that that would not be
disclosed in the Thompson biography. "Before I built a wall I'd ask to
know What I was walling in or walling out." [see Mar 26, 1875]
(WUD, 1994, p.571)(HN, 3/25/98)(AP, 3/26/97)(AP,
11/9/98)
1875 Mar 26, Poet Robert Frost was
born in San Francisco. [see Mar 26, 1874]
(AP, 3/26/97)
1875 Mar 26, Syngman Rhee,
President of South Korea (1948-60), was born. [see Apr 26]
(SS, 3/26/02)
1878 Mar 26, Hastings College of
Law was founded in SF. It was named after Serranus Clinton Hastings,
the 1st chief justice of the California Supreme Court.
(SS, 3/26/02)(SFCM, 10/26/03, p.8)
1878 Mar 26, Sabi Game Reserve,
the world's 1st official designated game reserve, opened.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1880 Mar 26, Duncan Hines, US
restaurant guide writer (Out of Kentucky Kitchens), was born.
(HN, 3/25/98)(SS, 3/26/02)
1885 Mar 26, The Eastman Film Co.
of Rochester, N.Y., manufactured the first commercial motion picture
film. George Eastman had perfected a method for bonding photographic
emulsion onto thin strips of celluloid.
(AP, 3/25/98)(HN, 3/25/98)(ON, 11/03, p.5)
1885 Mar 26, Louis Riel's forces
defeated Canadian forces at Duck Lake, Saskatchewan.
(SS, 3/26/02)(ON, 11/07, p.12)
1886 Mar 26, The 1st cremation in
England took place.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1892 Mar 26, Poet Walt Whitman
died in Camden, N.J. In 1997 Gary Schmidgall published the biography:
“Walt Whitman: A Gay Life.” It focused on the poet’s homosexuality. In
1999 a critical biography: Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself" by Jerome
Loving was published along with "A Whitman Chronology" by Joann P.
Krieg.
(AP, 3/26/97)(SFEC, 9/14/97, BR p.7)(SFC, 3/3/99,
p.E4)(SFEC, 4/4/99, Par p.15)
1895 Mar 26, King Alfonso planted
a pine sapling in Madrid and started Spain's Arbor Day.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1902 Mar 26, Cecil John Rhodes
(b.1853), British imperialist, died at age 48. He was buried in a tomb
in the Matopos Hills, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). He had co-founded De Beers
Consolidated Mines Ltd., built great railways through southern Africa.
Rhodes (founder of Rhodesia) left $10 million in his will to provide
scholarships to Oxford University in England. The first scholars were
selected in 1903. In 2008 Philip Ziegler authored “Legacy: Cecil
Rhodes, the Rhodes Trust and Rhodes Scholarships.”
(WSJ, 12/9/98, p.A1)(AP, 4/4/97)(SFC, 12/9/98,
p.A25)(Econ, 5/10/08, p.95)
1903 Mar 26, American Hotel opened
in Amsterdam.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1904 Mar 26, Joseph Campbell,
folklorist and writer, was born.
(HN, 3/26/01)
1905 Mar 26, Viktor Emil Frankl,
psychiatrist (Man's Search for Meaning), was born.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1909 Mar 26, August Strindberg's
"Bjalb-jarle-ti" premiered in Stockholm.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1909 Mar 26, Russian troops
invaded Persia to support Muhammad Ali as the Shah in place of the
constitutional government.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1910 Mar 26, US forbade
immigration to criminals, anarchists, paupers and the sick.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1910 Mar 26, William H. Lewis was
appointed Assistant Attorney General of US.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1911 Mar 26, Tennessee Williams
(d.1983), American dramatist, was born in Columbus, Miss. His plays
included "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "A Streetcar Name Desire."
(HN, 3/26/01)(AP, 3/26/02)(http://tinyurl.com/s8zm5)
1913 Mar 26, Dayton, Ohio, was
almost destroyed when Scioto, Miami, and Muskingum River reached flood
stage simultaneously.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1913 Mar 26, The Balkan allies
took Adrianople. Bulgaria captured Adrianople, ending the 1st Balkan
War.
(HN, 3/25/98)(SS, 3/26/02)
1914 Mar 26, The birthday of
Tennessee (Thomas Lanier) Williams (1914-1983), American dramatist. His
play “The Glass Menagerie” was inspired by a pre-frontal lobotomy
performed on his sister to cure a case of schizophrenia. The operation
failed and his sister, Rose (1909-1996), was institutionalized. He left
a $10 million estate to support her and directed that anything left go
to support aspiring writers at the Univ. of the South of Sewanee. He
also wrote "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "A Streetcar Name Desire." [see
Mar 11 & 26, 1911]
(AHD, p.1466)(WUD, 1994, p.1634)
1914 Mar 26, William
Westmoreland, U.S. army general and head of all ground forces in South
Vietnam during the Vietnam War, was born in Saxon, SC.
(HN, 3/26/99)(SS, 3/26/02)
1917 Mar 27, The Seattle
Metropolitans became the first US team to win the Stanley Cup as they
defeated the Montreal Canadiens.
(AP, 3/27/97)
1918 Mar 26, On the Western Front
during World War I the Germans took the French towns Noyon, Roye and
Lihons.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1918 Mar 26, Col. Raynal Bolling
(b.1877), architect of American air power in WWI and resident of
Greenwich, Connecticut, was shot dead by a German patrol in France.
(WSJ, 4/12/08,
p.A1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raynal_Bolling)
1923 Mar 26, Bob Elliot, radio
comedian, one half of Bob and Ray, was born.
(HN, 3/26/01)
1923 Mar 26, Sarah Bernhardt
[Henriette-Rosine Bernard], actress (Qn Elizabeth), died at 77.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1924 Mar 26, Premiere of Bernard
Shaw's "Saint Joan" in London.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1925 Mar 26, Pierre Boulez,
composer, conductor (Visage Nuptial), was born in Montbrison, France.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1926 Mar 26, ACD de Graeff was
appointed Governor-General of Dutch East-Indies.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1926 Mar 26, The 1st lip-reading
tournament was held in America.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1926 Mar 26, U.S. oil companies
bought 190,000 tons of kerosene from Russia for $3.2 million.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1927 Mar 26, Alfred Hugenberg
purchased German film company UFA.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1927 Mar 26, Gaumont-British Film
Corporation formed.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1930 Mar 26, Gregory Corso, beat
poet (Happy Birthday of Death, Long Live Man), was born. He discovered
literature in prison.
(HN, 3/26/01)(SS, 3/26/02)
1930 Mar 26, Sandra Day O'Connor,
first woman US Supreme Court Justice (1981- ), was born in El Paso TX.
(HN, 3/26/01)(SS, 3/26/02)
1930 Mar 26, Congress appropriated
$50,000 for Inter-American highway.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1931 Mar 26, Leonard Nimoy, actor
(Spock-Star Trek, Mission Impossible), was born in Boston, MA.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1931 Mar 26, Iraq and Trans-Jordan
(Transjordan) signed a peace treaty.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1931 Mar 26, New Delhi replaced
Calcutta as capitol of British-India. [see Feb 10]
(SS, 3/26/02)
1933 Mar 26, Vine Deloria, Jr.,
writer, activist, was born.
(HN, 3/26/01)
1934 Mar 26, Alan Arkin, actor
(Catch 22, In-Laws, Simon, Wait Until Dark), was born in NYC.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1934 Mar 26, Driving tests were
introduced in Britain.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1934 Mar 26, Switzerland banned
all slanderous criticism of state institutions in the press and
threatened the suspension of publications if the ban was not heeded.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1936 Mar 26, A 200" telescope lens
was shipped by the Corning Glass Works from New York to Cal Tech.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1936 Mar 26, Mary Joyce ended a
1,000 mile trip by dog in Alaska.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1936 Mar 26, New Zealand radio
aired a parliamentary debate for the 1st time.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1937 Mar 26, A 6-foot-tall
concrete statue of the cartoon character Popeye was unveiled during the
Second Annual Spinach Festival in Crystal City, Texas.
(AP, 3/26/97)
1937 Mar 26, William H. Hastie
became the first black federal judge in the Virgin Islands.
(HN, 3/25/98)(SS, 3/26/02)
1938 Mar 26, NBC radio performance
of Howard Hanson's 3rd Symphony.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1938 Mar 26, Herman Goering warned
all Jews to leave Austria.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1940 Mar 26, Nancy Pelosi,
(Representative-Democrat-CA), was born.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1942 Mar 26, Erica Jong [Mann],
poet, novelist (Fear of Flying, How to Save Your Own Life), was born in
NYC.
(HN, 3/26/01)(SS, 3/26/02)
1942 Mar 26, 20 tons of gelignite
killed 21 in a stone quarry in Easton, PA.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1942 Mar 26, A German offensive
took place in North-Africa under Colonel-General Rommel.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1943 Mar 26, Elsie S. Ott, US army
nurse, became the 1st woman to receive air medal.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1943 Mar 26, Battle of Komandorski
Islands, Pacific Ocean.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1944 Mar 26, Diana Ross [Earle],
(Supremes, Lady Sings the Blues, Mahogany), was born Detroit, MI.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1944 Mar 26, 705 British bombers
attacked Essen.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1945 Mar 26, Generals Eisenhower,
Bradley, and Patton attack at Remagen on the Rhine.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1945 Mar 26, US 7th Army crossed
Rhine at Worms.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1945 Mar 26, Japanese resistance
ended on Iwo Jima.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1945 Mar 26, Kamikazes attacked US
battle fleet near Kerama Retto.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1945 Mar 26, Syria declared war on
Germany.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1945 Mar 26, David Lloyd George
(b.1863), former prime minister (1916-1922), died. In 1973 John Grigg
(d.2001 at 77) authored “The Young Lloyd George.” 2 more volumes of the
biography were published in 1978 and 1985.
(WUD, 1994 p.839)(SFC, 1/3/02, p.A16)(SS, 3/26/02)
1947 Mar 26, FBI director J. Edgar
Hoover warned HUAC that communists had launched “a furtive attack on
Hollywood” 12 years earlier.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.F2)
1950 Mar 26, Senator Joe McCarthy
named Owen Lattimore, an ex-State Department adviser, as a Soviet spy.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1951 Mar 26, The United States Air
Force flag design was approved.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1952 Mar 26, F. Dürrenmatt's
"Die Ehe des Herrn Mississippi" premiered in Munich.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1953 Mar 26, Eisenhower offered
increased aid in Indochina (Vietnam) to France.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1953 Mar 26, Dr. Jonas Salk of the
University of Pittsburgh announced that a vaccine against polio had
been successfully tested in a small group of adults and children. By
April 1955, the vaccine had undergone further testing and gained
federal approval for public use, as shown in this photo of Salk
administering the vaccine at Colfax School in Pittsburgh. Salk’s polio
vaccine was so successful that by 1961 the incidence of polio had
decreased by 95 percent.
(HNPD, 3/26/99)
1954 Mar 26, The U.S. set off the
second H-bomb blast in four weeks in the Marshall Islands at Bikini
Island. The 15-megaton device was 750 times more powerful than the
atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The blast contaminated the
neighboring island of Rongelap and nearly 100 people on the island and
other downwind atolls.
(HN, 3/25/98)(SFC, 12/7/99, p.A10)(SS, 3/26/02)
1955 Mar 26, "Ballad of Davy
Crockett" by Fess Parker became the #1 record in US.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1956 Mar 26, Medic Alert
Foundation formed.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1956 Mar 26, Red Buttons debuted
on TV in Studio One.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1958 Mar 26, In the 30th Academy
Awards "The Bridge on the River Kwai" won 7 Awards, including best
picture of 1957; its director, David Lean, and star Alec Guinness also
received Oscars. Joanne Woodward was named best actress for "The Three
Faces of Eve."
(AP, 3/26/08)
1958 Mar 26, The U.S. Army
launched America's third successful satellite, Explorer 3.
(AP, 3/26/97)
1959 Mar 26, Raymond Chandler
(71), American writer, best known for his Philip Marlowe detective
novels, died. He wrote seven Marlowe books that includes "Farewell My
Lovely," "The Long Goodbye" (1953) and "The Big Sleep" (1939). In 1976
Prof. Frank MacShane wrote "The Life of Raymond Chandler." In 1995 he
was honored with a 2-volume issues of his works by the Library of
America. A CD-ROM was also made titled after a novel: Trouble is My
Business. In 1997 Tom Hiney wrote "Raymond Chandler: A Biography." In
2001 Tom Hiney and Frank MacShane edited "The Raymond Chandler Papers."
In 2007 Judith Freeman authored “The Long Embrace: Raymond Chandler and
the Woman He Loved.”
(WSJ, 10/18/95, A-16)(SFC, 7/9/97, p.D5)(SFC,
3/14/98, p.B7)(SFC, 11/18/99, p.C8)(WSJ, 4/23/01, p.A20)(SS,
3/26/02)(SSFC, 11/4/07, p.M1)
1960 Mar 26, Iraq executed 30
after attack on President Kassem.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1961 Mar 26, John F. Kennedy met
with British Premier Macmillan, in Washington to discuss increased
Communist involvement in Laos.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1962 Mar 26, The U.S. Supreme
Court in Baker vs. Carr gave federal courts the power to order
reapportionment of seats in a state legislature, a decision that
eventually led to the doctrine of “one man, one vote.” It arose from a
Tennessee case in which Carr was the state attorney general.
(AP, 3/26/02)(SFC, 8/1/03, p.A27)
1964 Mar 26, The Broadway hit
musical "Funny Girl" premiered with Barbara Streisand as singer Fanny
Brice. Jule Styne and Bob Merrill produced the show, which ran at
Winter Garden Theater in NYC for 1,348 performances
(SS, 3/26/02)(SSFC, 1/18/04, p.A1)
1967 Mar 26, In the 21st Tony
Awards: Homecoming and Cabaret won.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1967 Mar 26, Pope Paul VI
published encyclical Populorum progressio.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1969 Mar 26, Marcus Welby MD, a TV
movie was shown on ABC-TV. It began a popular series with Robert Young
and ran to 1976.
(SS, 3/26/02)(WSJ, 1/10/03, p.A10)
1969 Mar 26, Writer John Kennedy
Toole committed suicide at the age of 32. His mother helped get his
first and only novel, “A Confederacy of Dunces,” published. It went on
to win the 1981 Pulitzer Prize.
(HN, 3/26/01)
1969 Mar 26, B. Traven, novelist
and short-story writer, died. He lived most of his life incognito in
Mexico. His work included “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” “The
Death Ship,” The Rebellion of the Hanged” and “The General from the
Jungle.” In 1976 Michael L. Baumann authored “B. Traven, An
Introduction.” In 2000 Michael L. Baumann authored “Mr. Traven, I
Presume.”
(SFEC, 10/15/00, BR p.8)
1969 Mar 26, Nuclear reactor in
Dodewaard, Netherlands, went into use.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1969 Mar 26, Soviet weather
Satellite Meteor 1 was launched.
(HN, 3/25/98)
1970 Mar 26, "Minnie's Boys"
opened at Imperial Theater in NYC for 80 performances.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1970 Mar 26, 500th nuclear
explosion since 1945 was announced by the US.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1970 Mar 26, Golden Gate Park
Conservatory was made city landmark.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1970 Mar 26, Peter Yarrow (Peter,
Paul & Mary) pleaded guilty to "taking immoral liberties" with a 14
year old girl.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1971 Mar 26, "Benny Hill Show"
topped TV ratings.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1971 Mar 26, "Cannon" with William
Conrad premiered on CBS-TV.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1971 Mar 26, East Pakistan
proclaimed its independence, taking the name Bangladesh. [See Mar 21]
(AP, 3/26/97)(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1972 Mar 26, "Only Fools Are Sad"
closed at Edison Theater in NYC after 144 performances.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1973 Mar 26, The US soap opera
"The Young and the Restless" premiered.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0069658/)
1973 Mar 26, Susan Shaw became the
1st woman in 171 years in London's Stock exchange.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1973 Mar 26, Noel Coward (b.1899),
English gay playwright, died. He was called "The Master" and his work
included "The Vortex," "Hay Fever," "Private Lives," "Brief Encounter"
and "Blithe Spirit." In 1970 he was given knighthood. "Noel Coward: A
Biography" by Philip Hoare was published in 1996. Another biography, "A
Talent to Amuse" by Sheridan Morley, published in 1974, was
recommended. In 2007 Barry Day edited “The Letters of Noel Coward.”
(WSJ, 8/15/96, p.A10)(SFEC, 8/25/96, BR p.9)(WSJ,
11/10/07, p.W8)
1975 Mar 26, The film "Tommy"
premiered in London.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0073812/combined)
1975 Mar 26, The US ratified a ban
on poison gas established in the Geneva Protocol. Production,
stockpiling and the use of anthrax was outlawed by an int’l. treaty of
chemical and biological weapons. 140 nations adopted the Int'l.
Biological Weapons Convention, but these did not include Russia. The
treaty had no organization, no budget, no sanctions and no inspections
provisions.
(www.fas.org/nuke/control/bwc/text/bwc.htm)(SFC,11/12/97, p.C2)(SFC,
2/20/98, p.A9)(SFC, 2/19/00, p.A14)
1975 Mar 26, Clela Rorex, Boulder,
Colo., county clerk, allowed 6 same-sex couples to wed after changing
the license application to read "person" rather than "male" and
"female."
(SFC, 2/14/04,
p.A1)(www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/26/22117/6384)
1976 Mar 26, Paul McCartney and
Wings released "Wings at the Speed of Sound" album.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wings_at_the_Speed_of_Sound)
1976 Mar 26, In 2006 an NSA
transcript from this day indicated that US Sec. of State Henry
Kissinger was informed in the meeting by then-Assistant Secretary for
Latin America William D. Rogers, that if the Argentine military regime
succeeded (March 24 coup), it would make a "considerable effort to
involve the United States — particularly in the financial field."
Kissinger, the NSA's transcript further stated, responded, "Yes, but
that is in our interest."
(AP, 3/24/06)
1977 Mar 26, Rose Bird (1936-1999)
was sworn in as Chief Justice of California. She had been confirmed on
March 12.
(SFEC, 12/5/99, p.A18)
1977 Mar 26, Elvis Costello
released his 1st record "Less Than Zero."
(www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/b-radiohistory/m-1174918300/)
1979 Mar 26, In the 41st NCAA
Men's Basketball Championship the Michigan State Spartans beat the
Indiana State Sycamores, 75-64, as Magic Johnson outscored Larry Bird,
24-19; this snapped Indiana State's 33-game win streak.
(http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/moments/9903.html)
1979 Mar 26, The Camp David peace
treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat at the White House. [see Sep 5-17, 1978]
(AP,
3/26/97)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_Accords)
1981 Mar 26, A jury in Los Angeles
awarded entertainer Carol Burnett $1.6 million from the “National
Enquirer” for an article she’d charged was libelous. The award was
later reduced, and the two parties settled out of court.
(AP, 3/26/01)
1981 Mar 26, Police and Albanian
demonstrators battled in Kosovo.
(www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/8454/8454.ch01.html)
1982 Mar 26, Paul McCartney and
Stevie Wonder released "Ebony & Ivory" in the UK.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1982 Mar 26, The American soap
opera "Capitol" premiered and ran for 1270 episodes.
{TV, USA}
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_(TV_series))
1982 Mar 26, Ground was broken in
Washington D.C. for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial designed by Maya Lin
of Yale. It was dedicated Nov 13.
(NG, May 1985, p.554, 557)(AP, 3/26/97)(HN, 3/25/98)
1983 Mar 26, US performed a
nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
(www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/tests/USA-ntests3.html)
1984 Mar 26, US Congress
established the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to distribute
funds for wildlife and environmental projects.
(SFC, 11/20/99,
p.A8)(www.fws.gov/laws/laws_digest/NATLFW.HTML)
1987 Mar 26, "Fences" by August
Wilson (1945-2005) premiered in NYC.
(www.theatredatabase.com/20th_century/august_wilson_timeline.html)
1987 Mar 26, National Federation
of High Schools adopted college 3 point shot (21 feet). The FIBA
instituted the three-point shot at a distance of 20 feet, 6 inches
(6.25 meters) in the international game in 1984.
(www.answerbag.com/c_view/222)
1987 Mar 26, Jessica Hahn, the
former church secretary who admitted to a sexual encounter with former
PTL head Jim Bakker, told reporters she had not tried to blackmail
Bakker, and expressed concern about "innocent bystanders who have been
hurt" by the scandal.
(AP, 3/26/97)
1987 Mar 26, NASA launched
Fltsatcom-6, but it failed after 51 seconds due to lightning.
(http://www.astronautix.com/craft/fltatcom.htm)
1988 Mar 26, Jesse Jackson stunned
fellow Democrats by soundly defeating Michael S. Dukakis in Michigan's
Democratic presidential caucuses.
(AP, 3/25/98)
1989 Mar 26, The first free
elections took place in the Soviet Union. Boris Yeltsin was elected.
Voters in the Soviet Union filled 1,500 of more than 2,000 seats in the
new Congress of People's Deputies, beginning embarrassing defeats for
the Communist Party.
(AP, 3/26/99)(HN, 3/25/98)
1990 Mar 26, "Driving Miss Daisy"
won best picture at the 62nd annual Academy Awards and captured the
best actress prize for Jessica Tandy; Daniel Day-Lewis was named best
actor for "My Left Foot."
(AP, 3/26/00)
1990 Mar 26, Designer Halston died
in San Francisco at age 57.
(AP, 3/26/00)
1991 Mar 26, The Bush
administration indicated it would not aid rebels seeking to overthrow
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
(AP, 3/26/01)
1991 Mar 26, A divided US Supreme
Court ruled that criminal defendants whose coerced confessions were
improperly used as evidence are not always entitled to new trials.
(AP, 3/26/01)
1991 Mar 26, Fuel pipe exploded
under 58th street and Lexington Ave, NYC.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1991 Mar 26, Marc Camoletti's
"Don't Dress for Dinner" premiered in London.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1991 Mar 26, The Treaty of
Asuncion established the southern common market: (Mercado Comun del
Sur) Mercosur, between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
They were later joined by associate members Chile (1996), Bolivia
(1997), Peru (2001) and Venezuela (2004). Mexico was granted observer
status in 2004.
(www.itcilo.it/english/actrav/telearn/global/ilo/blokit/mercoa.htm)
1992 Mar 26, A judge in
Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to
six years in prison for raping a Miss Black America contestant. Tyson
ended up serving three years.
(AP, 3/26/02)
1993 Mar 26, President Clinton
promised a "full-court press" against Bosnian Serbs to secure their
agreement to a United Nations peace plan endorsed by Bosnian Muslims
and Croats.
(AP, 3/25/98)
1994 Mar 26, The Senate passed
President Clinton's education reform measure, the "Goals 2000" bill,
63-22.
(AP, 3/26/99)
1994 Mar 26, U.N. peacekeepers in
Bosnia-Herzegovina destroyed a Serb bunker following a seven-hour
exchange of fire.
(AP, 3/26/99)
1995 Mar 26, "Defending the
Caveman" opened at Helen Hayes Theater in NYC for 671 performances.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1995 Mar 26, "Moliere Comedied"
closed at Criterion Theater in NYC after 56 performances.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1995 Mar 26, In the 15th Golden
Raspberry Awards: Color of Night won.
(http://razzies.com/asp/content/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=34)
1995 Mar 26, The National Labor
Relations Board, in an extraordinary Sunday session, voted 3-2 to seek
an injunction against baseball owners as a seven-and-a-half-month-old
strike by players continued.
(AP, 3/26/00)
1995 Mar 26, Former US
diplomat-turned-radio talk show host Alan Keyes entered the race for
the Republican presidential nomination.
(AP, 3/26/00)
1995 Mar 26, Uzbek Pres. Karimov's
period in office is extended by three years, to 2000, in a referendum.
(AP, 3/30/04)
1996 Mar 26, The closest approach
of the Hyakutake comet, first sighted Jan 31. It was to come within
ten-million miles of the Earth.
(Nat. Hist., 4/96, p.62)
1996 Mar 26, Edmund Muskie, former
senator from Maine, secretary of state and Democratic pres. candidate
in 1972, died after a heart attack two days shy of his 82nd birthday.
(WSJ, 3/27/96, p.A-1)(AP, 3/26/97)
1996 Mar 26 David Packard,
co-founder of Hewlett-Packard Co., died. In a 1988 letter to his
children he declared that the David & Lucille Packard Foundation’s
highest priority must be to reduce world-wide population growth.
(WSJ, 3/27/96, p.A-1)(WSJ, 3/6/98)
1996 Mar 26, Amid public fears of
mad cow disease, British farmers demanded their government order the
destruction of old cattle, but Prime Minister John Major refused, and
blamed the crisis on his political opponents.
(AP, 3/26/97)
1996 Mar 26, In Cambodia the Khmer
Rouge kidnapped Christopher Howes, a mine-clearing expert from Bristol,
England, and Hun Hourth, his interpreter. In Nov Howes’ employer paid
$120,000 for his release. It was reported in 1998 that the two men were
killed shortly after their abduction.
(SFC, 11/23/96, p.A11)(SFC, 4/13/98,
p.A14)(http://tinyurl.com/7s7x4)
1997 Mar 26, "Annie" opened at
Martin Beck Theater NYC.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1997 Mar 26, Former drug counselor
John G. Bennett Jr. pleaded no contest in Philadelphia to charges
stemming from a $100 million charity fraud. Bennett was sentenced to 12
years in prison for fraud, tax violations and money laundering.
(AP, 3/25/07)
1997 Mar 26, The united Farm
Workers Union announced that it would petition the US Environmental
Agency to reinstate a 4-day period when farmworkers would stay out of
strawberry fields after the application of capstan, a cancer causing
fungicide. Its use has increased 7-fold in the last 6 years. 80% of the
nation’s strawberry crop is grown in California.
(SFC, 3/27/97, p.A21)
1997 Mar 26, The bodies 39 young
men and women (26-72) of the Heaven’s Gate cult were found in a mansion
at Rancho Santa Fe, near San Diego. The techno-religious group, led by
an older man named “Do,” (aka Marshall Herff Applewhite), had committed
mass suicide as the Hale-Bopp comet approached. They had run a business
under the name WW Higher Source that engaged in WWW page development.
(SFC, 3/27/97, p.A1)(SFC, 3/28/97, p.A1,12)(AP,
3/25/98)
1997 Mar 26, In Belarus Pres.
Lukashenko announced the revival of the Soviet tradition of
“subbotniks,” weekend unpaid mandatory labor.
(SFC, 3/27/97, p.A15)
1997 Mar 26, Bre-X and Freeport
Mining announced that due-diligence testing by Freeport found much less
gold than estimated in the Busang, Indonesia, discovery by the team of
Michael de Guzman (d.3/19/97). The penny stock had been pumped to $4.5
billion in market value before the hoax crashed.
(WSJ, 4/9/97, p.A10)(WSJ, 6/19/01, p.A18)
1997 Mar 26, Irish terrorists set
off 2 bombs in Wilmslow, England, at a railroad crossing.
(SFC, 3/27/97, p.A14)
1997 Mar 26, In Northern Ireland a
bomb exploded at a police station in Coalisland, 30 miles west of
Belfast.
(SFC, 3/27/97, p.A14)
1997 Mar 26, In Papua New Guinea
Prime Minister Julius Chan resigned due to the public uproar over plans
to use mercenaries in Bougainville.
(SFC, 3/26/97, p.A14)
1997 Mar 26, Manfred Nowak
resigned the job of envoy of the UN for missing persons in the former
Yugoslavia and said that he failed to receive support to account for
the 20,000 missing people of the Bosnian war. He had begun the job in
1994.
(SFC, 3/27/97, p.A18)
1998 Mar 26, President Clinton
stood with President Nelson Mandela in a racially integrated South
African parliament to salute a country that was "truly free and
democratic at last."
(SFC, 3/21/98, p.A13)(AP, 3/26/99)
1998 Mar 26, The federal
government endorsed a new HIV test that yielded instant results.
(AP, 3/26/03)
1998 Mar 26, In Nevada a new
satellite-based survey of the Yucca Mountain site for storing
radioactive wastes indicated that the Earth’s crust at the site was
stretching 10 times faster than previous studies have shown.
(SFC, 3/27/98, p.A3)
1998 Mar 26, In Greece a 2-day
storm closed the Athens airport and left much of the capital without
electricity. At least one person was killed.
(SFC, 3/27/98, p.A14)
1998 Mar 26, In Japan the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party announced a $124 billion economic stimulus
package.
(SFC, 3/27/98, p.A13)
1998 Mar 26, In Kenya a fire at a
school near Mombasa killed 25 teenage girls in their dormitory.
(WSJ, 3/26/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 26, In Malaysia riots
flared in 4 detention camps that housed mainly Indonesian illegal
immigrants. The Internal Security Act allowed the detention without
trial of people caught helping illegals. 8 inmates and one policeman
were killed. Over 200 inmates escaped from one camp.
(WSJ, 3/27/98, p.A10)
1998 Mar 26, In Mexico a mob in
Huejutla lynched 2 suspected kidnappers after a judge ordered the 2 men
freed on $600 bail. 30 residents were arrested in the lynching.
(SFC, 3/27/98, p.A14)
1998 Mar 26, In the Philippines
Imelda Marcos claimed to have $800 million in foreign banks and
promised to give it all to the poor if she is elected in May.
(SFC, 3/27/98, p.A14)
1998 Mar 26, In Serbia Pres.
Milosevic ordered several hundred additional police to Kosovo. Serbs
protested the killing of a policeman and 2 ethnic Albanians were killed
in a police counterattack.
(SFC, 3/27/98, p.A12)(WSJ, 3/27/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 26, Three major Swiss
banks pledged to set up a compensation fund in the US for a global
settlement with Holocaust victims.
(SFC, 3/27/98, p.A12)
1999 Mar 26, Hillary Clinton
continued her 12-day African tour with a speech in Tunis at a women's
rights conference.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C1)
1999 Mar 26, Right-to-die advocate
Dr. Jack Kevorkian was convicted in Pontiac, Mich., of second-degree
murder for giving Thomas Youk, a patient with Lou Gehrig's disease, a
lethal injection. His action was videotaped and broadcast on television.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.A1)(AP, 3/26/00)
1999 Mar 26, The Waste Isolation
Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. received its first
shipment of nuclear waste. The facility was completed in 1988.
(SFC, 3/26/99, p.A3)(SFC, 3/27/99, p.A2)
1999 Mar 26, A computer virus
named "Melissa" began infecting computers across the country.
(AP, 3/26/00)
1999 Mar 26, American-led NATO
forces launched a third night of airstrikes against Yugoslavia and 2
MiG-29 fighters were shot down as Serbian troops continued to sweep
ethnic Albanian villages in Kosovo.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.A1)(AP, 3/26/00)
1999 Mar 26, In Bulgaria some
10,000 people protested NATO strikes; in Greece some 15,000 marched on
the US embassy in protest; in Bosnia some 3,000 Serb youths turned
violent in Banja Luka over the NATO strikes.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.A11)
1999 Mar 26, The EU declared that
the creation of a Palestine state was the best way to resolve the
Middle East conflict, and the action could not be vetoed by Israel.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.A10)
1999 Mar 26, Serbian forces
rounded up ethnic Albanian villages in Krushe e Vogel, Kosovo. They
drove the women and children toward Albania and gunned down 102 men and
older boys.
(SSFC, 9/8/02, p.F1)
1999 Mar 26, The UN Security
Council defeated a Russian resolution demanding an immediate end to
NATO attacks on Yugoslavia.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.A11)
1999 Mar 26, In Uganda it was
reported that wheat stem-rust fungus had appeared on a crop. The fungus
killed nearly half the world's crop before the green revolution of the
1950s. The black rust disease was named Ug99 and by 2007 had jumped to
Yemen. In 2008 it was confirmed in Iran. In 2008 Cornell Univ. received
a $26.8 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to
help combat the new strains of rust disease.
(WSJ, 3/26/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/3/08, p.A16)
2000 Mar 26, In the Academy Awards
ceremony the film "American Beauty" won 5 Oscars, including best
director for Sam Mendes and best actor for Kevin Spacey. Hilary Swank
won best actress for "Boys Don't Cry." Michael Caine won best
supporting actor for his role in "The Cider House Rules." Angelina
Jolie won best supporting actress for her role in "Girl, Interrupted."
The film "Matrix" won r technical categories, and best score went to
"The Red Violin." Pedro Almodovar won the foreign language film for
"All About My Mother."
(SFC, 3/27/00, p.A1)(AP, 3/26/01)
2000 Mar 26, Pres Clinton met with
Pres. Assad of Syria in Geneva but failed to get an agreement to revive
peace talks with Israel.
(WSJ, 3/27/00, p.A1)
2000 Mar 26, The Seattle Kingdome
was blown up in a controlled implosion. The 7.9 acre roof collapsed in
less than 20 seconds.
(WSJ, 5/10/99, p.A21)(SFC, 3/27/00, p.A4)
2000 Mar 26, Pope John Paul II
ended his Holy Land tour with a message of contrition at the Western
Wall in Jerusalem, a visit to Al Aqsa Mosque and a Mass at the Church
of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site for the resurrection of
Jesus.
(SFC, 3/27/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 3/27/00, p.A1)
2000 Mar 26, Dr. Alex Comfort,
British author of the 1972 “Joy of Sex,” died at age 80 in Oxfordshire.
Comfort wrote some 50 books that included novels, poetry, criticism,
scientific texts and works on Eastern philosophy.
(SFC, 3/28/00, p.E1)(AP, 3/26/01)
2000 Mar 26, In Chechnya Russian
Col. Yuri Budanov and 3 soldiers seized Elza (Heda) Kungayeva (18) and
strangled her to death following a pummeling and sexual assault. She
was believed to be a rebel sniper. In 2001 Budanov faced a trial and in
2002 he was ruled temporarily insane.
(SSFC, 3/18/01, p.D5)(SFC, 1/1/03, p.A9)
2000 Mar 26, In Colombia Pres.
Pastrana pressured Armando Pomorica, president of the lower house of
Congress, to take responsibility for a corruption scandal.
(WSJ, 3/27/00, p.A1)
2000 Mar 26, Russia elected
Vladimir Putin as its 2nd post-Communist president with 52.5% vote.
(SFC, 3/27/00, p.A1)(AP, 3/26/01)
2001 Mar 26, The Bill Moyers PBS
special “Trade Secrets” focused on the coverup by the American chemical
industry of health problems caused by numerous products including vinyl
chloride and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.A17)
2001 Mar 26, A US Army plane
crashed in Germany and 2 pilots were killed. In Scotland US Air Force
F15C fighter jets were lost during training. The body of one pilot, Lt.
Col. Kenneth John Hyvonen, and F15 wreckage was found the next day.
Wreckage of the 2nd F15 was found after 2 days. The body of Capt. Kirk
Jones was found Mar 30.
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.F1)(SFC, 3/28/01, p.A10)(SFC,
3/29/01, p.A11)(SFC, 3/31/01, p.A14)
2001 Mar 26, California state
regulators proposed a 40% rate increase to help remedy the state’s
energy crisis.
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.A1)
2001 Mar 26, Regional Comair
pilots went on strike after failing to settle with corporate parent
Delta. The three-month strike began after contract talks with the
regional airline broke off.
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.C4)(AP, 3/26/02)
2001 Mar 26, It was reported that
scientists had detected high-energy neutrinos for the 1st time in the
Antarctic Muon and neutrino Detector Array (Amanda).
(SFC, 3/26/01, p.A6)
2001 Mar 26, In Colombia Juan
Gonzalez, head of the right-wing Calima Front of the United
Self-Defense Forces, was killed with 3 others in a bar shootout.
(SFC, 3/28/01, p.D4)
2001 Mar 26, In Hebron a
Palestinian sniper shot and killed a 10-month-old Jewish girl. A
15-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and wounded in Gaza.
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.F1)
2001 Mar 26, In Kazakstan the
Caspian Pipeline Consortium began pumping crude oil from the Tengiz
field to Novorossiisk, Russia’s Black Sea port. The 990-mile
Tengiz-Novorossisk oil pipeline was owned by Kazakstan, Russia, Oman
and 8 oil companies. Chevron held 15% in the 12-partner consortium.
(WSJ, 2/26/01, p.A14)(SFC, 3/27/01, p.C4)
2001 Mar 26, In Kenya a dorm fire
at the Kyanguli Secondary School in Machakos killed 58 youths. One of 2
doors was bolted shut and arson was suspected. The toll soon rose to 64
as more students died from burns.
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.F1)(SFC, 3/30/01, p.D4)
2002 Mar 26, Pres. Bush nominated
Richard Carmona (52), a trauma surgeon from Arizona, as
surgeon-general. Elias Zerhouni, a Johns Hopkins Univ. administrator,
was nominated to the NIH.
(SFC, 3/27/02, p.A3)
2002 Mar 26, The US Supreme Court
upheld regulations that allowed federal housing officials to evict an
entire household if even one member is arrested for drug violations.
(SFC, 3/27/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 26, Joseph Berardino, CEO
of Arthur Anderson, resigned over the Enron fallout.
(WSJ, 3/27/02, p.C1)
2002 Mar 26, India passed a
Prevention of Terrorism bill that allowed a 3-month detention of
suspects without charges plus an additional 3 months with court
approval.
(SFC, 3/27/02, p.A6)
2002 Mar 26, Yasser Arafat
declared that he would not attend the Arab league conference in Beirut
due to restrictions imposed by PM Sharon. His Cabinet accused Israel of
trying to "blackmail" the Palestinian leader with tough conditions for
letting him go. Israeli security forces stopped a car that exploded
with 2 men inside.
(SFC, 3/27/02, p.A1)(AP, 3/26/03)
2002 Mar 26, In Serbia 2 Albanian
gunmen were killed in what police said was a battle between rebel
factions.
(WSJ, 3/27/02, p.A1)
2003 Mar 26, The Senate approved a
$2.2 trillion budget that provided less than half the $726 billion in
tax cuts President Bush wanted.
(AP, 3/26/04)
2003 Mar 26, In the 8th day of
Operation Iraqi Freedom Baghdad officials said two cruise missiles hit
a residential area, killing 14 people. Iraq said 36 civilians were
killed and 215 wounded in US airstrikes on Baghdad. Some 1,000 US
paratroopers jumped into northern Iraq as sandstorms eased.
(AP, 3/26/03)(AP, 3/27/03)(SSFC, 3/30/03, p.W12)
2003 Mar 26, Federal energy
regulators (FERC) validated California claims to 2000-2001 overcharges
for energy and said the state is owed $3.3 billion in refunds from
Enron and 5 other energy firms. California called for $9 billion.
(SFC, 3/27/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 26, Daniel Patrick
Moynihan (76), former NY Senator (1976-2000) and scholar, died. He
wrote or edited some 18 books.
(SFC, 3/27/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 26, In Afghanistan
suspected Taliban rebels attacked a government checkpoint and 13 people
were killed.
(WSJ, 3/27/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 26, The Burundian army
attacked a rebel stronghold in a Kibira forest with mortars and
artillery, killing 68 insurgents. Rebels said only 2 fighters were
killed.
(AP, 3/27/03)
2003 Mar 26, India test-fired a
short-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon, and Pakistan
immediately announced it had tested a similar missile.
(AP, 3/26/03)
2003 Mar 26, In India gunmen
fatally shot a senior Hindu nationalist in western Gujarat state.
(AP, 3/26/03)
2003 Mar 26, Pirates with
automatic weapons stormed an Indonesian tanker ship in the Malacca
Strait and escaped with equipment and cash.
(AP, 3/29/03)
2003 Mar 26, NATO officially
signed up 7 eastern European nations to become members: Bulgaria,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
(AP, 3/27/03)
2003 Mar 26, In Nigeria Ijaw
militants battling soldiers and tribal enemies in the oil-rich delta
region called for a cease-fire after state officials agreed to support
their political demands.
(AP, 3/26/03)
2003 Mar 26, In South Korea a late
night fire in a grade school dormitory killed eight children.
(AP, 3/27/03)
2003 Mar 26, Interpol issued an
international call for the arrest of former Peruvian President Alberto
Fujimori on charges of murder and kidnapping in Peru.
(AP, 3/26/04)
2004 Mar 26, The FDA approved the
1st HIV test that uses saliva rather than blood. The 20 minute test,
made by OraSure, is able to detect HIV antibodies about 6 weeks after
infection.
(SFC, 3/27/04, p.A1)
2004 Mar 26, Phoenix Bishop Thomas
O'Brien was sentenced to four years' probation and 1,000 hours of
community service for a deadly hit-and-run that claimed the life of
pedestrian Jim Reed.
(AP, 3/26/05)
2004 Mar 26, Jan Berry (62),
pioneering California rock musician, died in LA. He rode the wave of
the surf music trend in the 1960s as one half of the popular duo Jan
& Dean.
(Reuters, 3/28/04)
2004 Mar 26, Jan Sterling (82),
Hollywood film actress, died.
(SFC, 3/30/04, p.B6)
2004 Mar 26, West of Baghdad, U.S.
Marines and gunmen fought an hour-long battle that left four Iraqis
dead and six wounded. A U.S. Marine and an ABC freelance cameraman were
killed during a bitter, hours-long firefight between American troops
and Iraqi insurgents in the city of Fallujah, while 18 people died in
violence elsewhere across Iraq.
(AP, 3/26/04)(AP, 3/27/04)
2004 Mar 26, A Palestinian
militant was killed when an explosion went off in a van he was driving
in a West Bank refugee camp.
(AP, 3/26/04)
2004 Mar 26, The bodies of 8
Pakistani soldiers, executed by Al Qaeda-linked militants, were found
near Wana. They had been taken hostage in fighting near the Afghan
border.
(AP, 3/27/04)
2004 Mar 26, Polish PM Leszek
Miller announced he will step down the day after Poland joins the
European Union on May 1, taking the blame for his government's collapse
in popularity and raising the prospect of early elections. 22 members
of Miller’s SLD party had left to form the new left-wing Polish social
Democracy as Miller’s popularity plummeted.
(AP, 3/26/04)(Econ, 4/3/04, p.56)
2004 Mar 26, A Moscow court banned
the religious activities of Jehovah's Witnesses from the Russian
capital in a move that critics called a step back for democracy and
religious freedom. A 1997 religion law enshrines Orthodox Christianity
as the country's predominant religion and pledges respect for Buddhism,
Islam and Judaism, but places restrictions on other groups.
(AP, 3/27/04)
2005 Mar 26, In Afghanistan 4 US
soldiers died when their vehicle struck a land mine.
(AP, 3/26/05)
2005 Mar 26, James Callaghan,
former British prime minister (1976-1979), died on the eve of his 93rd
birthday.
(SSFC, 3/27/05, p.A21)(Econ, 4/2/05, p.80)
2005 Mar 26, A twin-engine
commercial Czech-built Let-410 airplane, crashed while taking off from
the tiny Colombian island of Old Providence, killing 8 people,
including a 3-year-old boy, and injuring six other passengers.
(AP, 3/26/05)
2005 Mar 26, In Iraq a car bomb
struck a US military patrol in Baghdad, killing two U.S. soldiers and
injuring two others.
(AP, 3/26/05)
2005 Mar 26, A fire swept through
a sprawling Moscow art market popular with tourists for its unusual
antiques from around the former Soviet Union and sometimes bargain
prices, and news reports said two people were killed.
(AP, 3/26/05)
2005 Mar 26, In Taiwan about a
million people marched through the capital to protest a new Chinese law
that authorizes an attack on the island if it moves toward formal
independence.
(AP, 3/26/05)
2005 Mar 26, German Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger stood in for Pope John Paul II during the Easter Vigil
Mass at the Vatican. Ratzinger later succeed John Paul, becoming Pope
Benedict XVI.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, In Florida Paul Dana,
a 30-year-old rookie in the Indy Racing League, died at Jackson
Memorial Hospital from multiple trauma suffered in the crash during the
final morning practice for the season-opening Toyota Indy 300.
(www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/14193716.htm)
2006 Mar 26, An Afghan court
dismissed a case against Abdul Rahman, who converted from Islam to
Christianity because of a lack of evidence. Officials said he will be
released soon.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, In Bangladesh 19
people were injured in clashes between political parties as the nation
marked its 35th Independence Day anniversary under tight security for
fear of Islamic militant attacks.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, The Chinese partner
of Time Warner’s consumer products unit said the studio division plans
to open some 200 stores in China over the coming years as demand for
branded merchandise increases in China.
(Reuters, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, Georgian police
stormed a prison in Tbilisi after inmates rioted in an escape attempt
from Ortochala prison, sparking a gun battle that left two guards and
an unknown number of inmates dead.
(AP, 3/27/06)
2006 Mar 26, Iraqi Interior
Ministry officials said authorities arrested Arkan al-Bawi, a police
major from Diyala province, for taking part in death squads. Iraqi
authorities said that US forces raided an Interior Ministry building
and arrested 40 policemen after discovering 17 non-Iraqi prisoners in
the facility.
(Reuters, 3/26/06)(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, Police found 30 more
victims of the sectarian slaughter ravaging Iraq, most of them
beheaded, dumped on a village road north of Baghdad. At least 16 Iraqis
were killed in a US-backed raid at the Mustafa mosque complex in a
Shiite neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad. At least 69 people were
reported killed in one of the bloodiest days in weeks.
(AP, 3/26/06)(Econ, 4/1/06, p.40)
2006 Mar 26-2006 Mar 27, In Iraq
two days of violence left at least 151 dead.
(AP, 3/28/06)
2006 Mar 26, The UN said it did
not expect Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah guerillas by force but hoped
they would join the Lebanese army.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, In Mexico the bodies
of six men, blindfolded, handcuffed and shot to death, were found
packed inside a pickup truck on the side of a highway leading to the
Texas border.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, A rights group said
Myanmar's military rulers have launched an offensive against separatist
guerrillas, attacking villages and forcing thousands to flee in an
attempt to quash a five-decade insurgency by Karen ethnic rebels.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, In southwest Pakistan
rebel tribesmen set off a bomb near the home of a senior government
official and launched a separate attack on a military post, triggering
a gunbattle that left two attackers and a soldier dead.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, Hamas pressed Arab
leaders gathering for a summit in Sudan to triple their financial
support to Palestinians and provide it fast, saying its government will
need around $170 million a month, mostly for salaries.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, A smoking ban in
enclosed public places took effect in Scotland, although a poll showed
that a fifth of all Scottish smokers planned to ignore the new law.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 26, Ukrainians cast
ballots in a parliamentary election that could tip this divided
ex-Soviet republic back toward Russia just 16 months after the Orange
Revolution helped put it on a westward course.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2007 Mar 26, The US military
concluded that high-ranking Army officers had made critical errors in
reporting the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in
Afghanistan, but that there was no criminal wrongdoing in the shooting
of the former NFL star by fellow soldiers. The findings were rejected
by Tillman's family.
(AP, 3/26/08)
2007 Mar 26, An American border
inspector was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for taking cash
and cars from smugglers, allowing them to shuttle illegal immigrants
from Mexico into the United States.
(AP, 3/26/07)
2007 Mar 26, David Hicks, a
31-year-old former kangaroo skinner, entered a surprise guilty plea at
the first session of the tribunals set up after the US Supreme Court
struck down the Pentagon's previous efforts to try Guantanamo
prisoners. Hicks was sentenced to seven years in prison; all but nine
months' prison time was suspended. Hicks was returned to Australia to
serve out his term, and was freed in December.
(AP, 3/27/07)(AP, 3/26/08)
2007 Mar 26, A new study that
suggested that an antioxidant found in blueberries and grapes may offer
protection against colon cancer.
(AFP, 3/26/07)
2007 Mar 26, Intel Corp. announced
it will build a $2.5 billion chip factory in China, giving the US
company a bigger presence in the booming Chinese market and boosting
Beijing's efforts to attract high-tech investment. Intel also unveiled
a prototype chip that uses optical connections to increase speed.
Products using the technology were expected to appear within 3 years.
(AP, 3/26/07)(WSJ, 3/26/07, p.B6)
2007 Mar 26, Four children and
Pedro Rodriguez (28), their father, were found dead in the family's
home in Frederick, Maryland. The mother Deysi M. Benitez (25) was
missing. Her sister from El Salvador said she had been beaten by her
husband and wanted to separate. Police concluded he had smothered the
girls and killed the boy with a blow to the head, and then killed
himself. The body of his wife, Deysi Benitez (25), an immigrant from El
Salvador, was found Feb 29, 2008, 20 miles from their home in Frederick.
(AP, 3/28/07)(AP, 4/17/08)
2007 Mar 26, A suicide bomber in a
car attacked a NATO convoy in the southern province of Kandahar,
killing himself but causing no alliance casualties. The US urged
European countries to provide more troops for Afghanistan and to free
them up for combat, as well as to provide further aid to the
war-shattered country.
(AP, 3/26/07)(AP, 3/27/07)
2007 Mar 26, In Britain Taylor
Woodrow and George Wimpey agreed upon a $9.8 billion merger to create
the country’s largest house builder.
(AP, 3/26/07)(Econ, 3/31/07, p.65)
2007 Mar 26, Chile’s President
Michelle Bachelet fired her chief of staff and three other members of
her Cabinet in response to a public transportation crisis that has
badly damaged her government.
(AP, 3/27/07)
2007 Mar 26, Chinese President Hu
Jintao arrived in Russia on his third visit as national leader, seeking
energy deals but also offering Moscow business opportunities and
international cooperation as they expand ties.
(Reuters, 3/26/07)
2007 Mar 26, Egyptians were slow
to vote in a referendum on constitutional amendments that opponents
condemned as a sham and a setback to democratic progress. Egyptian
human rights groups later said that turnout for the referendum was only
five percent, far lower than the 27 percent reported by the government.
(AP, 3/26/07)(Econ, 3/31/07, p.57)(AP, 4/11/07)
2007 Mar 26, Nicolas Sarkozy
resigned as French interior minister to focus on his presidential bid,
recalling his successes but also challenges, including violence by poor
young minorities.
(AP, 3/26/07)
2007 Mar 26, Guatemala's interior
minister resigned in the wake of a scandal over police investigators'
alleged involvement in the grisly murder of three Salvadoran
politicians last month. Rioting gang members fired dozens of gunshots,
killing three inmates, and took two guards and two food service workers
hostage in a southern Guatemala prison.
(AP, 3/26/07)(AP, 3/27/07)
2007 Mar 26, In India New Delhi’s
High Court imposed new measures aimed at deterring habitually bad
drivers in the capital, including the smoking ban and a prohibition on
using mobile phones while behind the wheel.
(AP, 3/27/07)
2007 Mar 26, Zalmay Khalilzad, the
departing US ambassador, said American and Iraqi officials are seeking
to persuade so-called "reconcilable insurgents" to join forces against
al-Qaida. Iskandariyah authorities imposed an indefinite curfew after
two people were killed and two others wounded in sectarian clashes
sparked by an attack by suspected Shiite militants on a Sunni mosque.
Kirkuk police said two elderly Chaldean Catholic nuns were stabbed
multiple time by two intruders who raided their home near Kirkuk's
Cathedral of the Virgin. The US military also announced the capture of
leaders of a car-bombing ring blamed for killing hundreds of Iraqis.
(AP, 3/26/07)(AP, 3/27/07)
2007 Mar 26, Israel welcomed the
idea of a regional peace summit and Saudi Arabia suggesting it would
consider changes in a dormant peace initiative to make it more
acceptable to Israel.
(AP, 3/26/07)
2007 Mar 26, An Italian prosecutor
demanded a five-year jail sentence for conservative former prime
minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is accused of bribing a judge.
(AP, 3/26/07)
2007 Mar 26, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe, under fire for denying that Japan forced women to work as sex
slaves during World War II, offered a fresh apology but refused to
clearly acknowledge Japan's responsibility for running the frontline
brothels.
(AP, 3/26/07)
2007 Mar 26, Ann Hawker (22), a
British language teacher, was found naked in a sand-filled bathtub at
an apartment outside Tokyo. She had been beaten and then suffocated.
Police hunted for the prime suspect, a 28-year-old Japanese male.
(AP, 3/29/07)
2007 Mar 26, A report by a special
envoy for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended independence for
Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo, supervised by the international
community.
(AP, 3/26/07)
2007 Mar 26, In northern Nigeria
at least 89 people burned to death in Kaduna when a tanker lorry caught
fire as they were stealing fuel from it.
(AFP, 3/28/07)
2007 Mar 26, The leaders of
Northern Ireland's major Protestant and Catholic parties, sitting side
by side for the first time in history, announced a breakthrough deal to
forge a power-sharing administration May 8.
(AP, 3/26/07)
2007 Mar 26, In Pakistan
supporters of opposition parties rallied against President Gen. Pervez
Musharraf's removal of Pakistan's top judge, raising the stakes in a
judicial crisis that threatens to undermine the military ruler's hold
on power. In northwestern Pakistan police challenged a group of
suspected militants at a high school in Tank after hearing that they
wanted to recruit suicide bombers for holy war, sparking a gunbattle
that left six people dead.
(AP, 3/26/07)(WSJ, 3/27/07, p.A1)
2007 Mar 26, Tamil rebels launched
their first airstrike in the nearly quarter-decade conflict with Sri
Lanka's government, using at least one small plane to bomb an air base
outside the capital and killing three airmen.
(AP, 3/26/07)
2233 Mar 26, James T. Kirk,
science fiction captain of USS Enterprise (Star Trek), was born.
(SS, 3/26/02)
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