March 26
Events
Pre-1600
- 590 - Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
- 624 – First Eid al-Fitr celebration.
- 1021 - The death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret for six weeks, is announced, along with the succession of his son, al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah.
- 1027 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1169 - Saladin becomes the emir of Egypt.
- 1244 - The crown of Aragon and the crown of Castile agree in the Treaty of Almizra on the limits of their respective expansion into al-Andalus.
- 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: Thirty Breton knights call out and defeat thirty English knights.
- 1484 - William Caxton prints his translation of Aesop's Fables.
- 1552 - Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh guru.
1601–1900
- 1636 - Utrecht University is founded in the Netherlands.
- 1640 - The Royal Academy of Turku, the first university of Finland, is founded in the city of Turku by Queen Christina of Sweden at the proposal of Count Per Brahe.
- 1651 - The Silver-loaded Spanish ship San José, pushed south by strong winds, is wrecked on the coast of southern Chile and its surviving crew members are killed by indigenous Cuncos.
- 1697 - Safavid government troops take control of Basra.
- 1700 - William Dampier is the first European to circumnavigate New Britain, discovering it is an island rather than part of New Guinea.
- 1812 - An earthquake devastates Caracas, Venezuela.
- 1812 - A political cartoon in the Boston-Gazette coins the term "gerrymander" to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.
- 1830 - The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.
- 1839 - The first Henley Royal Regatta is held.
- 1871 - The elections of Commune council of the Paris Commune are held.
- 1885 - The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.
- 1896 - An explosion at the Brunner Mine near Greymouth, New Zealand, kills 65 coal miners in the country's worst industrial accident.
1901–present
- 1913 - First Balkan War: Bulgarian forces capture Adrianople.
- 1915 - The Vancouver Millionaires win the 1915 Stanley Cup Finals, the first championship played between the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the National Hockey Association.
- 1917 - World War I: First Battle of Gaza: British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
- 1922 - The German Social Democratic Party is founded in Poland.
- 1931 - Swissair is founded as the national airline of Switzerland.
- 1931 - Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is founded in Vietnam.
- 1934 - The United Kingdom driving test is introduced.
- 1939 - Spanish Civil War: Nationalists begin their final offensive of the war.
- 1942 - World War II: The first female prisoners arrive at Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.
- 1945 - World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends as the island is officially secured by American forces.
- 1954 - Nuclear weapons testing: The Romeo shot of Operation Castle is detonated at Bikini Atoll. Yield: 11 megatons.
- 1955 - Pan Am Flight 845/26 ditches in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Oregon, killing four.
- 1958 - The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
- 1958 - The African Regroupment Party is launched at a meeting in Paris.
- 1967 - Ten thousand people gather for one of many Central Park be-ins in New York City.
- 1970 - South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu implements a land reform program to solve the problem of land tenancy.
- 1971 - East Pakistan, then province of Pakistan, declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh; the Bangladesh's War of Independence begins.
- 1975 - The Biological Weapons Convention comes into force.
- 1979 - Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in Washington, D.C.
- 1979 - An Interflug Ilyushin Il-18 crashes at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport during a rejected takeoff, killing 10.
- 1981 - Social Democratic Party is founded as a party.
- 1982 - A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.
- 1991 - Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Asunción, establishing Mercosur, the South Common Market.
- 1991 - Singapore Airlines Flight 117 is hijacked by four Pakistani terrorists and diverted to Changi Airport.
- 1997 - Thirty-nine bodies are found in the Heaven's Gate mass suicides.
- 1998 - During the Algerian Civil War, the Oued Bouaicha massacre sees fifty-two people, mostly infants, killed with axes and knives.
- 2005 - Around 200,000 to 300,000 Taiwanese demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of China.
- 2010 - The South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan is torpedoed, killing 46 sailors. After an international investigation, the President of the United Nations Security Council blames North Korea.
- 2017 - Russia-wide anti-corruption protests in 99 cities. The Levada Center survey showed that 38% of surveyed Russians supported protests and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption.
- 2024 - The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses following a collision between the MV Dali container ship and one of the bridge's support pillars, killing 6 people.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1516 - Conrad Gessner, Swiss botanist and zoologist
- 1554 - Charles of Lorraine, duke of Mayenne
- 1584 - John II, duke of Zweibrücken
1601–1900
- 1633 - Mary Beale, British artist
- 1634 - Domenico Freschi, Italian priest and composer
- 1656 - Nicolaas Hartsoeker, Dutch mathematician and physicist
- 1687 - Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Prussia
- 1698 - Prokop Diviš, Czech priest, scientist and inventor
- 1749 - William Blount, American politician
- 1753 - Benjamin Thompson, American-French physicist and politician, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
- 1773 - Nathaniel Bowditch, American mathematician and navigator
- 1794 - Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter
- 1804 - David Humphreys Storer, American physician and academic
- 1824 - Julie-Victoire Daubié, French journalist
- 1829 - Théodore Aubanel, French poet
- 1829 - Georg Andreas Bull, Norwegian architect
- 1830 - Dewitt Clinton Senter, American politician, 18th Governor of Tennessee
- 1842 - Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre, French occultist
- 1850 - Edward Bellamy, American author, socialist, and utopian visionary
- 1852 - Élémir Bourges, French author
- 1854 - Maurice Lecoq, French target shooter
- 1856 - William Massey, Irish-New Zealand farmer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1857 - Théodore Tuffier, French surgeon
- 1859 - A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar
- 1859 - Adolf Hurwitz, German-Swiss mathematician and academic
- 1860 - André Prévost, French tennis player
- 1866 - Fred Karno, English producer and manager
- 1868 - King Fuad I of Egypt
- 1873 - Dorothea Bleek, South African-German anthropologist and philologist
- 1874 - Robert Frost, American poet and playwright
- 1875 - Max Abraham, Polish-German physicist and academic
- 1875 - Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea
- 1876 - William of Wied, prince of Albania
- 1876 - Kate Richards O'Hare, American Socialist Party activist and editor
- 1879 - Othmar Ammann, Swiss-American engineer, designed the George Washington Bridge and Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge
- 1879 - Waldemar Tietgens, German rower
- 1881 - Guccio Gucci, Italian fashion designer, founded Gucci
- 1882 - Hermann Obrecht, Swiss politician
- 1884 - Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator
- 1884 - Georges Imbert, French chemical engineer and inventor
- 1886 - Hugh Mulzac, Vincentian-American soldier and politician
- 1888 - Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse and philanthropist
- 1893 - James Bryant Conant, American chemist, academic, and diplomat, 1st United States Ambassador to West Germany
- 1893 - Palmiro Togliatti, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice
- 1894 - Viorica Ursuleac, Ukrainian-Romanian soprano and actress
- 1895 - Vilho Tuulos, Finnish triple jumper
- 1898 - Rudolf Dassler, German businessman, founded Puma SE
- 1898 - Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader
- 1900 - Angela Maria Autsch, German nun, died in Auschwitz helping Jewish prisoners
1901–present
- 1904 - Joseph Campbell, American mythologist and author
- 1904 - Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1904 - Attilio Ferraris, Italian footballer
- 1904 - Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and Prime Minister of Greece
- 1905 - Monty Berman, English cinematographer and producer
- 1905 - André Cluytens, Belgian-French conductor and director
- 1905 - Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist
- 1905 - Mona Williams, American novelist, short story writer and poet
- 1906 - Rafael Méndez, Mexican trumpet player and composer
- 1906 - H. Radclyffe Roberts, American entomologist and museum administrator
- 1907 - Azellus Denis, Canadian lawyer and politician, Postmaster General of Canada
- 1907 - Mahadevi Varma, Indian poet and activist
- 1908 - Franz Stangl, Austrian-German SS officer
- 1909 - Chips Rafferty, Australian actor
- 1909 - Héctor José Cámpora, former President of Argentina
- 1910 - K. W. Devanayagam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 10th Sri Lankan Minister of Justice
- 1911 - Lennart Atterwall, Swedish javelin thrower
- 1911 - J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic
- 1911 - Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1911 - Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet
- 1913 - Jacqueline de Romilly, Franco-Greek philologist, author, and scholar
- 1913 - Paul Erdős, Hungarian-Polish mathematician and academic
- 1914 - Toru Kumon, Japanese mathematician and academic
- 1914 - William Westmoreland, American general
- 1915 - Lennart Strandberg, Swedish sprinter
- 1915 - Hwang Sun-won, North Korean author and poet
- 1916 - Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1916 - Bill Edrich, English cricketer and footballer
- 1916 - Sterling Hayden, American actor and author
- 1917 - Rufus Thomas, American R&B singer-songwriter
- 1919 - Strother Martin, American actor
- 1919 - Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1920 - Sergio Livingstone, Chilean footballer and journalist
- 1922 - William Milliken, American politician, 44th Governor of Michigan
- 1922 - Oscar Sala, Italian-Brazilian physicist and academic
- 1922 - Guido Stampacchia, Italian mathematician and academic
- 1923 - Gert Bastian, German general and politician
- 1923 - Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1925 - Maqsood Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer
- 1925 - Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1925 - Vesta Roy, American politician, Governor of New Hampshire
- 1925 - Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton, English soldier and politician
- 1925 - Ben Mondor, Canadian-American businessman
- 1925 - James Moody, American saxophonist and composer
- 1927 - Harold Chapman, English photographer
- 1929 - Charles Dumont, French singer and composer
- 1929 - Edward Sorel, American illustrator and caricaturist
- 1929 - Edwin Turney, American businessman, co-founded Advanced Micro Devices
- 1930 - Gregory Corso, American poet
- 1930 - Sandra Day O'Connor, American lawyer and jurist
- 1931 - Leonard Nimoy, American actor
- 1932 - Leroy Griffith, American businessman
- 1932 - James Andrew Harris, American chemist and academic
- 1933 - Tinto Brass, Italian director and screenwriter
- 1934 - Alan Arkin, American actor
- 1934 - Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, Brazilian footballer
- 1937 - Wayne Embry, American basketball player and manager
- 1937 - Barbara Jones, American sprinter
- 1937 - James Lee, Canadian businessman and politician, 26th Premier of Prince Edward Island
- 1938 - Norman Ackroyd, English painter and illustrator
- 1938 - Anthony James Leggett, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 - James Caan, American actor and singer
- 1940 - Nancy Pelosi, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1941 - Richard Dawkins, Kenyan-English ethologist, biologist, and academic
- 1940 - Jörg Streli, Austrian architect
- 1941 - Lella Lombardi, Italian racing driver
- 1942 - Erica Jong, American novelist and poet
- 1943 - Mustafa Kalemli, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of the Interior
- 1943 - Bob Woodward, American journalist and author
- 1944 - Diana Ross, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1945 - Paul Bérenger, Mauritian politician, Prime Minister of Mauritius
- 1945 - Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast and coach
- 1946 - Johnny Crawford, American actor and singer
- 1946 - Alain Madelin, French politician, French Minister of Finance
- 1947 - Subhash Kak, Indian-American professor and author
- 1947 - John Rowles, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
- 1948 - Kyung-wha Chung, South Korean violinist and educator
- 1948 - Richard Tandy, English pianist and keyboard player
- 1948 - Steven Tyler, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1949 - Jon English, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1949 - Rudi Koertzen, South African cricketer and umpire
- 1949 - Vicki Lawrence, American actress, comedian, talk show host, and singer
- 1949 - Fran Sheehan, American bass player
- 1949 - Patrick Süskind, German author and screenwriter
- 1949 - Ernest Lee Thomas, American actor
- 1950 - Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter
- 1950 - Graham Barlow, English cricketer
- 1950 - Martin Short, Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, and producer
- 1950 - Alan Silvestri, American composer and conductor
- 1951 - Željko Pavličević, Croatian professional basketball coach and former professional player
- 1951 - Carl Wieman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1952 - Didier Pironi, French racing driver
- 1953 - Lincoln Chafee, American academic and politician, 74th Governor of Rhode Island
- 1953 - Elaine Chao, Taiwanese-American banker and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Labor
- 1953 - Tatyana Providokhina, Russian runner
- 1954 - Clive Palmer, Australian businessman and politician
- 1954 - Curtis Sliwa, American talk show host and activist, founded Guardian Angels
- 1954 - Dorothy Porter, Australian poet and playwright
- 1956 - Charly McClain, American country music singer
- 1956 - Park Won-soon, South Korean lawyer and politician, 35th Mayor of Seoul
- 1957 - Fiona Bruce, Scottish lawyer and politician
- 1957 - Leeza Gibbons, American talk show host and television personality
- 1957 - Paul Morley, English journalist, producer, and author
- 1957 - Shirin Neshat, Iranian visual artist
- 1958 - Elio de Angelis, Italian racing driver
- 1960 - Marcus Allen, American football player and sportscaster
- 1960 - Jennifer Grey, American actress and dancer
- 1960 - Graeme Rutjes, Australian-Dutch footballer
- 1961 - William Hague, English historian and politician, First Secretary of State
- 1962 - Richard Coles, English pianist, saxophonist, and priest
- 1962 - Kevin Seitzer, American baseball player and coach
- 1962 - Yuri Gidzenko, Russian pilot and cosmonaut
- 1962 - John Stockton, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 - Eric Allan Kramer, American-Canadian actor
- 1963 - Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese author
- 1964 - Martin Bella, Australian rugby league player
- 1964 - Martin Donnelly, Irish racing driver
- 1964 - Maria Miller, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
- 1964 - Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 - Trey Azagthoth, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1965 - Violeta Szekely, Romanian runner
- 1966 - Michael Imperioli, American actor and screenwriter
- 1967 - Jason Chaffetz, American politician
- 1968 - Laurent Brochard, French cyclist
- 1968 - Kenny Chesney, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1968 - James Iha, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1969 - Alessandro Moscardi, Italian rugby player
- 1970 - Paul Bosvelt, Dutch footballer
- 1970 - Jelle Goes, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1970 - Thomas Kyparissis, Greek footballer
- 1970 - Martin McDonagh, English-born Irish playwright, screenwriter, and director
- 1971 - Martyn Day, Scottish politician
- 1971 - Erick Morillo, Colombian-American disc jockey, record label owner, and music producer
- 1971 - Rennae Stubbs, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
- 1971 - Paul Williams, English footballer and manager
- 1972 - Leslie Mann, American actress
- 1972 - Jason Maxwell, American baseball player
- 1973 - Larry Page, American computer scientist and businessman, co-founder of Google
- 1973 - T. R. Knight, American actor
- 1974 - Irina Spîrlea, Romanian tennis player
- 1974 - Vadimas Petrenko, Lithuanian footballer
- 1974 - Michael Peca, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1976 - Amy Smart, American actress and former model
- 1976 - Alex Varas, Chilean footballer
- 1976 - Eirik Verås Larsen, Norwegian sprint kayaker
- 1977 - Kevin Davies, English footballer
- 1977 - Bianca Kajlich, American actress
- 1977 - Sylvain Grenier, Canadian wrestler
- 1978 - Anastasia Kostaki, Greek basketball player
- 1979 - Nacho Novo, Spanish footballer
- 1979 - Ben Blair, New Zealand rugby union footballer
- 1979 - Hiromi Uehara, Japanese pianist and composer
- 1979 - Pierre Womé, Cameroonian footballer
- 1979 - Juliana Paes, Brazilian actress
- 1980 - Margaret Brennan, American journalist
- 1980 - Son Ho-young, South Korean singer
- 1980 - Richie Wellens, English footballer
- 1981 - Sébastien Centomo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 - Zayar Thaw, Burmese rapper and politician
- 1981 - Baruch Dego, Ethiopian-Israeli footballer
- 1981 - Massimo Donati, Italian footballer
- 1981 - Josh Wilson, American baseball player
- 1982 - Mikel Arteta, Spanish footballer
- 1982 - Brendan Ryan, American baseball player
- 1982 - Nate Kaeding, American football player
- 1983 - Andreas Hinkel, German footballer
- 1983 - Floriana Lima, American actress
- 1983 - Roman Bednář, Czech footballer
- 1983 - Mike Mondo, American wrestler
- 1984 - Jimmy Howard, American ice hockey player
- 1984 - Drew Mitchell, Australian rugby player
- 1984 - Felix Neureuther, German skier
- 1984 - Marco Stier, German footballer
- 1984 - Gregory Strydom, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1984 - Sara Jean Underwood, American model, television host, and actress
- 1985 - Keira Knightley, English actress
- 1985 - Matt Grevers, American swimmer
- 1985 - Jonathan Groff, American actor and singer
- 1985 - Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1986 - Maxime Biset, Belgian footballer
- 1986 - Rob Kearney, Irish rugby player
- 1986 - Emma Laine, Finnish tennis player
- 1987 - Kim Dong-suk, South Korean footballer
- 1987 - Jermichael Finley, American football player
- 1987 - Steven Fletcher, Scottish footballer
- 1989 - Simon Kjær, Danish footballer
- 1989 - Von Miller, American football player
- 1990 - Choi Woo-shik, South Korean actor
- 1990 - Matteo Guidicelli, Filipino actor, model, singer and former kart racer
- 1990 - Patrick Ekeng, Cameroonian footballer
- 1990 - Yuya Takaki, Japanese idol, singer, dancer, model and actor
- 1990 - Xiumin, South Korean singer and actor
- 1991 - Matt Davidson, American baseball player
- 1991 - Ramy Youssef, American actor and comedian
- 1992 - Nina Agdal, Danish model
- 1992 - Stoffel Vandoorne, Belgian racing driver
- 1994 - Ryan Arcidiacono, American basketball player
- 1994 - Alison Van Uytvanck, Belgian tennis player
- 1994 - Paige VanZant, American mixed martial artist and model
- 1994 - Jed Wallace, English footballer
- 1994 - Marcela Zacarías, Mexican tennis player
- 1995 - Ibai Llanos, Spanish internet personality
- 1996 - Zane Musgrove, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1996 - Kathryn Bernardo, Filipino actress
- 1998 - Satoko Miyahara, Japanese figure skater
- 2000 - Gefen Primo, Israeli judoka
- 2000 - Andrei Svechnikov, Russian ice hockey player
- 2001 - Jameson Williams, American football player
- 2003 - Bhad Bhabie, American rapper and social media personality
- 2004 - Awra Briguela, Filipino actor and comedian
- 2005 - Ella Anderson, American actress
- 2007 - Jesús Fortea, Spanish footballer