March 26
1827
Composer Ludwig van Beethoven died at age 56 in Vienna, Austria.
1945
The battle of Iwo Jima ended; about 22,000 Japanese troops were killed or captured in the fighting and more than 4,500 U.S. troops were killed.
1971
East Pakistan proclaimed its independence, taking the name Bangladesh.
1979
In a ceremony at the White House, President Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Begin of Israel signed a peace treaty ending 30 years of war between the two countries.
1982
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial took place in Washington, DC.
2000
Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia.
Birthdays
March 26
Robert Frost
1874–1963, American poet, born in San Francisco.
Perhaps the most popular and beloved of 20th-century American poets, Frost wrote of the character, people, and landscape of New England.
Edward Bellamy
author (1850)
A. E. Housman
poet and scholar (1859)
James Bryant Conant
educator (1893)
Tennessee Williams
dramatist (1911)
Sandra Day O’Connor
jurist (1930)
Alan Arkin
actor, director (1934)
Diana Ross
singer (1944)
Steven Tyler
musician (1948)
Martin Short
actor, producer (1950)