The "ROKS Cheonan", a South Korean Navy ship carrying 104 personnel, sinks off the country's west coast, killing 46. In May, an independent investigation blames North Korea, which denies the allegations.ref name=dailynk1
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Somali pirates hijack ships from the Isle of Man, Greece, and the Seychelles, while three other ships escape. //www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMIX/2009mar00260.html (Marine Log) ! We have so far not had any arguments over listing each attack so don't start now unless there is good reason (or feel free to discuss forming a guideline at Talk:Current events)
A meteor exploded over the midwest, showering Park Forest, Illinois, with dozens of meteorite fragments. //apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030506.html APOD: 2003 May 6 – A Chicago Meteorite Fall
Oued Bouaicha massacre in Algeria: 52 people are killed with axes and knives, 32 of them babies under the age of 2.
Tuesday, March 26, 1996
Three British soldiers are found guilty of the manslaughter of Danish tour guide Louise Jensen in Cyprus. Allan Ford, Justin Fowler and Geoffrey Pernell receive life sentences for the September, 1994 rape/murder.
Massacres of Hutus by Tutsis in Burundi take place, with more than 450 killed in a few days.
Fighting breaks out in Monrovia, Liberia, between various rebel factions struggling for power in the country's interrupted civil war. Several foreign nationals leave the nation.
A Boeing 737 military jet crashes into a mountain north of Dubrovnik, Croatia. All 35 people on board die, including United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown (see 1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash).
Fire breaks out at the Pasar Anyar shopping centre in Bogor, West Java. The first death toll estimate is 78 until rescuers notice that 68 of them are mannequins.
Turkish authorities begin Operation Hawk, an army offensive against rebels from the Kurdish Worker's Party in southeastern Turkey.
U.S. presidential candidate Jesse Jackson defeats Michael Dukakis in the Michigan Democratic caucuses, becoming the temporary front-runner for the party's nomination. Richard Gephardt withdraws his candidacy after his caign speeches against imported automobiles fail to earn him much support in Detroit.
Wednesday, March 26, 1986
An article in the "New York Times" charges that Kurt Waldheim, former United Nations Secretary General and candidate for president of Austria, may have been involved in Nazi war crimes during World War II.
In a ceremony at the White House, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel sign a peace treaty.
Sunday, March 26, 1978
The control tower and some other facilities of New Tokyo International Airport, which was scheduled to open on March 31, are illegally occupied and damaged by terrorist attack by New Left activists, being forced to reschedule its opening date to May 20.
Demonstrations are held across the United States against the Vietnam War.
Thursday, March 26, 1964
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara delivers an address that reiterates American determination to give South Vietnam increased military and economic aid, in its war against the Communist insurgency.
Tuesday, March 26, 1957
22-year-old Elvis Presley buys Graceland on 3734 Bellevue Boulevard (Highway 51 South) for $US100,000. He and his family move from the house on 1034 Audubon Drive.
Thursday, March 26, 1953
Jonas Salk announces his polio vaccine.
Saturday, March 26, 1949
United States Secretary of Defense James Forrestal resigns suddenly.
The first half of Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida", conducted by legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini, and performed in concert (i.e. no scenery or costumes), is telecast by NBC, live from Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center. The second half is telecast a week later. This is the only complete opera that Toscanini ever conducts on television.
English astronomer Fred Hoyle coins the term "Big Bang"!intending it to be derogatory during a BBC Third Programme radio broadcast.
Monday, March 26, 1945
WWII: The Battle of Iwo Jima officially ends, with the destruction of the remaining areas of Japansese resistance.
Friday, March 26, 1943
WWII ndash Battle of the Komandorski Islands: In the Aleutian Islands, the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese troops attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
Thursday, March 26, 1936
The longest game in the history of the National Hockey League was played. The Montreal Maroons and Detroit Red Wings went scoreless until 16 and a half minutes into the sixth OT when Mud Bruneteau ends it at 2:25 in the morning. It would be the longest game until May 4, 2000.
April ndash The last section (wise ndash wyze) of the original "Oxford English Dictionary" is completed and ready for publication ("OED" (1933, 1978 vol. 1, pp. xxv, xxvl)
Monday, March 26, 1917
WWI: First Battle of Gaza: British cavalry troops retreat after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
The Sabi Game Reserve in South Africa, the first officially designated game reserve, is created.
Thursday, March 26, 1885
The Prussian government, motivated by Otto von Bismarck, expels all ethnic Poles and Jews without German citizenship from Prussia in the Prussian deportations.
"The Times" reports that A lady well-known in literary and scientific circles has been cremated by the Cremation Society in Woking, Surrey. Jeannette C. Pickersgill is the first person to be officially cremated in the United Kingdom.
The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.
Thursday, March 26, 1812
An earthquake destroys Caracas, Venezuela.
Saturday, March 26, 1808
A volcano erupts from an unknown location in the western Pacific. This causes a localized drop in marine air temperatures during this year, and a world-wide drop in marine air temperature for the following decade. Chenoweth, M. (2001), Two major volcanic cooling episodes derived from global marine air temperature, AD 1807–1827, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28(15), 2963–2966, doi:10.1029/2000GL012648.