Did you know
Sarah Bernhardt played female and male roles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Notable Deaths on March 26
1923 — Sarah Bernhardt
French actress and screenwriter (born 1844)
March 26 has 124 recorded notable deaths across history, from 752 to 2026. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
124 source records
752 – 2026
Today in history
Major events on March 26
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1971 East Pakistan, then a province of Pakistan, declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh; the Bangladesh War of Independence begins. Source
- 1700 William Dampier is the first European to circumnavigate New Britain, discovering it is an island (which he names Nova Britannia) rather than part of New Guinea. Source
- 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. Source
- 1917 World War I: First Battle of Gaza: British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance. Source
Did you know
John Kennedy Toole was an American novelist from New Orleans, Louisiana, whose posthumously published novel, A Confederacy of Dunces, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981.
Did you know
Innocent Vareed Thekkethala also won the prestigious Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Humour in 2020, for his book Irinjalakudakku Chuttum.
Did you know
Al-Hallaj gained a wide following as a preacher before he became implicated in power struggles of the Abbasid court and was executed after a long period of confinement on religious and political charges.
Did you know
David Packard was an American electrical engineer and co-founder, with Bill Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard (1939), serving as president (1947–64), CEO (1964–68), and chairman of the board of HP.
More major people who died on March 26
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1969
John Kennedy Toole
American novelist (born 1937)
John Kennedy Toole was an American novelist from New Orleans, Louisiana, whose posthumously published novel, A Confederacy of Dunces, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981.
2023
Innocent Vareed Thekkethala
Indian actor and politician (born 1948)
Innocent Vareed Thekkethala, known mononymously as Innocent, was an Indian actor, film producer, writer and politician, who in a career spanning almost five decades has appeared in over 700 films predominantly in…
922
Mansur Al-Hallaj
Persian mystic and poet (born 858)
Mansour al-Hallaj or Mansour Hallaj was a mystic, poet, and teacher of Sufism.
1996
David Packard
American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (born 1912)
David Packard was an American electrical engineer and co-founder, with Bill Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard (1939), serving as president (1947–64), CEO (1964–68), and chairman of the board of HP. He served as U.S.
1958
Phil Mead
English cricketer and footballer (born 1887)
Charles Phillip Mead was an English professional cricketer who played in seventeen Test matches for England and had an extensive domestic career with Hampshire in English county cricket, spanning 31 years.
2026
Epeli Nailatikau
Fijian chief, President of Fiji (born 1941)
Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Nailatikau,, often referred to as Na Turaga Mai Naisogolaca, was a Fijian chief who was President of Fiji from 2009 to 2015.
1776
Samuel Ward
American politician, 31st and 33rd Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (born 1725)
Samuel Ward Sr. was an American farmer, politician, Rhode Island Supreme Court justice, governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the…
1402
David Stewart
Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of Scotland (born 1378)
David Stewart was the eldest son of Robert III of Scotland and his wife, Annabella Drummond.
1326
Alessandra Giliani
anatomist (born c. 1307)
Alessandra Giliani is known as the first woman to be recorded in historical documents as practicing anatomy and pathology.
1926
Constantin Fehrenbach
German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (born 1852)
Constantin Fehrenbach, sometimes erroneously Konstantin Fehrenbach,, was a German politician who was one of the major leaders of the Catholic Centre Party.
1957
Édouard Herriot
French politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1872)
Édouard Marie Herriot was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister and twice as President of the Chamber of Deputies. He led the first Cartel des Gauches.
2026
Noelia Castillo
Spanish woman who died after receiving euthanasia (born 2000)
Noelia Castillo Ramos was a Spanish woman who died after receiving euthanasia. Her request for euthanasia became a landmark case in Spain on the application of the Organic Law Regulating Euthanasia in the country.
2013
Don Payne
American screenwriter and producer (born 1964)
William Donald Payne was an American writer and producer. He wrote several episodes of The Simpsons after 2000, many of these with John Frink, whom he met while studying at the University of California, Los Angeles.
903
Sugawara no Michizane
Japanese poet
Sugawara no Michizane , or Kankō , was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian period of Japan.
1437
Walter Stewart
Earl of Atholl, Scottish nobleman and regicide
Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, Strathearn and Caithness was a Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert II of Scotland. Stewart advocated for the ransom and return to Scotland of the future king in exile, James I, in 1424.
2004
Jan Sterling
American actress (born 1921)
Jan Sterling was an American film, television and stage actress.
1130
Sigurd the Crusader
Norwegian king (born 1090)
Sigurd the Crusader, also known as Sigurd Magnusson and Sigurd I, was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130.
1649
John Winthrop
English lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
John Winthrop was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony.
1959
Raymond Chandler
American crime novelist and screenwriter (born 1888)
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at age 44, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression.