March 26 in History

East Pakistan, then a province of Pakistan, declares its independence from Pakis

1971 — East Pakistan, then a province of Pakistan, declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh; the Bangladesh War of Independence begins

March 26 spans 53 recorded events across recorded history, from 590 to 2024. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By · — Wikipedia

Historical Events 53 events 590 – 2024

More major events on March 26

The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 1917 World War I: First Battle of Gaza: British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance. Source

Did you know

In 1971, East Pakistan, then a province of Pakistan, declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh; the Bangladesh War of Independence begins. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

The Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, refers to the declaration of independence of East Pakistan as Bangladesh on 26 March 1971, at the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

The next day on March 27 after Pakistan's brutal Operation Searchlight began killing unarmed people, Major Ziaur Rahman, broadcast the message on radio on behalf of detained leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra radio station in Kalurghat, Chattogram. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

This message was picked up by a Japanese ship and eventually re-transmitted by global networks like the BBC and Radio Australia, making it the first widely heard announcement. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.

Did you know

Several Indian military officers and contemporary historians have documented Zia's broadcast as a turning point. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

590 Maurice_(emperor)
Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Roman emperor from 582 to 602
Maurice was Eastern Roman emperor from 582 to 602 and the last member of the Justinian dynasty. A successful general, Maurice was chosen as heir and son-in-law by his predecessor Tiberius II.
Wikipedia source
624 Eid_al-Fitr
First Eid al-Fitr celebration.
Islamic holiday on the first of Shawwal
Eid al-Fitr is the first of the two main festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. The holiday falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar.
Wikipedia source
752 Pope_Stephen_II
Election of Pope Stephen II following the death of Pope Zachary.
Head of the Catholic Church from 752 to 757
Pope Stephen II was the bishop of Rome from 752 until his death in 757. Stephen II marks the historical delineation between the Byzantine Papacy and the Frankish Papacy.
Wikipedia source
1021 Fatimid_Caliphate
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.
Fourth Islamic caliphate (909–1171)
The Fatimid Caliphate, also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate that existed from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty.
Wikipedia source
1027 Pope_John_XIX
Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1024 to 1032
Pope John XIX, born Roman of Tusculum, was the Bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1024 to his death. He belonged to the family of the powerful Counts of Tusculum, succeeding his brother, Benedict VIII.
Wikipedia source
1169 Saladin
Saladin becomes the emir of Egypt.
Founder of the Ayyubid dynasty (c. 1137 – 1193)
Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin, was a Kurdish commander and political leader. He was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria.
Wikipedia source
1244 Crown_of_Aragon
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.
Composite monarchy (1162–1707/1715)
The Crown of Aragon was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona and ended as a consequence of the War of the Spanish Succession.
Wikipedia source
1344 Siege_of_Algeciras_(1342–1344)
The Siege of Algeciras, one of the first European military engagements where gunpowder was used, comes to an end.
Castilian siege of the Marinid Empire capital
The siege of Algeciras (1342–1344) was undertaken during the Reconquest of Spain by the Castillian forces of Alfonso XI assisted by the fleets of the Crown of Aragon and the Republic of Genoa.
Wikipedia source
1351 Combat_of_the_Thirty
Combat of the Thirty: Thirty Breton knights call out and defeat thirty English knights.
Part of the Breton War of Succession (1351)
The Combat of the Thirty, occurring on 26 March 1351, was an episode in the Breton War of Succession fought to determine who would rule the Duchy of Brittany.
Wikipedia source
1484 William_Caxton
William Caxton prints his translation of Aesop's Fables.
English merchant and printer (c. 1422–c. 1491)
William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England in 1476, and as a printer to be the first English retailer of printed books.
Wikipedia source
1552 Guru_Amar_Das
Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh guru.
Third Sikh guru from 1552 to 1574
Guru Amar Das, sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third guru of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73.
Wikipedia source
1636 Utrecht_University
Utrecht University is founded in the Netherlands.
Public research university in the Netherlands
Utrecht University is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established 26 March 1636, it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands.
Wikipedia source
1640 Royal_Academy_of_Turku
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.
University in Finland (1640 to 1828); now the University of Helsinki
The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country still was a part of Sweden. It was founded in 1640.
Wikipedia source
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.
Revenues within the Spanish Empire for financing colonial defenses
The real situado was the Spanish term for revenues that the viceroyalties of Peru, New Spain, New Granada, and Rio de la Plata sent to finance colonial frontier defenses against internal and external enemies.
Wikipedia source
1697 Safavid_Iran
Safavid government troops take control of Basra.
Iran under the Safavid dynasty from 1501 to 1736
The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires.
Wikipedia source
1700 William_Dampier
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.
English explorer, pirate, privateer and naturalist (1651–1715)
William Dampier was an English explorer, pirate, privateer and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times.
Wikipedia source
1812 1812_Caracas_earthquake
An earthquake devastates Caracas, Venezuela.
Magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Venezuela
The 1812 Caracas earthquake took place in Venezuela on March 26 at 4:37 p.m. It measured M 7.7. The earthquake caused extensive damage in Caracas, La Guaira, Barquisimeto, San Felipe, and Mérida.
Wikipedia source
1812 Gerrymandering
A political cartoon in the Boston-Gazette coins the term "gerrymander" to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.
Form of political manipulation
Gerrymandering, defined in the contexts of representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries to advantage a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency.
Wikipedia source
1830 Book_of_Mormon
The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.
Sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi.
Wikipedia source
1839 Henley_Royal_Regatta
The first Henley Royal Regatta is held.
Recurring rowing event in Henley-on-Thames, England
Henley Royal Regatta is a British rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the Oxfordshire town of Henley-on-Thames. It was established on 26 March 1839.
Wikipedia source
1871 Paris_Commune
The elections of Commune council of the Paris Commune are held.
1871 revolutionary city council
The Paris Commune was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871.
Wikipedia source
1885 Métis
The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.
Mixed Indigenous ethnic group of Canada and the US
The Métis are a mixed-ancestry Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United…
Wikipedia source
1896 Brunner_Mine_disaster
An explosion at the Brunner Mine near Greymouth, New Zealand, kills 65 coal miners in the country's worst industrial accident.
1896 mining accident in New Zealand
On 26 March 1896, an explosion deep in the Brunner Mine, New Zealand, killed all 65 miners below ground. The Brunner Mine disaster is the deadliest mining disaster in New Zealand's history.
Wikipedia source
1913 First_Balkan_War
First Balkan War: Bulgarian forces capture Adrianople.
1912–1913 war between the Balkan League and the Ottoman Empire
The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire.
Wikipedia source
1915 Vancouver_Millionaires
The Vancouver Millionaires win the 1915 Stanley Cup Final, the first championship played between the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the National Hockey Association.
Former ice hockey team
The Vancouver Millionaires were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Western Canada Hockey League between 1911 and 1926.
Wikipedia source
1917 World_War_I
World War I: First Battle of Gaza: British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers.
Wikipedia source
1922
The German Social Democratic Party is founded in Poland.
Political party in Poland
German Social Democratic Party was a political party in Poland, founded on March 26, 1922.
Wikipedia source
1931 Swissair
Swissair is founded as the national airline of Switzerland.
National airline of Switzerland (1931–2002)
Swissair was the flag carrier of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002.
Wikipedia source
1931 Ho_Chi_Minh_Communist_Youth_Union
Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is founded in Vietnam.
Social-political organisation in Vietnam
The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, simply recognized as the Union, is the largest socio-political organisation of Vietnamese youth. The union is under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Wikipedia source
1934
The United Kingdom driving test is introduced.
Test of driving competence
The United Kingdom driving test is a test of competence that UK residents take in order to obtain a full Great Britain or Northern Ireland (car) driving licence or to add additional full entitlements to an existing one.
Wikipedia source
1939 Spanish_Civil_War
Spanish Civil War: Nationalists begin their final offensive of the war.
1936–1939 civil war in Spain
The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels.
Wikipedia source
1942 The_Holocaust
The Holocaust: The first female prisoners arrive at Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.
Genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany
The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II.
Wikipedia source
1945 World_War_II
World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends as the island is officially secured by American forces.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers.
Wikipedia source
1954 Nuclear_weapons_testing
Nuclear weapons testing: The Romeo shot of Operation Castle is detonated at Bikini Atoll.
Yield: 11 megatons.
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of their explosion. Over 2,000 nuclear weapons tests have been carried out since 1945.
Wikipedia source
1955 Pan_Am_Flight_845/26
Pan Am Flight 845/26 ditches in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Oregon, killing four.
1955 aircraft accident in the Pacific Ocean
Pan Am Flight 845/26 was a four-engined Boeing 377 Stratocruiser named Clipper United States and registered as N1032V.
Wikipedia source
1958 Explorer_3
The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
Satellite launched by the United States (1958)
Explorer 3 was an American artificial satellite launched into medium Earth orbit in 1958. It was the second successful launch in the Explorer program, and was nearly identical to the first U.S.
Wikipedia source
1958
The African Regroupment Party is launched at a meeting in Paris.
Political party in the French African colonies
The African Regroupment Party was a political party in the French African colonies.
Wikipedia source
1967 Central_Park_be-ins
Ten thousand people gather for one of many Central Park be-ins in New York City.
1967–1970 demonstrations in New York City
In the 1960s, several "be-ins" were held in Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, to protest against various issues such as U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and racism.
Wikipedia source
1970 South_Vietnam
South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu implements a land reform program to solve the problem of land tenancy.
Country in Southeast Asia (1955–1975)
The Republic of Vietnam, commonly known as South Vietnam, was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975.
Wikipedia source
1975 Biological_Weapons_Convention
The Biological Weapons Convention comes into force.
1975 treaty that comprehensively bans biological weapons
The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and toxin weapons by prohibiting their development, production,…
Wikipedia source
1979 Anwar_Sadat
Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in Washington, D.C.
President of Egypt from 1970 to 1981
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the 3rd president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination in 1981.
Wikipedia source
1979 Interflug
An Interflug Ilyushin Il-18 crashes at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport during a rejected takeoff, killing 10.
National airline of East Germany (1958–1991)
Interflug GmbH was the national airline of East Germany from 1963 to 1991.
Wikipedia source
1981 Social_Democratic_Party_(UK)
Social Democratic Party (UK) is founded as a party.
Political party in the United Kingdom (1981–88)
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was a centre to centre-left political party in the United Kingdom.
Wikipedia source
1982 Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.
US national memorial in Washington, D.C.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, commonly called the Vietnam Memorial, is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the United States Armed Forces who served in the Vietnam War.
Wikipedia source
1991 Argentina
Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Asunción, establishing Mercosur, the South Common Market.
Country in South America
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the Southern Cone of South America.
Wikipedia source
1991 Singapore_Airlines_Flight_117
Singapore Airlines Flight 117 is hijacked by four Pakistani terrorists and diverted to Changi Airport.
1991 aircraft hijacking in Singapore
Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was a regularly-scheduled Singapore Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. On 26 March 1991 the Airbus A310 serving the flight was hijacked en route by four terrorists.
Wikipedia source
1997 Heaven's_Gate_(religious_group)
Thirty-nine bodies are found in the Heaven's Gate mass suicides.
American UFO religion (1974–1997)
Heaven's Gate was an American new religious movement known primarily for the mass suicide of its members in 1997.
Wikipedia source
1998 Algerian_Civil_War
During the Algerian Civil War, the Oued Bouaicha massacre sees fifty-two people, mostly infants, killed with axes and knives.
1992–2002 conflict between the Algerian government and Islamist rebels
The Algerian Civil War, known in Algeria as the Black Decade, was a civil war fought between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups from 11 January 1992 to 8 February 2002.
Wikipedia source
2005 Taiwan
Around 200,000 to 300,000 Taiwanese demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of China.
Country in East Asia
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia.
Wikipedia source
2010 ROKS_Cheonan_(PCC-772)
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.
ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772) was a Pohang-class corvette of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN), commissioned in 1989.
Wikipedia source
2017 2017–2018_Russian_protests
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.
The 2017–2018 Russian protests were a long series of countrywide street protest actions and demonstrations in the Russian Federation, which were primarily concerned with suppressing corruption in the Russian government…
Wikipedia source
2024 Francis_Scott_Key_Bridge_(Baltimore)
The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses following a collision between the MV Dali container ship and one of the bridge's support pillars, killing six people.
Bridge in Maryland, U.S. (1977–2024)
The Francis Scott Key Bridge was a highway bridge that crossed the lower Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor/Port. It was opened on March 23, 1977, to carry the Baltimore Beltway between Dundalk and Hawkins Point.
Wikipedia source

History runs on facts, and this project runs on coffee!

Your support is incredibly helpful and genuinely appreciated.

Support with a coffee ☕