Today is Friday, March 26, the 85th day of 2021. There are 280 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On March 26, 1982, groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Washington, D.C., for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On this date:
In 1812, an earthquake devastated Caracas, Venezuela, causing an estimated 26,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
In 1827, composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna.
In 1874, poet Robert Frost was born in San Francisco.
In 1892, poet Walt Whitman died in Camden, New Jersey.
In 1945, during World War II, Iwo Jima was fully secured by U.S. forces following a final, desperate attack by Japanese soldiers.
In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Baker v. Carr, gave federal courts the power to order reapportionment of states’ legislative districts.
In 1964, the musical play “Funny Girl,” starring Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice, opened on Broadway.
In 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and witnessed by President Jimmy Carter at the White House.
In 1992, a judge in Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for raping a Miss Black America contestant. (Tyson ended up serving three years.)
In 1997, the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate techno-religious cult who committed suicide were found inside a rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
Today’s Birthdays: Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is 91. Actor Alan Arkin is 87. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 81. Actor James Caan is 81. Author Erica Jong is 79. Journalist Bob Woodward is 78. Singer Diana Ross is 77. Actor Johnny Crawford is 75. Rock singer Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) is 73. Singer and TV personality Vicki Lawrence is 72. Comedian Martin Short is 71. Country singer Ronnie McDowell is 71. TV personality Leeza Gibbons is 64. Actor Jennifer Grey is 61. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen is 61. Basketball and College Basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton is 59. Country singer Kenny Chesney is 53. Moderator Margaret Brennan (TV: “Face the Nation”) is 41. Actor Sterling Sulieman is 37. Actor Keira Knightley is 36.
