Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on March 26th?

Tariq ibn Ziyad, a Muslim commander, crosses the Strait of Gibraltar, beginning the Muslim conquest of Hispania.

Empress Matilda, future claimant to the English throne, is born.

Robert the Bruce resigns as Guardian of Scotland.

Pope Clement V moves the papal headquarters to Avignon, beginning the period known as the Avignon Papacy.

Spanish King Charles II ratifies the Treaty of Ryswick, ending the Nine Years' War.

Dr. Jonas Salk announces on a U.S. national radio show that he has successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio which is known as “infant paralysis” because it mainly affects children, The first Polio epidemic in the U.S, took place in Vermont in the summer of 1894 and thousands being affected annually by the 20th century. The number of cases is 1952 were 58,000. A massive Polio Vaccine Trial Begins in U.S. More

A peace treaty is signed between Israel and Egypt at the White House, ending 31 years of conflict between the two countries. The historic peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, was agreed to by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat and was based on the Camp David Accords mediated by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.