March 26: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Masaki Kashiwara became Japan’s first mathematician to win math’s greatest award.

The prestigious Abel Prize was awarded to Kashiwara for his important contributions to various areas of mathematics, particularly algebraic analysis.

Baltimore’s iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being struck by a cargo ship.

Fortunately, the event happened in the early hours of the morning rather than during peak hours. Although Dali, the cargo ship, was only going 9 mph (15 km/hr), its massive weight caused the entire span of the 1.6-mile (2.6-km) long bridge to collapse.

Michelle Obama’s memoir “Becoming” surpassed 10 million copies sold after four months of circulation.

King Richard III of England was reburied at Leicester Cathedral, England.

The remains of Richard III, the last English king killed in battle, were discovered underneath a car park at the former Grey Friars Priory in Leicester in 2012.

Ariana Grande released her first single, “The Way.”

It made it to 6th on BIllboard's Hot 100 and went Triple Platinum, selling over 3 million copies.

James Cameron dove into the deepest point of the Marianas Trench, Challenger Deep.

Challenger Deep is around 36,300 ft (10,902 meters) deep. Cameron was the second person to reach such depths, and it took 2 hours and 36 minutes to get to the bottom.

Pope John Paul II proclaimed the day as the first-ever World Youth Day.

East Pakistan declared its independence from Pakistan, forming Bangladesh.

The declaration began an eight-month-long war between Pakistan and the newly-formed state of Bangladesh. As many as three million people lost their lives in the conflict.

The US tested the TX-17 thermonuclear bomb for the first time in Bikini Atoll of the Marshall Islands.

The battle of Iwo Jima was won by the US after a month and a week of fighting.

The US captured the island of Iwo Jima from Japan at the cost of approximately 25,000 military personnel.

Driving tests were introduced in the UK for the first time.

The change came after roughly 7,000 people died in car accidents each year.

Sir Henry Thompson conducted the UK’s first cremation on the corpse of Mrs. Jeannette C. Pickersgill.

The Times described her as "a well-known figure in literary and scientific circles."

Thomas J Martin patented the fire extinguisher.

The first photo of the moon was taken by John Draper in New York City.

The first edition of the Book of Mormon was published in Palmyra, New York.

The Book of Mormon is the leading religious text in the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. It was written by Joseph Smith, the leader of the Mormon church at the time. There were just 5,000 copies made in the first edition, which the publisher charged Smith $3,000 for.

Up to 20,000 people were killed in an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake occurred at 16:37 local time, with two additional aftershocks within 30 minutes. The disaster caused "incalculable" damage.