Today in History: March 26, Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore
Today is Thursday, March 26, the 85th day of 2026. There are 280 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On March 26, 2024, Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being struck by a container ship, killing six maintenance workers on the bridge. (Maryland officials have announced plans to replace the bridge by late 2030.)
Also on this date:
In 1812, an earthquake devastated Caracas, Venezuela, causing as many as 30,000 deaths. (The U.S. Congress later approved $50,000 in food aid to be sent to Venezuela — the first example of American disaster assistance abroad.)
In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. ice hockey team to win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 9-1 to win the championship series, three games to one.
In 1945, U.S. forces declared victory in the Battle of Iwo Jima against the Japanese Imperial Army. (U.S. Marines and Navy personnel suffered roughly 27,000 casualties and Japanese forces more than 18,000 in the 36-day battle.)
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 a rape conviction. (Tyson was released in 1995.)
In 1997, the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate religious cult who had taken their own lives were found inside a rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
In 2013, Italy’s top criminal court overturned the acquittal of American Amanda Knox in the 2007 killing of British roommate Meredith Kercher and ordered Knox to stand trial again. (Convicted in absentia, Knox was exonerated by...