March 1926

The following events occurred in March 1926:

• Washington Luís, Governor of São Paulo, won the Brazilian presidential election with 99.70% of the vote in a multi-candidate election (with 688,528 votes out of 690,583 cast. A rival candidate,Joaquim Francisco de Assis Brasil received 1,116 votes. Fernando de Melo Viana, Governor of Minas Gerais was separately elected vice-president, with 99.62%.^[1]
• For administrative purposes, the former German African territory of Ruanda-Urundi, a League of Nations mandate that is now the nations of Rwanda and Burundi, was assigned to administration by the Kingdom of Belgium, was united with the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).^[2]
• The first volume of the 24-volume Great Greek Encyclopedia (Megáli Ellinikí Enkyklopaídeia) was published, with two volumes released every year until its completion in 1934 under the oversight of editor-in-chief Iraklis Apostolidis.^[3]
• After a six day trial in Brockton Anthony Bimba, the last person in the U.S. to be charged with the crime of blasphemy, was acquitted of charges, though he was convicted on a charge of sedition.^[4] Prosecution had been based on a 1697 law still in force in the U.S. state of Massachusetts after a speech he had made on January 26. Bimba was fined $100 for his sedition conviction, a punishment that was dropped after an appeal.^[5]
• Born:
  • Pete Rozelle, American sports administrator and NFL commissioner from 1960 to 1989; in South Gate, California (d. 1996)Davis, Jeff (2008). Rozelle: Czar of the NFL. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780071471664.
  • Allen Stanley, Canadian ice hockey player and inductee in the Hockey Hall of Fame; in Timmins, Ontario (d. 2013)^[6]
• Died:
  • George W. Hotchkiss, 94, American journalist who founded the Lumberman's Gazette and the Journal of Forest History]]^[7][8]

• German Chancellor Hans Luther gave a nationally broadcast speech in which he stated that Germany's entry into the League of Nations was understood to be contingent on no other changes being made to the League's membership council. Luther also expressed Germany's opposition to granting a temporary council seat being granted to Poland, considered to be hostile by Germany.^[9]
• U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signed the largest peacetime appropriation bill in American history, allocating almost one billion dollars ($868,281,501, equivalent in 2025 to $15.76 billion dollars) for the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Department of the Post Office.^[10]
• In Atlanta, the North Carolina Tar Heels won the only postseason college basketball tournament in the U.S., the championship of the Southern Conference, with 16 of the conference's 22 teams competing. In the final, North Carolina defeated Mississippi A & M University Aggies (now the Mississippi State Bulldogs), 37 to 23.^[11]
• An offer by a New York watchmaker to fund, design and install a wristwatch on the Statue of Liberty was formally rejected by the Assistant U.S. Secretary of War, Hanford MacNider.^[12] On February 24, watchmaker Oscar M. Lazarus had proposed "an illuminated clock to be attached to the wrist of the Statue of Liberty". MacNider responded that "While the spirit which prompted your offer is appreciated, this department feels constrained to decline it. Aside from any question as to the congruity of so modern an ornament as a wrist watch upon the classically robed figure of Liberty, or the propriety of making alterations in the designer's conception of a work of art presented to this country as a memorial of the traditional friendship between it and France, there is a statute which prohibits any officer of the Government accepting voluntary service for the Government, or employing personal service in excess of that authorized by law. It is believed this statute prevents favorable consideration of your very liberal offer."
• The Nicaraguan daily newspaper La Prensa was founded in Managua and would still be operational nearly 100 years later.^[13]
• Born:
  • Carlos Jaschek, German-born Argentine astrophysicist; in Brieg (now Brzeg in Poland)^[14]
  • Murray Rothbard, American Libertarian economist and theoretician of anarcho-capitalism;, in The Bronx, New York (d. 1995)^[15]
• Died: Ying Lianzhi, 58, Chinese Roman Catholic publisher who founded the newspaper Ta Kung Pao in 1902, died of cancer^[16]

• The Moody Bible Institute (MBI) made the first radio broadcast in the U.S. of an evangelical program, as the Institute's president, James Gray, spoke in a two-hour program broadcast over WENR in Chicago, pending the allocation of a frequency to allow the Institute to broadcast from its own station, WMBI. Gray, who had initially opposed radio broadcasts as sinister (based on a Bible verse at Ephesians 2:2 that described Satan as "the prince of power of the air"), had experienced a change of heart and was surprised to find that his broadcast had been heard as far away Florida.^[17]
• Germany and Afghanistan concluded a treaty of friendship, but stopped short of a military alliance, allowing Afghanistan to remain neutral in war.^[18][19]
• Born:
  • Dick Randall (pen name for Irving Reuben), 70, American stage and film producer known for his low-budget exploitation movies, including Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967), The French Sex Murders' (1972), The Clones of Bruce Lee (1982) and Slaughter High (1986) (d.1996) ^[20]
  • Ravi Shankar Sharma, Indian film score composer; in Delhi, British India (d.2012)^[21]
  • James Merrill, American poet and 1977 Pulitzer Prize winner for Divine Comedies; in New York City (d. 1995)
  • Tom Reid, Irish rugby union player with 13 caps for the Ireland national team; in Limerick (d.1996)

• United States Daily, an attempt by conservative journalist David Lawrence to launch a national newspaper, published its first issue.^[22] It would continue until ceasing publication on May 13, 1933 ^[23] after which Lawrence launching a weekly magazine, The United States News, later combined with another Lawrence magazine, World Report, to create U.S. News & World Report in 1948.
• Zizi Lambrino filed a lawsuit in Paris against Prince Carol of Romania for 10 million francs, asserting that she was still legally Carol's wife and entitled to money to support herself and their son Carol Lambrino.^[24]
• A strange story, sometimes thought to be an urban legend, was reported in the Hungarian newspaper Az Est, concerning a waiter in Budapest who committed suicide and left behind a note containing a complex crossword puzzle as some kind of clue. It does not appear that the mystery was ever solved.^[25]
• Born:
  • Richard DeVos, U.S. businessman and billionaire, co-founder of the Amway Corporation and later owner of the NBA Orlando Magic team; in Grand Rapids, Michigan (d. 2018)^[26]
  • Daniel Kastler, French theoretical physicist known for the Kadison–Kastler metric and the Haag–Kastler axioms; in Colmar, Haut-Rhin département (d.2015)^[27]
  • Fran Warren (stage name for Frances Wolff), American popular singer and stage musical performer; in The Bronx, New York City (d. 2013)^[28]
  • Roy Padilla Sr., Filipino politician and Governor of the Province of Camarines Norte who was assassinated the day before the national elections; in Plaridel, Bulacan province (d.1988)^[29]
• Died:
  • William S. Hackett, 57, Mayor of Albany, New York since 1922, died two weeks after being fatally injured in an automobile accident^[30] while visiting Cuba^[31]
  • Marie Burroughs (stage name for Lillie Arrington), 59, American stage actress on Broadway, died a week after being stricken with apoplexy (a cerebral hemorrhage).^[32]

• The first issue of science fiction magazine Amazing Stories arrived on newsstands, with a cover date of April 1926.^[33]
• Ivar Lykke became Prime Minister of Norway after the resignation of Johan Ludwig Mowinckel, and would serve until 1928

• In France, the Cabinet of Aristide Briand fell after failing to pass a financial bill.^[34]
• The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon was destroyed by fire.
• Born:
  • Alan Greenspan, American economist who served as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board from 1987 to 2006; in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City (alive in 2024)
  • Andrzej Wajda, Polish filmmaker and director; in Suwałki, Poland (d. 2016)

• A meeting in Geneva among the signatories of the Locarno Treaties agreed that Germany's entry into the League of Nations would be delayed pending the formation of a new French government and a decision regarding permanent council seats for Poland, Spain and Brazil.^[35]
• The first commercial trans-Atlantic telephone call was made from New York to London.^[36]
• The Argentine legislative election was won by the Radical Civic Union.

• Dirk Jan de Geer became Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
• Born: Sultan Salahuddin of Selangor, in Kuala Langat, Malaysia (d. 2001)

• Aristide Briand formed a new Cabinet.
• The Italian historical film The Last Days of Pompeii was released.
• Born: Neill Armstrong, American football player and coach, in Tishomingo, Oklahoma (d. 2016)
• Died: Mikao Usui, 60, Japanese founder of the spiritual practice of Reiki

• Asano, Bentembashi and Musashi-Shiraishi Stations opened on the privately held Tsurumi Rinko in Japan, initially for freight operations only.
• Born: Barbara Howard, Canadian artist, in Long Branch, Ontario (d. 2002)

• Legislation was passed in Italy banning all non-Fascist labor unions and effectively removing the right to strike.^[37]
• Born: Derek Benfield, English playwright and actor, in Bradford, Yorkshire (d. 2009)

• The Savoy Ballroom opened in Harlem.
• Two Japanese destroyers came under fire from the Taku Forts. A captain died of injuries and 2 other sailors were wounded.^[38][39]
• Died: E. W. Scripps, 71, American newspaper publisher

• Born:
  • Carlos Roberto Reina, President of Honduras 1994 to 1998; in Comayagüela (d. 2003)
  • Lenny Montana, American wrestler and actor known for being in The Godfather; in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1992)

• The El Virilla train accident killed 248 people and injured 93 in Costa Rica.
• The Roland West mystery melodrama film The Bat was released.

• Five Fascists went on trial for the 1924 murder of Socialist politician Giacomo Matteotti.^[40] The trial took place in the largely inaccessible coastal town of Chieti and the judge was the brother-in-law of the prominent Fascist politician Roberto Farinacci.^[41]
• Japan demanded a formal apology and an indemnity payment from China over the March 12 incident. The signatories to the Boxer Protocol also gave China an ultimatum to dismantle the Taku Forts and allow unimpeded access to the sea.^[42][43]
• Born: Norm Van Brocklin, American football player, inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Eagle Butte, South Dakota (d. 1983)

• Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fuel rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts. This was considered by some to be the start of the space age, although his rocket did not reach outer space.^[44]
• Born: Jerry Lewis (stage name for Joseph Levitch), American comedian, film actor and longtime fundraiser and chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association; in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2017)
• Died: Sergeant Stubby, World War I American hero war dog

• Germany's admission into the League of Nations was delayed again over complications raised by Brazil and Spain regarding the allocation of permanent council seats.^[45]
• Feng Yuxiang's Guominjun troops at Dagu Fort near Tianjin exchanged fire with Japanese warships carrying Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian troops.
• Richard Rodgers' musical comedy play The Girl Friend opens on Broadway.
• Born: Siegfried Lenz, German writer, in Lyck, East Prussia (now Ełk, Poland) (d. 2014)
• Died: Aleksei Brusilov, 72, Russian general

• The March 18 Massacre took place in Beijing. Government troops and police shot 47 unarmed demonstrators who were protesting unequal treaties with foreign powers and their March 15 ultimatum.^[43]
• Born: Peter Graves (stage name for Peter Aurness), American actor known for Mission: Impossible; in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2010)
• Died: John Calvin Coolidge, Sr., 80, U.S. politician and father of President Calvin Coolidge

• Main-asteroid belt 2732 Witt was discovered in Heidelberg by astronomer Max Wolf.
• Died: "Wild Bill" Hutchison, 66, American baseball pitcher and the last major league player to pitch 500 innings in a single season, accomplished in 1892, appearing in 72 games in a 146-game season.^[46]

• The Zhongshan Warship Incident took place; a suspected kidnapping plot against Chiang Kai-shek was foiled.

• The comedy film Tramp, Tramp, Tramp opened.
• Died: Major General Oswald H. Ernst, 83, American military officer who was superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1893 to 1898, later the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, 1914 to 1917

• A one-way traffic system came into effect at Hyde Park Corner in London.^[40]
• The German drama film The Brothers Schellenberg premiered at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo in Berlin.

• Cushman Dam in Mason County, Washington, was formally activated with the push of a button by Calvin Coolidge at the White House.

• The Matteotti murder trial ended with two Fascists acquitted and the other three sentenced to six years in prison for "unintentional murder".^[40] However, in consideration of time served and an amnesty law passed by the government the previous year for any political murders arising from "unforeseen circumstances", all were set to be freed in seven weeks except for ringleader Amerigo Dumini, who received an additional six months.^[41]
• A national appeal to rebuild the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was launched in England.^[40]
• Born:
  • Dario Fo, Italian author and Nobel Prize in Literature laureate; in Leggiuno(d. 2016);
  • Ventsislav Yankov, Bulgarian pianist; in Sofia (d. 2022)

• The company Carrozzeria Touring was established in Milan.
• Born:
  • Gene Shalit, American film critic and long time reviewer for The Today Show; in New York City (alive in 2024)
  • László Papp, Hungarian middleweight and light middlweight boxer, gold medalist in three consecutive Olympics (1948, 1952 and 1956); in Budapest (d. 2003)

• The French franc tumbled to 29.15 to the American dollar, the lowest in the currency's history, as a devaluation crisis began to develop in France.^[47]
• The Polish and Romanian governments signed a Treaty of Alliance to bolster security in Eastern Europe.^[45]
• Died: Constantin Fehrenbach, 74, Chancellor of Germany 1920 to 1921

• The Kōnan Railway Company was founded in Japan.
• Died: Georges Vézina, 39, Canadian NHL goaltender, died of tuberculosis contracted during the 1924-25 NHL season. The NHL's Vezina Trophy for the league's best goaltender is named in his honor; he would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945.

• Police fought rioters in Paris resulting from the election of two communists to the Chamber of Deputies.^[48]
• Born: Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba, Spanish aristocrat; at Liria Palace in Madrid (d. 2014)

• The U.S. government granted permission for two breweries to make 3.76% "malt tonic" to be sold through drug stores without prescription for a six-month trial period.^[49]

• Alexandru Averescu became Prime Minister of Romania for the third time.
• Roberto Farinacci resigned as National Secretary of the Fascist Party of Italy.^[50] He practiced private law until returning to public prominence by joining the Grand Council in 1935.
• France shipped out 340 convicts, with another 340 to be picked up in Algiers, on a boat bound for Devil's Island. The government had previously committed to winding down and closing the nefarious colonial prison, but it abandoned the pledge due to jail overcrowding.^[51]
• Born:
  • Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish businessman who founded the multinational furniture company IKEA in 1943; in Älmhult (d. 2018)
  • Peter Marshall (stage name for Ralph Pierre LaCock), American television game show host known for The Hollywood Squares; in Huntington, West Virginia (d. 2024)

• The Italian Senate was completely reorganized into a syndicalist body.^[52]
• Born: John Fowles, English writer; in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex (d. 2005)