On March 26, 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.

On this date:

In 1804, the Louisiana Purchase was divided into the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana.
In 1827, composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna.
In 1859, English poet A.E. Housman was born in Worcestershire.
In 1892, poet Walt Whitman died in Camden, N.J.
In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Canadiens.
In 1958, the U.S. Army launched America's third successful satellite, Explorer 3.
In 1959, American author Raymond Chandler died in La Jolla, Calif., at age 70.
In 1971, East Pakistan proclaimed its independence, taking the name Bangladesh.
In 1982, groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Washington for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
In 1997, the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate techno-religious cult who'd committed suicide were found inside a rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif