One of my little microlearning habits to pass time is to peek at Wikipedia on any given day to see what happened on that day in history—March 26th has quite the lineup. I always like the birthdays because it causes me to go read some biographical on people I didn’t really think to read about. Let’s look at what I found for today with some deep thinking about how they might have impacted me in some way.
- 1130 – King Sigurd the Crusader dies: Norway’s adventurous king swung swords in Jerusalem during the Crusades, bringing back treasures, relics, and ideas that boosted Norway’s economy and culture. With tons of Norwegian ancestry in my family tree, I like to imagine his exploits impacting my long-gone ancestors. But who knows…those stories have long faded but they’re in my thoughts just now.
- 1812 – “Gerrymandering” is coined: Massachusetts’s governor approved a bizarrely shaped district on this day, it looked kind of like a salamander. The Boston Gazette made a cartoon of it for the masses, bringing the term to the masses and visualizing it in the cartoon as a salamander, the term stuck. 214 years later, politicians are still picking their voters—maybe it’s time we finally fix this. (The War of 1812 didn’t start until June.). This disenfranchises my fellow citizens, probably more so in other states, but it’s something that grinds my gears and impacts the political atmosphere we’re in.
- 1827 – Beethoven dies: He famously went deaf, yet created symphonies, sonatas, and quartets that soar with drama, joy, and heartbreak. Famous in Vienna in his lifetime, but did anyone imagine his genius would echo centuries later—or that a movie about a giant dog would bear his name? I was a trumpet player back in the day and really enjoyed when we got to take a shot at performing some of these old classics from Beethoven and others. This was mainstream music at one time and this is what formed what would become all the great music that impacts my life today.
- 1892 – Walt Whitman dies: I first learned about Whitman in the ’90s movie With Honors. Joe Pesci’s homeless character carries Leaves of Grass, offering wisdom and perspective that pushes Harvard student Monty (Brendan Fraser) to rethink life, love, and authenticity. Whitman’s poetry celebrating individuality and shared humanity resonates far beyond the page. I liked this movie quite a bit, it was one of the first movies that showed me how colorful character actors could have some real depth.
- 1905 – Maurice Barrymore dies: Patriarch of the famous acting family, most recently giving us Drew Barrymore of E.T. and Adam Sandler romcoms fame. Hollywood dynasties run deep, and Maurice was the foundation. E.T. was one of my first favorite movies as a kid.
- 1931 – Leonard Nimoy is born: Captain Spock, one of sci-fi’s most enduring icons. Watching him age so gracefully in the public eye was almost surreal until his passing 11 years ago. I’m not a big Star Trek geek but I do like the old original show and movies. I played the hell out of a Star Trek video game on my Mac in the 90s that was based on the original series.
- 1940 – Nancy Pelosi is born: Recently meme-famous for her stock portfolio, often criticized and admired in equal measure. She’s been shaping U.S. politics for decades and some argue perhaps for too long. Personally in a lot of the debates I’ve been in, I find myself promoting the value of leaders having years of experience as though there’s an unfair prejudice toward it all the sudden.
- 1940 – James Caan is born: Loved in The Godfather and Elf, he brought depth to every role, balancing epic drama with deadpan humor. He left us in 2022, but his performances remain iconic. How one stays so deadpan up against such an insane Will Ferrell role…
- 1943 – Bob Woodward is born: Legendary investigative journalist, best known for Watergate and his careful chronicling of U.S. presidents, including the bombshell interview with Trump on how he “purposefully downplayed” COVID. This had a dramatic and profound impact on how I felt about the direction of our government at the time.
- 1948 – Steven Tyler is born: Aerosmith frontman, rock legend. When you think of what music was the soundtrack of a decade if you’re into rock, they’re on like every one of them from the 70s at least up to the late 90s. I actually danced to their ballad “Angel” with my wife at my wedding reception. I had tickets to their farewell tour which got canceled unfortunately due to Tyler losing his voice, and Ticketmaster has yet to refund me, but I don’t hold that against Steven.
- 1950 – Martin Short is born: Canadian comedic powerhouse, full of personality and unforgettable performances. Seeing him honor Rob Reiner at the Oscars was genuinely moving. I loved him in Three Amigos, one of my favorite movies as a kid.
- 1950 – Alan Silvestri is born: Master of film scores, from favorites of mine like Back to the Future to Forrest Gump, Ready Player One (which I always use to test new home theatre equipment) and beyond. His music makes movies unforgettable.
- 1960 – Jennifer Grey is born: From the low-budget cult classic Dirty Dancing turned iconic party due to her charm and strong performance, and to personal plastic surgery choices that some argue made her unrecognizable and likely shaped her career. Also known for being with Matthew Broderick when he was in a car accident. This was definitely a movie that made me feel connected to my older siblings’ life, whether they were living it like this or not. The remote resort really reminded me of one near my hometown even if it’s not nearly as fancy.
- 1995 – Eazy-E dies: The “godfather of gangsta rap,” whose career was impactful and tragically cut short by HIV/AIDS, leaving an enduring legacy in music. In the matter of one month, he found out he had AIDS, announced it to the public, and died. I grew up in a time when these rappers were the new counterculture, and this made me really aware of how real the epidemic still was.
- 2002 – Randy Castillo dies: Drummer for Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue, he played on iconic albums like No More Tears and helped shape rock history before passing at 51. No More Tears was the soundtrack to a couple of my happiest winters as a kid.
Other notable birthdays include Leslie Mann (also of Sandler movies) and Kenny Chesney (country music). 3/26/1812 was also the day of a really large, tragic earthquake in Venezuela that sadly killed tens of thousands of people.
March 26th shows us history that’s dramatic, musical, cinematic, and occasionally absurd—a perfect reminder that even a single day can be packed with stories worth telling.