Today in History: March 26

circa 1805:  German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827). Original Artwork: Engraving after painting by Kloeber  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
In 1827, composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna. Here, circa 1805: German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827). Original Artwork: Engraving after painting by Kloeber (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
FILE - In this Feb. 23, 1945, file photo, U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise a U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Two Gastonia, N.C., men, Joseph Tedder, 90, and Mack Drake, 89, fought alongside more than 70,000 Marines, sailors and airmen on Iwo Jima, a tiny 8-square mile speck of volcanic rock and sand midway between Guam and Tokyo, during the closing months of World War II. (AP Photo/Joe Rosenthal, File)
In 1945, during World War II, Iwo Jima was fully secured by U.S. forces following a final, desperate attack by Japanese soldiers. In this Feb. 23, 1945, file photo, U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise a U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Two Gastonia, N.C., men, Joseph Tedder, 90, and Mack Drake, 89, fought alongside more than 70,000 Marines, sailors and airmen on Iwo Jima, a tiny 8-square mile speck of volcanic rock and sand midway between Guam and Tokyo, during the closing months of World War II. (AP Photo/Joe Rosenthal, File)
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center,  and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin clasp hands on the north lawn of the White House after signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel on March 26, 1979. Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for accomplishing peace negotiations in 1978. The rest of the Arab world shunned Sadat, condemning his initiative for peace. President Carter was pivotol for the two leaders to meet at Camp David and as a result, peace began between Arabs and Jews. (AP Photo/ Bob Daugherty)
On March 26, 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (men-AH’-kem BAY’-gihn) and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and witnessed by President Jimmy Carter at the White House. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin clasp hands on the north lawn of the White House after signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel on March 26, 1979. Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for accomplishing peace negotiations in 1978. The rest of the Arab world shunned Sadat, condemning his initiative for peace. President Carter was pivotol for the two leaders to meet at Camp David and as a result, peace began between Arabs and Jews. (AP Photo/ Bob Daugherty)
In 1992, a judge in Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for raping a Miss Black America contestant. (Tyson ended up serving three years.) Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson speaks during the 2nd Annual Prisoner Reentry Conference at St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, N.J., Thursday, April 2, 2015. (AP Photo/The Jersey Journal, Reena Rose Sibayan)
A truck containing some of the bodies of the Heaven's Gate cult, which committed mass suicide, is shown outside the cult's compound in San Diego, Calif., March 27, 1997.  (AP Photo)
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, California. In this photo, a truck containing some of the bodies of the Heaven’s Gate cult, which committed mass suicide, is shown outside the cult’s compound. (AP Photo)
A truck carrying World Food Programe maize drives past the Norwegian-registered Bow Asir, Monday, April 13, 2009 after it  arrived in the port of Mombasa. The owner of a Norwegian tanker says it has been released by Pirates, two weeks after it was seized off the Somali coast, and all 27 of its crew members are unhurt.The 23,000-ton Bow Asir was captured 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the Somali coast March 26 when 16 to 18 pirates carrying machine guns boarded it and took control. (AP Photo / Karel Prinsloo)
Ten years ago: A 23,000-ton Norwegian-owned vessel with a crew of 27 was hijacked by pirates off the Somali coastline. (The Bow Asir was released two weeks later.) A truck carrying World Food Programe maize drives past the Norwegian-registered Bow Asir, Monday, April 13, 2009 after it arrived in the port of Mombasa. The owner of a Norwegian tanker says it has been released by Pirates, two weeks after it was seized off the Somali coast, and all 27 of its crew members are unhurt.The 23,000-ton Bow Asir was captured 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the Somali coast March 26 when 16 to 18 pirates carrying machine guns boarded it and took control. (AP Photo / Karel Prinsloo)
In 2013, Italy’s top criminal court overturned the acquittal of American Amanda Knox in the grisly murder of British roommate Meredith Kercher and ordered Knox to stand trial again. (Although convicted in absentia, Knox was exonerated by the Italian Supreme Court in 2015.) FILE — In this Oct. 4, 2011 file photo Amanda Knox, flanked by her mother Edda Mellas, gestures at a news conference in Seattle, after returning home from Italy. American Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito expect to learn their fate Friday when Italy’s highest court hears their appeal of their guilty verdicts in the brutal 2007 murder of Knox’s British roommate Meredith Kercher. Several outcomes are possible, including confirmation of the verdicts, a new appeals round, or even a ruling that amounts to an acquittal in the sensational case that has captivated audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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circa 1805:  German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827). Original Artwork: Engraving after painting by Kloeber  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
FILE - In this Feb. 23, 1945, file photo, U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise a U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Two Gastonia, N.C., men, Joseph Tedder, 90, and Mack Drake, 89, fought alongside more than 70,000 Marines, sailors and airmen on Iwo Jima, a tiny 8-square mile speck of volcanic rock and sand midway between Guam and Tokyo, during the closing months of World War II. (AP Photo/Joe Rosenthal, File)
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center,  and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin clasp hands on the north lawn of the White House after signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel on March 26, 1979. Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for accomplishing peace negotiations in 1978. The rest of the Arab world shunned Sadat, condemning his initiative for peace. President Carter was pivotol for the two leaders to meet at Camp David and as a result, peace began between Arabs and Jews. (AP Photo/ Bob Daugherty)
A truck containing some of the bodies of the Heaven's Gate cult, which committed mass suicide, is shown outside the cult's compound in San Diego, Calif., March 27, 1997.  (AP Photo)
A truck carrying World Food Programe maize drives past the Norwegian-registered Bow Asir, Monday, April 13, 2009 after it  arrived in the port of Mombasa. The owner of a Norwegian tanker says it has been released by Pirates, two weeks after it was seized off the Somali coast, and all 27 of its crew members are unhurt.The 23,000-ton Bow Asir was captured 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the Somali coast March 26 when 16 to 18 pirates carrying machine guns boarded it and took control. (AP Photo / Karel Prinsloo)
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin clasp hands on the north lawn of the White House after signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel on March 26, 1979. Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for accomplishing peace negotiations in 1978. The rest of the Arab world shunned Sadat, condemning his initiative for peace. President Carter was pivotol for the two leaders to meet at Camp David and as a result, peace began between Arabs and Jews. (AP Photo/ Bob Daugherty)(AP/BOB DAUGHERTY)

Today is Tuesday, March 26, the 85th day of 2019. There are 280 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On March 26, 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (men-AH’-kem BAY’-gihn) and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and witnessed by President Jimmy Carter at the White House.

On this date:

In 1812, an earthquake devastated Caracas, Venezuela, causing an estimated 26,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1827, composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna.

In 1934, Britain enacted a Road Traffic Act reimposing a 30 mile-per-hour speed limit in “built-up areas” and requiring driving tests for new motorists.

In 1945, during World War II, Iwo Jima was fully secured by U.S. forces following a final, desperate attack by Japanese soldiers. Former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, 82, died in Ty Newydd, Llanystumdwy, Wales.

In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Baker v. Carr, gave federal courts the power to order reapportionment of states’ legislative districts.

In 1967, Pope Paul VI issued an encyclical, “Populorum Progressio,” on “the progressive development of peoples,” in which he expressed concern for those trying to escape hunger, poverty, endemic disease and ignorance.

In 1988, Jesse Jackson stunned fellow Democrats by soundly defeating Michael S. Dukakis in Michigan’s Democratic presidential caucuses.

In 1989, the science-fiction TV series “Quantum Leap,” starring Scott Bakula as an errant time-traveler, premiered on NBC.

In 1992, a judge in Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for raping a Miss Black America contestant. (Tyson ended up serving three years.)

In 1997, the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate techno-religious cult who committed suicide were found inside a rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California.

In 2005, German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stood in for Pope John Paul II during the Easter Vigil Mass at the Vatican. (Ratzinger later succeeded John Paul, becoming Pope Benedict XVI.)

In 2013, Italy’s top criminal court overturned the acquittal of American Amanda Knox in the grisly murder of British roommate Meredith Kercher and ordered Knox to stand trial again. (Although convicted in absentia, Knox was exonerated by the Italian Supreme Court in 2015.)

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama held an unprecedented Internet town hall from the White House as he made a direct sales pitch for his $3.6 trillion budget. A 23,000-ton Norwegian-owned vessel with a crew of 27 was hijacked by pirates off the Somali coastline. (The Bow Asir was released two weeks later.) A Soyuz capsule carrying a Russian-American crew and U.S billionaire space tourist Charles Simonyi blasted off for the international space station. All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada received a sentence of a year’s probation for misleading Congress about an ex-teammate’s use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Five years ago: Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith (SOO’-lay-mahn AH’-boo gayth), was convicted in New York for his role as al-Qaida’s fiery chief spokesman after 9/11. (He was later sentenced to life in prison.)

One year ago: The Commerce Department said the 2020 U.S. Census would include a question about citizenship status; opponents said the question would discourage immigrants from responding to the census. (The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month on a challenge to the citizenship question.) A toxicology report obtained by The Associated Press revealed that the late pop music superstar Prince had levels of fentanyl in his body that multiple experts described as “exceedingly high.” Two women and their six adopted children were killed when one of the women drove their SUV off a cliff into the ocean about 150 miles north of San Francisco; authorities said Jennifer Hart was drunk when she intentionally drove the vehicle over the cliff.

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