TODAY IN HISTORY

On March 26, 1827, composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna.

In 1911, American playwright Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, Mississippi.

In 1964, the musical play “Funny Girl,” starring Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice, opened on Broadway.

In 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat .

In 1982, groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Washington, D.C., for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

In 1988, Jesse Jackson soundly defeated Michael S. Dukakis in Michigan’s Democratic presidential caucuses.

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 California.