March 26Elbridge Gerry1344 Reconquista: The Muslim city of Algeciras surrendered after a 21-month siege and was incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile.1651 The Spanish ship San Jos ran aground onto coasts controlled by the indigenous Cunco people, who subsequently killed the crew.1697 The Safavid Empire began a four-year occupation of the Ottoman city of Basra on the Persian Gulf.1812 The Boston Gazette printed a cartoon coining the term "gerrymander", named after Governor Elbridge Gerry (pictured), who approved the legislation that created oddly shaped electoral districts.1939 Nationalist forces began their final offensive of the Spanish Civil War, at the end of which they controlled almost the entire country.1999 A jury began deliberations in the trial of Jack Kevorkian, an American practitioner of physician-assisted suicide who was charged with murder in the death of a terminally ill patient.'Adud al-Dawla (d.983)Julie-Victoire Daubi (b.1824)Jrg Streli (b.1940)D.M. Thomas (d.2023)More anniversaries: March 25March 26March 27ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout