1 of 3 | Union Station is largely empty amid lockdowns and social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic April 24, 2020, in Washington, D.C. On March 26, 2020, new unemployment claims in the United States surged to 3.3. million, the largest weekly increase in U.S. history to date amid job losses related to the pandemic. File Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo

March 26 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1830, the Book of Mormon was published. There are about 200 surviving first editions of the book, one of which was stolen before being returned to its owner in 2013.

In 1953, U.S. Dr. Jonas Salk announced he had successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes polio.

In 1971, East Pakistan declared independence as Bangladesh, sparking the Bangladesh Liberation War. The war ended Dec. 16, 1971, when West Pakistan surrendered.

In 1975, the city of Hue in South Vietnam fell to the North Vietnamese army.

In 1979, Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty at the White House, ending 30 years of hostilities.

In 1991, Mali’s dictator, Gen. Moussa Traore, was overthrown in a violent overnight military coup. Fifty-nine people died.

In 1992, former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, convicted of raping a teenage beauty pageant contestant, was sentenced to six years in prison. Tyson was released after three years.

In 1997, 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate religious cult were found dead in a large house in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in what authorities said was a mass suicide.

In 1998, Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to visit South Africa.

In 1999, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the euthanasia advocate, was convicted of second-degree murder in an Oakland County, Mich., courtroom for the videotaped “medicide” of a man suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease.

In 2000, acting Russian President Vladimir Putin was elected president by a more than 20 percent margin. Putin won a third term in 2012.

In 2014, a National Labor Relations Board regional director ruled that Northwestern University scholarship football players were employees of the school and entitled under federal law to form a union.

In 2020, new unemployment claims in the United States surged to 3.3. million, the largest weekly increase in U.S. history to date amid job losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2024, a Singapore-based cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing a catastrophic collapse of the structure. Six people died in the failure of the bridge, which crossed the Patapsco River.