March 26

• 

  1773: American captain and mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch born. He will be a founder of modern maritime navigation; his book The New American Practical Navigator, first published in 1802, will be carried on board every commissioned U.S. Naval vessel.

• 

  1793: Physician and engineer John Mudge dies. He was the first self-proclaimed civil engineer, and often regarded as the "father of civil engineering".

• 

  1851: Mathematician George Chrystal born. He will be awarded a Gold Medal from the Royal Society of London (confirmed shortly after his death) for his studies of seiches (wave patterns in large inland bodies of water).

• 

  1913: Mathematician and academic Paul Erdős born. He will firmly believe mathematics to be a social activity, living an itinerant lifestyle with the sole purpose of writing mathematical papers with other mathematicians.