Today is Friday, March 26, the 85th day of 2010. There are 280 days left in the year.

On this date

In 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared East Pakistan the independent republic of Bangladesh.

In 1973, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat took over the premiership, saying "the stage of total confrontation (with Israel) has become inevitable".

In, 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and witnessed by US president Jimmy Carter at the White House ending 30 years of war between the two countries.

In 1992, former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison for rape.

Thought for Today

"Our whole life is an attempt to discover when our spontaneity is whimsical, sentimental irresponsibility and when it is a valid expression of our deepest desires and values." — Helen Merrell Lynd, American sociologist and author (1896-1982).