TODAY IN HISTORY

0

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 26, the 299th day of 2021. There are 66 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On October 26th, 2001, President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act, giving authorities unprecedented ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists.

On this date:

In 1774, the First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia.

In 1825, the Erie Canal opened in upstate New York, connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River.

In 1861, the legendary Pony Express officially ceased operations, giving way to the transcontinental telegraph. (The last run of the Pony Express was completed the following month.)

In 1881, the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” took place in Tombstone, Arizona, as Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and “Doc” Holliday confronted Ike Clanton’s gang. Three members of Clanton’s gang were killed; Earp’s brothers and Holliday were wounded.

In 1944, the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf ended in a major Allied victory over Japanese forces, whose naval capabilities were badly crippled.

In 1965, the Beatles received MBE medals as Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

In 1975, Anwar Sadat became the first Egyptian president to pay an official visit to the United States.

In 1979, South Korean President Park Chung-hee was shot to death by the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim Jae-kyu.

In 1984, “Baby Fae,” a newborn with a severe heart defect, was given the heart of a baboon in an experimental transplant in Loma Linda, California. (Baby Fae lived 21 days with the animal heart.)

In 2010, Iran began loading fuel into the core of its first nuclear power plant.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Jaclyn Smith is 76. TV host Pat Sajak is 75. Hillary Rodham Clinton is 74. Musician Bootsy Collins is 70. Actor Dylan McDermott is 60. Actor Cary Elwes is 59. Country singer Keith Urban is 54. Writer-producer Seth MacFarlane (TV: “Family Guy”) is 48.

No posts to display