TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SATURDAY, OCT. 26, the 299th day of 2019. There are 66 days left in the year.
ON THIS DATE IN 2001, President George W. Bush signed the U.S.A. Patriot Act, giving authorities unprecedented ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists.
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 1881, the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” took place in Tombstone, Arizona, when 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 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed a measure raising the minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents an hour.
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 1979, South Korean President Park Chung-hee was shot to death by the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim Jae-kyu.
In 1980, Israeli President Yitzhak Navon became the first Israeli head of state to visit Egypt.
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 2000, the New York Yankees became the first team in more than a quarter-century to win three straight World Series championships, beating the New York Mets 4-to-2 in game five of their “Subway Series.”
In 2002, a hostage siege by Chechen rebels at a Moscow theater ended with 129 of the 800-plus captives dead, most from a knockout gas used by Russian special forces who stormed the theater; 41 rebels also died.
In 2006, a wildfire in Southern California killed five firefighters. Investigators later determined the cause of the blaze was arson.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actress Shelley Morrison is 83. Actress Jaclyn Smith is 74. TV host Pat Sajak is 73. Musician Bootsy Collins is 68. Rock musician David Was is 67. Rock musician Keith Strickland (The B-52’s) is 66. Actor D.W. Moffett is 65. Actresssinger Rita Wilson is 63. Actor Patrick Breen is 59. Actor Dylan McDermott is 58. Actor Cary Elwes is 57. Singer Natalie Merchant is 56. Country singer Keith Urban is 52. Actor Tom Cavanagh is 51. Actress Rosemarie DeWitt and actor Anthony Rapp are 48. Writerproducer Seth MacFarlane (TV: “Family Guy”) is 46. Actress Florence Kasumba and actor Hal Ozsan are 43. Actor Jon Heder is 42. Singer Mark Barry (BBMak) is 41. Actor Jonathan Chase is 40. Actress Folake Olowofoyeku is 36. Olympic silver medal figure skater Sasha Cohen is 35. Actor Beulah Koale (TV: “Hawaii Five-0”) is 28.
— Associated Press