TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26, the 300th day of 2016. There are 66 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date 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 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, Ariz.
In 1921, the Chicago Theatre, billed as “the Wonder Theatre of the World,” first opened.
In 1944, the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf ended in a major Allied victory over Japanese forces.
In 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed a measure raising the minimum wage from 40 to 75 cents an hour.
In 1958, Pan American Airways flew its first Boeing 707 jetliner from New York to Paris.
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 1972, national security adviser Henry Kissinger declared, “Peace is at hand” in Vietnam.
In 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali of Jordan signed a peace treaty.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actress Shelley Morrison is 80. Actress Jaclyn Smith is 71. TV host Pat Sajak is 70. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton is 69. Singer Maggie Roche (The Roches) and musician Bootsy Collins are 65. Rock musician Keith Strickland (The B-52’s) is 63. Actor D.W. Moffett is 62. The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, is 57. Actor Dylan McDermott is 55. Actor Cary Elwes is 54. Singer Natalie Merchant is 53. Actor Steve Valentine is 50. Country singer Keith Urban is 49. Actor Tom Cavanagh is 48. Actress Rosemarie DeWitt and actor Anthony Rapp are 45. Writer-producer Seth MacFarlane (TV: “Family Guy”) is 43. TV correspondent and co-host Paula Faris (TV: “The View”) and actress Lennon Parham are 41. Actor Hal Ozsan is 40. Actor Jon Heder is 39. Singer Mark Barry (BBMak) is 38. Actor Jonathan Chase is 37. Olympic figure skater Sasha Cohen is 32. Rapper Schoolboy Q is 30.