Today is Saturday, Oct. 26, the 300th day of 2024. There are 66 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On October 26th, 2020, Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a deeply divided Senate, installing President Donald Trump’s nominee days before the U.S. general election.
Also 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, four lawmen, including Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, exchanged gunfire with five outlaws, killing three of them, at the “Shootout at the O.K. Corral” in Tombstone, Arizona.
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. (She 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 in Game 5 of their “Subway Series.”
In 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.
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.
Today’s Birthdays: Musician Milton Nascimento is 82. Actor Jaclyn Smith is 79. TV host Pat Sajak is 78. Politician, diplomat and former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is 77. Musician Bootsy Collins is 73. Artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel is 73. Actor James Pickens Jr. is 70. Actor-singer Rita Wilson is 68. Actor Dylan McDermott is 63. Actor Cary Elwes is 62. Singer Natalie Merchant is 61. Country singer Keith Urban is 57. Actor Tom Cavanagh is 61. Writer-producer Seth MacFarlane (TV: “Family Guy”) is 51. Actor Florence Kasumba is 48. Actor Jon Heder is 47. Actor Folake Olowofoyeku is 41. Rapper Schoolboy Q is 38.