This day in history

[October 26, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Oct. 26, the 299th day of 2009. There are 66 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Oct. 26, 1979, South Korean President Park Chung-hee was shot to death during a dinner party along with his chief bodyguard by the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim Jae-kyu, who was later executed.

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 1881, the "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" took place in Tombstone, Ariz., as Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and "Doc" Holliday confronted Ike Clanton's gang. Three members of Clanton's group were killed; Earp's brothers and Holliday were wounded.

In 1909, former Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi was assassinated during a visit to Harbin, China by Korean nationalist An Jung-geun, who was later hanged.

In 1942, Japanese planes badly damaged the aircraft carrier USS Hornet in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands during World War II. (The Hornet sank early the next morning.)

In 1958, Pan American Airways flew its first Boeing 707 jetliner from New York to Paris in 8 hours, 41 minutes.

In 1967, the Shah of Iran crowned himself and his queen after 26 years on the Peacock Throne.

In 1972, national security adviser Henry Kissinger declared that "Peace is at hand" in Vietnam.

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, Calif. (Baby Fae lived 21 days with the animal heart.)

In 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali of Jordan signed a peace treaty during a ceremony at the Israeli-Jordanian border attended by President Bill Clinton.

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.

Ten years ago: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study which said the number of Americans considered obese had soared from about one in eight in 1991 to nearly one in five in 1998. The New York Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-5, to take a 3-0 lead in the World Series.

Five years ago: The FCC gave its approval to Cingular Wireless LLC's $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. Israel's parliament approved Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. The final vote count in the Afghan presidential election gave a resounding victory to interim leader Hamid Karzai. The Boston Red Sox won Game 3 of the World Series in St. Louis, defeating the Cardinals 4-1.

One year ago: U.S. military helicopters launched a rare attack on Syrian territory, killing eight people in a strike Damascus condemned as "serious aggression." Tony Hillerman, author of the acclaimed Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels, died in Albuquerque, N.M., at age 83. The Philadelphia Phillies romped over the Tampa Bay Rays 10-2 to move within one win of their first World Series championship since 1980.

Today's birthdays: Former Sen. Edward Brooke III is 90. Actress Shelley Morrison is 73. Actor Bob Hoskins is 67. Author Pat Conroy is 64. Actress Jaclyn Smith is 64. TV host Pat Sajak is 63. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is 62. Singer Maggie Roche (The Roches) is 58. Musician Bootsy Collins is 58. Actor James Pickens Jr. ("Grey's Anatomy") is 57. Rock musician Keith Strickland (The B-52's) is 56. Actor D.W. Moffett is 55. Actress Rita Wilson is 53. The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, is 50. Actor Dylan McDermott is 48. Actor Cary Elwes is 47. Singer Natalie Merchant is 46. Country singer Keith Urban is 42. Actor Tom Cavanagh is 41. Actress Rosemarie DeWitt is 38. Actor Anthony Rapp is 38. Writer-producer Seth MacFarlane ("Family Guy") is 36. Actress Lennon Parham is 34. Actor Hal Ozsan is 33. Actor Jon Heder is 32. Singer Mark Barry (BBMak) is 31. Olympic silver medal figure skater Sasha Cohen is 25.

Thought for today: "Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle; old age a regret." -- Benjamin Disraeli, British statesman (1804-1881)

[Associated Press]

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