This day in history

[October 26, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Oct. 26, the 299th day of 2010. There are 66 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Oct. 26, 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.

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 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 and 41 minutes.

In 1970, the comic strip "Doonesbury," by Garry Trudeau, was first syndicated.

In 1972, national security adviser Henry Kissinger declared, "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 1990, CBS founder William S. Paley died in New York at age 89.

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 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 4-2 in Game 5 of their "Subway Series."

Five years ago: Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (mahk-MOOD' ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhadh) declared that Israel was a "disgraceful blot" that should be "wiped off the map." A 20-year-old Palestinian blew himself up in an open-air market in Hadera, killing five Israelis. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Houston Astros, 1-0, in Game 4 to win their first World Series since 1917.

One year ago: A U.S. military helicopter crashed while returning from the scene of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans, including three DEA agents; four more troops were killed when two helicopters collided over southern Afghanistan. Bill Cosby received the 12th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor during a salute at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Today's birthdays: Former Sen. Edward Brooke III is 91. Actress Shelley Morrison is 74. Actor Bob Hoskins is 68. Author Pat Conroy is 65. Actress Jaclyn Smith is 65. TV host Pat Sajak is 64. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is 63. Singer Maggie Roche (The Roches) is 59. Musician Bootsy Collins is 59. Actor James Pickens Jr. ("Grey's Anatomy") is 58. Rock musician Keith Strickland (The B-52's) is 57. Actor D.W. Moffett is 56. Actress Rita Wilson is 54. The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, is 51. Actor Dylan McDermott is 49. Actor Cary Elwes is 48. Singer Natalie Merchant is 47. Country singer Keith Urban is 43. Actor Tom Cavanagh is 42. Actress Rosemarie DeWitt is 39. Actor Anthony Rapp is 39. Writer-producer Seth MacFarlane (TV: "Family Guy") is 37. Actress Lennon Parham is 35. Actor Hal Ozsan is 34. Actor Jon Heder is 33. Singer Mark Barry (BBMak) is 32. Olympic silver medal figure skater Sasha Cohen is 26.

Thought for today: "You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity." -- Marie Curie, Polish-French scientist (1867-1934)

[Associated Press]

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