This Day in History

Today is Friday, October 26th, the 299th day of the year.  There are 66 days until the end of the year.

On this day:

In 1881, Sheriff Wyatt Earp and his group of lawmen defeated the Clanton Gang in the "Shootout at the O-K Corral."

In 1951, Rocky Marciano beat Joe Louis to win the world heavyweight boxing title.

In 1952, Academy Award-winning actress Hattie McDaniel died.  Her role in "Gone with the Wind" made her the first African-American to win an Oscar.

In 1970, Garry Trudeau's comic strip "Doonesbury" debuted in 28 newspapers around the U.S..

In 1972, guided tours of California's Alcatraz Prison began.

In 1984, "Baby Fae" was given the heart of a baboon during an experimental transplant in California.  A severe heart defect prompted the operation.  "Baby Fae" lived for 21 days with the baboon heart.

In 1984, "The Terminator" opened in theaters across the United States.

In 1990, Wayne Gretzky became the first NHL player to reach two-thousand career points.

In 1990, Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was sentenced to six months in jail and fined five-thousand dollars following his conviction on drug charges.

In 1996, former security guard Richard Jewell was cleared as a suspect in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park bombing.


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