Today is Thursday, October 25th, the 298th day of the year. There are 67 days until the end of the year.
On this day:
In 1825, the Erie Canal was opened. America's first man-made waterway linked the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1881, Sheriff Wyatt Earp and his group of lawmen defeated the Clanton Gang in the "Shootout at the O-K Corral."
In 1924, the comic strip, "Little Orphan Annie," debuted.
In 1939, nylon stockings went on sale in the U.S. for the first time.
In 1960, Martin Luther King, Jr., was sentenced to four months in prison for a sit-in.
In 1962, author John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.
In 1964, the Rolling Stones made their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
In 1971, Walt Disney World was dedicated in Orlando, Florida.
In 1978, the horror film "Halloween" premiered in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
In 1983, U.S. Marines led an assault on the island of Grenada. The invasion was ordered to protect U.S. citizens on the island from a coup by Grenada's Communist government.
In 1986, actor Forrest Tucker died at the age of 67. He appeared in more than 40 westerns during his career in film.
In 1990, boxer Evander Holyfield defeated James "Buster" Douglas to become the undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion.
In 1991, rock music promoter Bill Graham died in a plane crash following a concert in California. He produced several popular events including Live Aid and the U.S. Festival.
In 1994, Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina claimed that a black carjacker had driven off with her two sons. Smith later confessed to drowning the children herself and was convicted of murder.
In 1997, hundreds of thousands of black women joined the Million Woman March in Philadelphia.
In 1999, golfer Payne Stewart and five others were killed when their out-of-control plane crashed in South Dakota. Stewart was 42.
In 2015, The Minnesota Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders lost his battle to cancer at 60-years-old.