What Happened On
The Terminator
October 26, 1984
The action classic, The Terminator, premieres. It starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor to prevent her son from saving humans from machines in a post-apocalyptic future. O.J. Simpson was suggested for the terminator role, but director James Cameron did not feel Simpson would be believable as a killer. Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson also turned down the role of terminator. Schwarzenegger was originally wanted for the role of Kyle Reese, the human soldier sent from 2029 to rescue Sarah Conner, but Cameron thought Schwarzenegger would make a better terminator. Schwarzenegger speaks fewer than 100 words in the film.
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
October 26, 1881
Marshal Wyatt Earp, his brothers Virgil and Morgan, and Doc Holliday in Tombstone, Arizona, kill three cowboys Wyatt had branded as outlaws. The gunfight lasted about 30 seconds and about 30 shots were fired. The Earps and Holliday were charged with murder. However, a Tombstone judge found the men not guilty.
Erie Canal at Lockport, New York in 1839
Erie Canal at Lockport, New York in 1839
First Major Man-Made U.S. Waterway
October 26, 1825
Construction of the Erie Canal is completed, connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River. Construction had begun in 1817. Called "The Nation's First Superhighway", it was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, and greatly reduced the cost of transporting goods. At 363 miles (584 km) long, the canal was the second-longest in the world (after the Grand Canal in China).
Prior to railroads, water transport was the most cost-effective way to ship bulk goods. A mule can carry about 250 pounds (110 kg), but can draw a barge weighing as much as 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg) along a towpath allowing a canal to cut transport costs by as much as 95 percent. For example, the cost to transport a barrel of flour from Rochester to Albany dropped from $3 before the canal to 75¢ on the canal.
Political opponents of the canal called it "Clinton's Folly" and "Clinton's Big Ditch" mocking New York Governor DeWitt Clinton who supported the project. However, the toll revenue from the canal repaid the state's construction debt within the first year of operation.
Pepsi Syringe Hoax
October 26, 1993
A 25-year-old Pennsylvania man is sentenced to a year in prison for his part in the Pepsi Syringe Hoax. He was the first person charged after the previous summer's dozens of false tampering reports. He admitted to placing the syringe in the can and then telling an emergency room nurse it had touched his tongue.
Baby Fae
October 26, 1984
Baby Fae, a 12-day-old infant, receives the heart of a seven-month-old baboon. She survived for 20 days.
David Copperfield Vanishes a Learjet
October 26, 1981
The magician David Copperfield makes a 7-ton Learjet disappear on live national TV.
Currency
October 26, 1981
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing begins selling uncut sheets of U.S. currency.
First American to Qualify for the World Chess Championship
October 26, 1971
28-year-old Bobby Fischer; he went on to win.
The Beatles
October 26, 1965
The Beatles are awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace.
Five Founders of the Red Cross
Five Founders of the Red Cross
Red Cross
October 26, 1863
Delegates from fourteen nations meet to examine Swiss philanthropist Henri Dunant's plans for an international organization to help the wounded in time of war.
Birthdays
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Born October 26, 1947
American politician, First Lady. Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States (2016), 67th United States Secretary of State (2009-13), United States Senator of New York (2001-09), First Lady of the United States (1993-2001 wife of Bill Clinton), and First Lady of Arkansas (1979-81, 1983-92).
Vanna White with Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak
Born October 26, 1946
American game show host. TV: Wheel of Fortune (1981‑). Having hosted Wheel of Fortune since 1981, Sajak holds the world record for as the longest-running host of any TV game show.
Sajak served as an Army disc jockey for the American Forces Vietnam Network during the Vietnam War and hosted the same Dawn Buster radio show that Adrian Cronauer hosted, and followed Cronauer's tradition of signing on with "Good Morning Vietnam!"
Edward William Brooke III
Born October 26, 1919 d. 2015
American politician. Edward Brooke was the first African American U.S. senator (1967-79) since reconstruction and the first African American popularly elected to the U.S. Senate. He was also the Massachusetts Attorney General (1963-67), making him the highest ranking elected African American official in the U.S.
Coogan with Chaplin in The Kid (left) and as Uncle Fester
Coogan with Chaplin in The Kid (left) and as Uncle Fester
Jackie Coogan (John Leslie Coogan)
Born October 26, 1914 d. 1984
American actor. TV: The Addams Family (1964-66, Uncle Fester). At age seven he starred with Charlie Chaplin in The Kid (1921), and became one of the highest-paid actors of his time.
Although Coogan had earned millions as a child star, when he turned 21 he found out that his mother and step-father had spent almost all of it on expensive clothes, jewelry, and cars. Coogan sued them, but after legal expenses only received $126,000 of the remaining $250,000. This incident resulted in the 1939 enactment of the California Child Actor's Bill, known as the "Coogan Law". It required that a child actor's employer set aside 15% of the earnings in a trust (called a Coogan account), and also specified the actor's schooling, work hours, and time off.
Coogan was married to actress Betty Grable from 1937 until they divorced in 1939.
During World War II, he was a glider pilot and landed British troops and jeeps behind Japanese lines at night in the Burma Campaign.
Freedom of the Press
John Peter Zenger
Born October 26, 1697 d. 1746
American printer, publisher. His arrest in 1734 and later acquittal on the charge of libel helped establish freedom of the press in America. He had published articles criticizing the governor of New York.
Cary Elwes
Born October 26, 1962
English actor. Film: The Princess Bride (1987, her groom) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993, Robin).
Keith Hopwood
Born October 26, 1946
English rhythm guitarist, with Herman's Hermits. Music: I'm Into Something Good (1964, #1 in UK), Mrs Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1965, #1), I'm Henry VIII, I Am (1965, #1), and There's a Kind of Hush (1967).
Holly came from Miami, F-L-A "Take a Walk on the Wild Side"
Holly Woodlawn (Haroldo Danhakl)
Born October 26, 1946 d. 2015
Puerto Rican transgender actress of Andy Warhol movies. She was immortalized in Lou Reed's 1972 hit Walk on the Wild Side ("Holly came from Miami, F-L-A").
According to her memoir, A Low Life in High Heels, when 15 years old, Woodlawn ran away from home, leaving Florida heading north, where she met Warhol in New York City.
Film: Trash (1970) and Women in Revolt (1972).
Bob Hoskins
Born October 26, 1942 d. 2014
English actor. Film: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, P.I. Eddie Valiant).
François Mitterand
Born October 26, 1916 d. 1996
President of France (1981-95). He founded the French Socialist Party. During World War II, he was captured by the Germans in 1940 and held prisoner at Stalag IXA. After two failed escape attempts in March and then November 1941, he managed to escape in December, returning to France on foot.
Mahalia Jackson
Born October 26, 1911 d. 1972
American gospel singer, considered one of the greatest of all time. She sang at U.S. President John F. Kennedy's inauguration (1961) and at Martin Luther King, Jr.'s funeral (1968).
William Julius "Judy" Johnson
Born October 26, 1899 d. 1989
American baseball hall of famer. Judy Johnson played in the Negro leagues and is considered one of the greatest third basemen of the Negro leagues.
Joseph Aloysius Hansom
Born October 26, 1803 d. 1882
English inventor. His taxi cab (1834) featured a suspended axle and seated the driver above and behind the passengers. It quickly became a favorite in England.
Deaths
Hattie McDaniel
Died October 26, 1952 b. 1895
American Oscar-winning actress. She was the first black woman to sing on U.S. radio, and was the first black actress to win an Oscar (1940 for her supporting role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind). At the Academy Awards ceremony she was racially segregated from her co-stars and had to sit at a separate table at the back of the room.
She the first black American to star in her own radio show (1947, Beulah) and went on to reprise the role on television.
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Margaret Tobin Brown
Died October 26, 1932 b. 1867
American socialite. She was called "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" after surviving the sinking of the Titanic (1912). The 1960 Broadway musical and 1964 film The Unsinkable Molly Brown were based on her life.
Bacon's Rebellion: Burning of Jamestown
Bacon's Rebellion: Burning of Jamestown
Leader of Bacon's Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon
Died October 26, 1676 b. 1647
American colonial leader. He led Bacon's Rebellion (1676), overthrowing the governor of Virginia and burning Jamestown to the ground. The settlers were upset due to excessive taxes, loss of self rule, and the governor's refusal to protect them against Indians. Bacon died shortly after the rebellion due to dysentery.
Richard Moll
Died October 26, 2023 b. 1943
American actor. TV: Night Court (1984-92, bailiff Bull Shannon).
In 1983, the 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) tall Moll shaved his head for the role of Hurok in the science fiction B movie Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn. He auditioned for Night Court with his shaved head and the producers liked the look so much that they asked him to keep it.
Mort Sahl
Died October 26, 2021 b. 1927
Canadian-born American comedian, specializing in political and social satire.
First Woman Treasurer of the U.S.
Georgia Neese Clark
Died October 26, 1995 b. 1898
American banker. The first woman treasurer of the U.S. (1949-53).
William S. Paley
Died October 26, 1990 b. 1901
American broadcasting pioneer. He grew the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States. Paley's father had originally purchased a chain of radio stations in order to advertise his cigar business.
Sikorsky and an R-4 helicopter (1944)
Sikorsky and an R-4 helicopter (1944)
Developed the First Practical Helicopter
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky
Died October 26, 1972 b. 1889
Ukrainian-born American aviation pioneer. He developed the first practical helicopter (1939), the first multi-engine airplane (1913), and the flying boat. He designed the Sikorsky R4 helicopter which was the world's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter used by the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.
Louise Beavers
Died October 26, 1962 b. 1902
American actress, one of TV's first black stars. She was the second actress to portray Beulah on the TV series (Beulah, 1952-53).
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Died October 26, 1902 b. 1815
American women's rights leader.
Alfred the Great
Died October 26, 899 b. 849
King of England (871-900), "King of the Anglo-Saxons." Alfred defended his kingdom against the Vikings, and became the dominant ruler in England.