Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

October 26

1993
Pepsi Syringe Hoax: A 25-year-old Pennsylvania man is sentenced to a year in prison. 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.

1984
Baby Fae, a 12-day-old infant, receives the heart of a seven-month-old baboon. She survived for 20 days.

1981
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing begins selling uncut sheets of U.S. currency.

1981
David Copperfield: The magician makes a 7-ton Learjet disappear on live national TV.

1975
First Egyptian president to visit the U.S., Anwar el-Sadat.

1971
First American to qualify for the world chess championship: 28-year-old Bobby Fischer; he went on to win.

1965
The Beatles are awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace.

1964
The Rolling Stones appear on the Ed Sullivan Show.

1881
Shootout at the O.K. Corral: Marshal Wyatt Earp, his brothers Virgil and Morgan, and Doc Holliday in Tombstone, Arizona, kill three cowboys he had branded as outlaws.

1863
Red Cross: 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.

1825
First major man-made U.S. waterway: The Erie Canal, connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River, opens.

1749
Slavery: Importation and use of negro slaves permitted in Georgia.

1962
Cary Elwes, English actor. Film: The Princess Bride (1987, her groom) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993, Robin).

1947
Jaclyn Smith, American actress. TV: Charlie's Angels (Kelly Garrett).

1947
Hillary Rodham Clinton, American first lady.

1946
Pat Sajak, American game show host. TV: Wheel of Fortune.

1946
Keith Hopwood, 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 VII, I Am (1965, #1), and There's a Kind of Hush (1967).

1942
Bob Hoskins, English actor. Film: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, P.I. Eddie Valiant).

1919
Edward William Brooke III, American politician, first black U.S. senator (1967-79) since reconstruction. He was also the Massachusetts Attorney General (1963-67) which made him the highest ranking elected black official in the U.S.

1916
François Mitterand, President of France (1981-). He founded the French Socialist Party.

1914     d. 1984
Jackie Coogan, American actor, one of the Little Rascals. TV: The Addams Family (Uncle Fester). At age seven he starred with Charlie Chaplin in The Kid (1921), and was one of the highest-paid actors of his time.

1911     d. 1972
Mahalia Jackson, American gospel singer, considered one of the greatest of all time. She sang at Pres. Kennedy's inauguration (1961) and at Martin Luther King's funeral (1968).

1879     d. 1940
Leon Trotsky (Lev Davidovich Bronstein), Russian revolutionary leader. He and Lenin organized the October Revolution. He also appeared in the American silent film My Official Wife (1916) using the name Mr. Brown.

1803     d. 1882
Joseph Aloysius Hansom, 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.

1972     b. 1889
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, Ukrainian-born American aviation pioneer. He developed the first practical helicopter (1939), the first multi-engine airplane (1913), and the flying boat.

1962     b. 1902
Louise Beavers, American actress, one of TV's first black stars, the second (1952-53) Beulah of the TV series.

1952     b. 1898
Hattie McDaniel, 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).

1932     b. 1867
Margaret Tobin Brown, American socialite.  She was called "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" after surviving the sinking of the Titanic (1912).

1923     b. 1863
Jimmy Ryan (James Edward Ryan), American baseball player. He was the first major-league baseball player to punch a sports writer (George Bechel, 1892).

1918     b. 1850
Cesar Ritz, Swiss hotelkeeper, founded the world famous hotels in London, Paris, New York, etc.

1902     b. 1815
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American women's rights leader.

900     b. 849
Alfred the Great, King of England (871-900).

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