October 26 in history

On October 26:

1825 The Erie Canal opened a passage from Albany, New York to Lake Erie.

1865 Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman, was born.

 

1881 The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place at Tombstone, Arizona.

1883 Napoleon Hill, American Writer and Philosopher, author of Think and Grow Rich, was born.

1905 Norway became independent from Sweden.

1916 French President François Mitterrand was born.

1942 The Women Jurors’ Act allowed women to sit on juries in New Zealand.

1947 Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th United States Secretary of State was born.

1965 The Beatles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs).

The Beatles in 1964. Clockwise (from top-left): John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison

1977 The last natural case of smallpox was discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination.

1999 Britain’s House of Lords voted to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Britain’s upper chamber of Parliament.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.