October 26th

Today's Highlight in History:
On October 26th, 1967, the Shah of Iran crowned himself and his queen after 26 years on the Peacock Throne.

On this date:
In 1774, the First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia.

In 1825, the Erie Canal opened in upstate New York, connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River.

In 1942, the US ship "Hornet" was sunk in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands during World War Two.

In 1949, President Truman signed a measure raising the minimum wage from 40 to 75 cents an hour.

In 1958, Pan American Airways flew its first Boeing 707 jetliner from New York to Paris in eight hours and 41 minutes.

In 1972, national security adviser Henry Kissinger declared, "Peace is at hand" in Vietnam.

In 1975, Anwar Sadat became the first Egyptian president to pay an official visit to the United States.

In 1977, the experimental space shuttle "Enterprise" glided to a bumpy but successful landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1979, South Korean President Park Chung-hee was shot to death by the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim Jae-kyu.

In 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali of Jordan signed a peace treaty.

Ten years ago: The State Department issued a warning that terrorists could be planning an attack on a passenger ship or aircraft. William S. Paley, the founder of CBS Incorporated, died in New York at age 89. Wayne Gretzky became the first National Hockey League player to reach 2,000 points.

One year ago: The House passed, 227-to-203, a Republican balanced-budget bill that would shrink the federal government, cut taxes and return power to the states. The Cleveland Indians won their second game of the World Series by defeating the Atlanta Braves, 5-to-4, in game five.

One year ago: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study which said the number of Americans considered obese soared from about one in eight in 1991 to nearly one in five in 1998. The New York Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-to-5, to take a three-games-to-none lead in the World Series.

"Each child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man."

-- Sir Rabindranath Tagore, Indian Nobel Prize-winning poet (1861-1941).