The Erie Canal opens, the Pony Express closes, Wyatt Earp shoots it out in Tombstone, "Baby Fae" gets a baboon heart, and the Patriot Act is signed into law, all on this day.
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1956: Actress and singer Rita Wilson, who is married to Tom Hanks and has appeared in movies such as "Volunteers," "The Bonfire of the Vanities" and "Sleepless in Seattle," is born under the birth name Margarita Ibrahimoff in Los Angeles.