On This Day, May 26th

1. 1927: The last day of production for the Ford Model T

On this day back in 1927, Henry Ford and his son Edsel drove the 15 millionth Model T off the assembly line. This would be the last Model T ever created due to the increasing popularity of other more modern cars which forced Ford to make drastic changes. The Model T had a four-cylinder engine that could pump out about 20hp and get an estimated 18mpg since it only weighed 1,200lbs. Pricing would vary quite significantly depending on what options and configuration you wanted; on the higher end it would have cost you roughly $850 back then, which is said to be the equivalent of about $20,000 in today’s economy. If you were looking for a bare bones, four wheels and a steering wheel type vehicle without all the bells and whistles, then it would only cost you about $260, or around $5,000 today.

2. 1897: Bram Stoker’s Dracula is released in London.

Even though tales of vampires have been around since ancient times, it was on this day back in 1897 that the modern day interpretation of vampires was created. Irish-born writer, Bram Stoker, released his novel titled Dracula which tells the story of a vampire that’s on a journey from Transylvania to Yorkshire, England. In the story, Dracula preys on the innocent to drink their blood in order to give himself life. When Stoker released the novel, it didn’t have much on the popularity front and it wasn’t till about 10 years after his death that there was a Broadway adaptation of his book that drastically increased book sales. Hollywood has done multiple vampire movies since then, even producing a film in 1992 called specifically Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Stoker would write a total of 17 novels, but none of which had the popularity to match Dracula.

3. 1907: “The Duke” is born

On this day in 1907 in the small town of Winterset Iowa, Marion Michael Morrison was born. But you many not recognize him by that name. You may have heard him by his stage name though: John Wayne

At the age of six his family moved out to Glendale, California where he would do regular stuff that kids do. He had a paper route that he would do before work. He played football, and when practice was over he would work for local stores delivering goods of all kinds. When he graduated high school he attempted to go to the U.S. Naval Academy, but when the school rejected him he opted to take his second choice and go play football on a full scholarship at the University of Southern California. It was there that Wayne would get his first taste of show business. In 1926 his football coach hooked him up with a job as an assistant to the prop man for movies made by director John Ford. Wayne would soon move from the prop man to standing in as an extra and then eventually having speaking lines to fill in when the director needed someone. It wasn’t until 1939 that Wayne got his big break when he starred in the hit movie Stagecoach.