Today in History

Today is Sunday, Sept. 26, the 269th day of 2021. There are 96 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 26, 1789, Thomas Jefferson was confirmed by the Senate to be the first United States secretary of state; John Jay, the first chief justice; Edmund Randolph, the first attorney general.

On this date:

In 1777, British troops occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolution.

In 1914, the Federal Trade Commission was established.

In 1933, the James Hilton novel "Lost Horizon" was first published in London by Macmillan & Co. Ltd. and in New York by William Morrow & Co.

In 1957, the musical "West Side Story" opened on Broadway.

In 1960, the first-ever debate between presidential nominees took place as Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon faced off before a national TV audience from Chicago.

In 1964, the situation comedy "Gilligan's Island" premiered on CBS-TV.

In 1986, William H. Rehnquist was sworn in as the 16th chief justice of the United States, while Antonin Scalia joined the Supreme Court as its 103rd member.

In 1990, the Motion Picture Association of America announced it had created a new rating, NC-17, to replace the X rating.

In 1991, four men and four women began a two-year stay inside a sealed-off structure in Oracle, Arizona, called Biosphere 2. (They emerged from Biosphere on this date in 1993.)

In 1996, President Clinton signed a bill ensuring two-day hospital stays for new mothers and their babies.

In 2003, President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin opened a two-day summit at Camp David.

In 2005, Army Pfc. Lynndie England was convicted by a military jury in Fort Hood, Texas, on six of seven counts stemming from the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. (England was sentenced to three years in prison; she ended up serving half that time.)

Ten years ago: Ending weeks of political brinkmanship, Congress advanced legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown. President Barack Obama appeared at a town hall meeting in Mountain View, California, hosted by the social networking company LinkedIn; the president plugged his jobs agenda in fielding questions on the employment picture, education, Medicare and Social Security.

Five years ago: Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton participated in their first debate of the presidential campaign at Hofstra University in New York; Clinton emphatically denounced Trump for keeping his personal tax returns and business dealings secret from voters while Trump repeatedly cast Clinton as a "typical politician." Colombia's government and its largest rebel movement signed a historic peace accord in an emotional ceremony aimed at ending a half-century of combat.

One year ago: President Donald Trump nominated judge Amy Coney Barrett, a former clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, to the Supreme Court, to fill the seat left vacant by the death of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Barrett would be confirmed the following month, days before the November election.) More than 150 people gathered in the Rose Garden for Trump's introduction of Barrett; few in the crowd wore masks to protect against the coronavirus, and in the days that followed, a succession of attendees reported that they had contracted COVID-19.

Today's Birthdays: Former baseball All-Star Bobby Shantz is 96. Country singer David Frizzell is 80. Actor Kent McCord is 79. Television host Anne Robinson is 77. Singer Bryan Ferry is 76. Actor Mary Beth Hurt is 75. Singer Olivia Newton-John is 73. Actor James Keane is 69. Rock singer-musician Cesar Rosas (Los Lobos) is 67. Country singer Carlene Carter is 66. Actor Linda Hamilton is 65. R&B singer Cindy Herron (En Vogue) is 60. Actor Melissa Sue Anderson is 59. Actor Patrick Bristow is 59. Rock musician Al Pitrelli is 59. Singer Tracey Thorn (Everything But The Girl) is 59. TV personality Jillian Barberie is 55. Contemporary Christian guitarist Jody Davis (Newsboys) is 54. Actor Jim Caviezel is 53. Actor Tricia O'Kelley is 53. Actor Ben Shenkman is 53. Actor Melanie Paxson is 49. Singer Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men) is 49. Music producer Dr. Luke is 48. Jazz musician Nicholas Payton is 48. Actor Mark Famiglietti is 42. Singer-actor Christina Milian is 40. Tennis player Serena Williams is 40. Actor Zoe Perry is 38. Singer/songwriter Ant Clemons is 30.