This day in history

[September 26, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Sept. 26, the 269th day of 2011. 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 U.S. 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 1892, John Philip Sousa and his newly formed band performed publicly for the first time, at the Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, N.J.

In 1914, the Federal Trade Commission was established.

In 1918, the Meuse-Argonne offensive, resulting in an Allied victory against the Germans, began during World War I.

In 1955, following word that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack, the New York Stock Exchange saw its worst price decline since 1929.

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

In 1981, the twin-engine Boeing 767 made its official debut in Everett, Wash.

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, Ariz., called Biosphere 2. (They emerged from Biosphere on this date in 1993.)

Ten years ago: In truce talks held at the urging of the United States, Israel and the Palestinians agreed on a series of confidence-building measures aimed at ending a year of fighting. During a visit to Armenia, Pope John Paul II paid his respects to the vast number of Armenians who had perished under Ottoman rule. In Cincinnati, Stephen Roach, a white police officer, was acquitted of negligent homicide in the shooting death of Timothy Thomas, an unarmed black man; the killing had sparked the city's worst racial unrest in three decades.

Five years ago: A declassified version of a government intelligence report ordered released by President George W. Bush said the war in Iraq had become a "cause celebre" for Islamic extremists, breeding deep resentment of the U.S. that was likely to get worse before it got better. Former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow was sentenced by a federal judge in Houston to six years in prison for his role in the fallen energy company's bankruptcy (Fastow is projected to be released in Dec. 2011). Iva Toguri D'Aquino, who was convicted and later pardoned for being World War II propagandist "Tokyo Rose," died in Chicago at age 90. World Golf Hall of Famer Byron Nelson died in Roanoke, Texas, at age 94.

One year ago: Gloria Stuart, the 1930s Hollywood beauty who later became the oldest Academy Award acting nominee as the spunky survivor in "Titanic," died in Los Angeles at age 100.

Today's birthdays: Retired baseball All-Star Bobby Shantz is 86. Actor Philip Bosco is 81. Actress Donna Douglas is 79. Actor Richard Herd is 79. South African nationalist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is 75. Country singer David Frizzell is 70. Actor Kent McCord is 69. Television host Anne Robinson is 67. Singer Bryan Ferry is 66. Actress Mary Beth Hurt is 65. Singer Lynn Anderson is 64. Singer Olivia Newton-John is 63. Actor James Keane is 59. Rock singer-musician Cesar Rosas (Los Lobos) is 57. Country singer Carlene Carter is 56. Actress Linda Hamilton is 55. Country singer Doug Supernaw is 51. Rhythm-and-blues singer Cindy Herron (En Vogue) is 50. Actress Melissa Sue Anderson is 49. Actor Patrick Bristow is 49. Rock musician Al Pitrelli is 49. Singer Tracey Thorn (Everything But The Girl) is 49. TV personality Jillian Barberie is 45. Actor Jim Caviezel (kuh-VEE'-zuhl) is 43. Singer Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men) is 39. Jazz musician Nicholas Payton is 38. Actor Mark Famiglietti (fah-mihl-YEH'-tee) is 32. Singer-actress Christina Milian (MIHL'-ee-ahn) is 30. Tennis player Serena Williams is 30.

Thought for today: "Pity the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." -- Don Marquis, American journalist-author (1878-1937)

[Associated Press]

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