TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS TUESDAY, SEPT. 26,

the 269th day of 2017. There are 96 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:

On September 26, 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 1777,

British troops occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolution.

In 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.

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 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 1997,

a Garuda Indonesia Airbus A-300 crashed while approaching Medan Airport in north Sumatra, killing all 234 people aboard.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

Retired baseball All-Star Bobby Shantz is 92. South African nationalist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is 81. Singer Bryan Ferry is 72. Actress Mary Beth Hurt is 71. Singer Olivia Newton-John is 69.