This Day in History

On Sept. 26, 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.

On this date:

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 1892, John Philip Sousa and his newly formed band performed publicly for the first time at the Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, New Jersey.

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

In 1957, the musical play “West Side Story” opened on Broadway.

In 1962, Maury Wills of the Los Angeles Dodgers stole his 100th base during a 13-1 victory over the Houston Colt .45s. “The Beverly Hillbillies” premiered on CBS.

In 1977, Sir Freddie Laker began his cut-rate “Skytrain” service from London to New York. (The carrier went out of business in 1982.)

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 1997, a Garuda Indonesia Airbus A-300 crashed while approaching Medan Airport in north Sumatra, killing all 234 people aboard.

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

Ten years ago: Hollywood screen legend and philanthropist Paul Newman died in Westport, Conn. at age 83.