Today in History

1777

British troops occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolution.

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.

1892

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

1914

The Federal Trade Commission was established.

1937

The radio drama “The Shadow,” starring Orson Welles, premiered on the Mutual Broadcasting System.

1945

Hungarian-born composer Bela Bartok, 64, died in New York City.

1957

The musical play “West Side Story” opened on Broadway.

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.

1981

The twin-engine Boeing 767 made its official debut in Everett, Washington.

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.

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.)

1996

President Bill Clinton signed a bill ensuring two-day hospital stays for new mothers and their babies. Richard Allen Davis, the killer of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, was formally sentenced to death in San Jose, California.