Today is Thursday, Sept. 26, the 269th day of 2013. There are 96 days left in the year.

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 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 1937, the radio            drama “The Shadow,” starring Orson Welles, premiered on the               Mutual Broadcasting System.

In 1952, philosopher George Santayana died in Rome at age 88.

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 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 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. The cult film “Carnival of Souls” premiered in Lawrence, Kan., where parts of it had been filmed.

In 1969, the family comedy series “The Brady Bunch” premiered on ABC-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, Ariz., called Biosphere 2. They emerged from the structure on this date in 1993.

Ten years ago

President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin (POO’-tihn) opened a two-day summit at Camp David. The government issued a recall for Segway scooters, citing instances in which riders fell off when the batteries ran low. A magnitude 8 quake rocked Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, injuring more than 750 people. British rock singer Robert Palmer died in Paris at age 54.

Five years ago

Hollywood screen legend and philanthropist Paul Newman died in Westport, Conn. at age 83. In their first debate of the presidential campaign, held at the University of Mississippi, Republican John McCain portrayed himself as a battle-tested elder running against a naive rookie, while Democrat Barack Obama suggested McCain was a hothead who’d made the wrong choices on the Iraq war, corporate taxes and more. Swiss pilot Yves Rossy leapt from a plane over Calais, France, and crossed the English Channel on a homemade jet-propelled wing in 13 minutes.

One year ago

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both campaigned in Ohio, where Romney said his Massachusetts health care law was proof that he cared about ordinary Americans.