Today is Thursday, Sept. 26, the 269th day of 2013. There are 96 days left in the year.
On Sept. 26, 1789, Thomas Jefferson was confirmed by the Senate to be the first U.S. secretary of state and John Jay to be the first chief justice.
On this date:
In 1777, British troops occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolution.
In 1955, after word that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack, the New York Stock Exchange had its worst decline since 1929.
In 1960, the first debate between presidential nominees took place in Chicago, as John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon faced off before a national TV audience.