On This Day in History - September 26th - Almanac

Today is Sunday, Sept. 26, the 269th day of 2021 with 96 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include frontier nurseryman "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman in 1774; German researcher Ivan Pavlov in 1849; poet T.S. Eliot in 1888; German philosopher Martin Heidegger in 1889; Pope Paul VI in 1897; composer George Gershwin in 1898; actor Donna Douglas in 1932; South African activist Winnie Mandela in 1936; film producer Jerry Weintraub in 1937; actor Kent McCord in 1942 (age 79); country singer Lynn Anderson in 1947; actor Mary Beth Hurt in 1946 (age 75); singer Olivia Newton-John in 1948 (age 73); author Jane Smiley in 1949 (age 72); actor Linda Hamilton in 1956 (age 65); author Will Self in 1961 (age 60); actor Melissa Sue Anderson in 1962 (age 59); actor Jim Caviezel in 1968 (age 53); tennis star Serena Williams in 1981 (age 40); singer Christina Milian in 1981 (age 40); TV personality Nev Schulman in 1984 (age 37); singer James Blake in 1988 (age 33).

On this date in history:

In 1777, British troops occupied Philadelphia.

In 1934, Britain's Queen Mary bestowed her name on Cunard-White Star Line's newest ocean liner in a christening ceremony in Scotland.

In 1950, U.N. troops took the South Korean capital of Seoul from North Korean forces.

In 1960, the first televised presidential debate aired from a Chicago TV studio. It featured candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon.

In 1983, the yacht Australia II won the America's Cup from the United States, ending the longest winning streak in sports -- 132 years.

In 1984, China and Britain initialed an accord to return Hong Kong to Chinese control when Britain's lease expired in 1997.

In 1990, the Motion Picture Association of America, under pressure from filmmakers, adopted the "NC-17" rating -- no children under 17 allowed -- to replace the "X" rating exploited by the porn industry.

In 1991, four men and four women entered the huge, airtight greenhouse Biosphere II in Arizona. They remained inside for two years, emerging on this date in 1993.

In 1992, a Nigerian Air Force transport plane crashed into a swamp shortly after takeoff from Lagos airport, killing all 158 people on board.

In 1996, the space shuttle Atlantis landed, returning astronaut Shannon Lucid to Earth. At the time, her six-month tour aboard the Mir space station was the longest stay in space for an American.

In 2005, U.S. Army Pfc. Lynndie England, photographed in widely distributed pictures with inmates at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, was convicted of conspiracy and prisoner abuse. She was sentenced to three years in prison and paroled in March 2007.

In 2007, ending a walkout that lasted less than two days, the United Auto Workers union and General Motors reached a deal in which GM agreed to create a $38.5 billion trust to administer health benefits for retirees.

In 2009, Typhoon Ketsana swept across the Philippines, killing about 500 people and causing the country's worst flooding in almost half a century. The storm then slammed into Southeast Asia and killed 163 people in Vietnam.

In 2017, Saudi King Salman announced the country will issue driver's licenses to women starting the following summer after years of pressure on the government.

A thought for the day: "When we say 'peace on earth,' we can sing about it, preach about it, or pray about it, but if we have not internalized the mythology to make it happen inside of us, then it will not be." -- American educator/civil rights activist Betty Shabazz