Today in History: Wednesday, September 26, 2012

On Sept. 26, 1960, the first televised debate between presidential candidates took place in Chicago as Republican Richard M. Nixon and Democrat John F. Kennedy squared off.

1789Thomas Jefferson was appointed America's first secretary of state and John Jay the first chief justice.

1888Poet T.S. Eliot was born in St. Louis, Mo.

1898Composer George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York.

1914The Federal Trade Commission was established.

1950United Nations troops recaptured the South Korean capital of Seoul from the North Koreans.

1957The musical "West Side Story" opened on Broadway.

1969The album "Abbey Road" by the Beatles was released.

1986William H. Rehnquist was sworn in as the 16th chief justice of the United States, while Antonin Scalia joined the Supreme Court as an associate justice.

2000Slobodan Milosevic conceded that his challenger, Vojislav Kostunica, had finished first in Yugoslavia's presidential election. Milosevic declared a runoff, a move that prompted mass protests leading to his ouster.

2005Army Pfc. Lynndie England was convicted by a military jury on six counts stemming from the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.

2005International weapons inspectors announced the Irish Republican Army's full disarmament.

2007Myanmar began a violent crackdown on protests, beating and dragging away dozens of monks.