Sept 26
1960
TV transformed presidential campaigns
On this day in 1960, U.S. presidential candidates Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy debated each other. It was a landmark event: Never before had the major-party nominees for president faced each other in a nationally televised debate. One candidate looked tired, ill, gray, and sweaty, while the other was (comparatively) energetic, neat, and clean—with a fresh tan too. The latter was Kennedy, who went on to win by one of the narrowest majorities in the history of U.S. presidential elections.
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© Hulton Archive—Archive Photos/Getty Images; Photo Illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Featured Event
U.S. Department of the Interior; National Archives, Washington, D.C. (ARC Identifier: 6234448)
On this day in 1983, Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov received a computer warning about five U.S. missiles headed to the Soviet Union. Correctly assuming that it was a false alarm—in part because the number of missiles seemed low for a surprise attack—he reported the warning as an error and was credited with averting a nuclear war.
Featured Biography
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Born on this day in 1888, T.S. Eliot, a leader of poetry’s Modernist movement, revitalized English poetry with experiments in diction, style, and versification and exercised a strong influence on Anglo-American culture.
More on September 26
© 1977 Universal Pictures Company, Inc. with Kings Road Entertainment
2008
American actor Paul Newman, whose striking good looks and compelling performances made him one of Hollywood’s most popular leading men, died at age 83. [How much do you know about Paul Newman?]
Courtesy, American Broadcasting Company
1969
The American sitcom The Brady Bunch premiered on ABC, and it became a pop culture phenomenon. [Take our quiz about The Brady Bunch.]
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1969
The Beatles released Abbey Road, their last-recorded album (Let It Be, though mostly recorded earlier than Abbey Road, was released in 1970). [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about the Beatles.]
© Volgi Archive/Alamy
1959
Typhoon Vera struck the Ise Bay region on the southern coast of Honshu, the largest of Japan’s four main islands. More than 5,000 people died, almost 39,000 were injured, and 1.5 million were left homeless.
U.S. Department of Defense
1932
The economist and politician Manmohan Singh, who was prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014, was born in Gah, West Punjab. [Who are all of the prime ministers of India?]
© Renato Toppo/Getty Images
1898
George Gershwin, one of the most significant and popular American composers, was born in Brooklyn, New York. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about composers.]
© Maryann Groves/North Wind Picture Archives
1820
American frontiersman and hero Daniel Boone died in St. Charles, Missouri. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Americans.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1815
The Holy Alliance of Russia, Austria, and Prussia was formed, after the final defeat of Napoleon. [How much do you know about European history?]
© Goodshoot/Jupiterimages
1687
During the bombardment of the Acropolis by Venetian forces, part of the Parthenon was destroyed in a powder explosion. [Find out what’s in the Acropolis Museum.]
© C. Bevilacqua/DeA—DeAgostini/Getty Images
1580
After nearly three years at sea, English Admiral Francis Drake arrived in Plymouth Harbour, England, completing his circumnavigation of the world. [Take our quiz about explorers and exploration.]
