The Edge

Today is Thursday, Sept. 26, the 269th day of 2019. There are 96 days left in the year.

Today 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.

Also 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 1907, New Zealand went from being a colony to a dominion within the British Empire.
• In 1955, following word that President Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack, the New York Stock Exchange saw its worst price decline since 1929.
• In 1960, the first-ever debate between presidential nominees took place as Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon faced off before a national TV audience from Chicago.

Fun fact

A warm frog makes faster croaking noises than a cold frog.

Record setters

The largest parade of alpacas consisted of 1,048 alpacas, and was achieved by Comite Feria de Ganadería y Agricultura del Sur 2019 in Juliaca, Puno, Peru, on June 14.

— Guinness World Records

Trending words

“Detritus:” noun; (de·​tri·​tus). Definition: Loose material (such as rock fragments or organic particles) that results directly from disintegration, a product of disintegration, destruction or wearing away: debris, or miscellaneous remnants, odds and ends.

— Merriam-Webster

Today’s birthdays

Retired baseball All-Star Bobby Shantz is 94. Actor Richard Herd is 87. Country singer David Frizzell is 78. Actor Kent McCord is 77. Television host Anne Robinson is 75. Singer Bryan Ferry is 74. Actress Mary Beth Hurt is 73. Singer Olivia Newton-John is 71. Actor James Keane is 67. Rock singer-musician Cesar Rosas (Los Lobos) is 65. Country singer Carlene Carter is 64. Actress Linda Hamilton is 63. Country singer Doug Supernaw is 59. Rhythm-and-blues singer Cindy Herron (En Vogue) is 58. Actress Melissa Sue Anderson is 57. Actor Patrick Bristow is 57. Rock musician Al Pitrelli is 57. Singer Tracey Thorn (Everything But The Girl) is 57. TV personality Jillian Barberie is 53. Contemporary Christian guitarist Jody Davis (Newsboys) is 52. Actor Jim Caviezel is 51. Actress Tricia O’Kelley is 51. Actor Ben Shenkman is 51. Actress Melanie Paxon is 47. Singer Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men) is 47. Music producer Dr. Luke is 46. Jazz musician Nicholas Payton is 46. Actor Mark Famiglietti is 40. Singer-actress Christina Milian is 38. Tennis player Serena Williams is 38. Actress Zoe Perry is 36.

The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.