On This Day, Sept. 26: Australia wins America's Cup, breaks longest winning streak in sports

On September 26, 1983, the yacht Australia II, pictured in the WA Maritime Museum, won the America's Cup from the United States, ending the longest winning streak in sports -- 132 years. File Photo by CTBOLT/Wikimedia
On September 26, 1983, the yacht Australia II, pictured in the WA Maritime Museum, won the America's Cup from the United States, ending the longest winning streak in sports -- 132 years. File Photo by CTBOLT/Wikimedia
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Sept. 26 (UPI) -- 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.

Striking members of United Auto Workers Local 95 picket at the General Motors assembly plant on September 24, 2007, in Janesville, Wis. On September 26, 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. File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI

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

File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
John F. Kennedy looks on while Richard Nixon speaks during their Sept. 26, 1960, televised U.S. presidential debate in Chicago. On Nov. 8, Kennedy was elected president. File Photo/UPI
John F. Kennedy looks on while Richard Nixon speaks during their Sept. 26, 1960, televised U.S. presidential debate in Chicago. On Nov. 8, Kennedy was elected president. File Photo/UPI

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.

The British liner RMS Queen Mary arrives in New York harbor on June 20, 1945, with thousands of U.S. troops from Europe. On September 26, 1934, Britain's Queen Mary bestowed her name on Cunard-White Star Line's newest ocean liner in a christening ceremony in Scotland. File Photo courtesy U.S. Navy
The British liner RMS Queen Mary arrives in New York harbor on June 20, 1945, with thousands of U.S. troops from Europe. On September 26, 1934, Britain's Queen Mary bestowed her name on Cunard-White Star Line's newest ocean liner in a christening ceremony in Scotland. File Photo courtesy U.S. Navy

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.

File Photo by Joe Marino-Bill Cantrell/UPI
File Photo by Joe Marino-Bill Cantrell/UPI

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.

In 2022, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, known as DART, slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos in its first planetary defense test that could protect Earth from future threats.

Image courtesy of NASA
Image courtesy of NASA