Sunday · September 27, 2026
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American history, reported as it happened
Made for the 250th
On this day › September 16

What happened on September 16 in American history

September 16 is the 259th day of the year (the 260th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from September 16 spanning 1620 to 2021. Among them: in 1620, the Mayflower clears Plymouth harbor, alone, bound for Virginia; and in 1776, Washington's men chase the British off Harlem Heights, and hold.

1620

The Mayflower clears Plymouth harbor, alone, bound for Virginia

The Speedwell has already been left behind as unseaworthy; 102 passengers now cross alone.
1776

Washington's men chase the British off Harlem Heights, and hold

A morning ambush of Knowlton's Rangers turns into a two-hour firefight in a buckwheat field, and this time the Americans don't run.
1961Member story · 1776 Club

A Navy plane dives into Esther's eye and dusts the storm with silver iodide

The eyewall winds drop by a reported ten percent, and government scientists think they have found a way to tame hurricanes.
1987Member story · 1776 Club

Twenty-four nations sign a treaty to phase out the chemicals eating the ozone layer

The Montreal agreement turns two years of scientific alarm into binding limits on CFCs.
1989

Yeltsin stops at a Texas supermarket and asks what it costs to feed a family

Twenty minutes at Randalls #30 in Webster leaves the Soviet leader stunned into silence on the flight to Miami.
2021Member story · 1776 Club

No astronauts aboard: four private citizens launch to orbit atop a Falcon 9

Jared Isaacman, Sian Proctor, Hayley Arceneaux and Christopher Sembroski rode Crew Dragon Resilience toward an altitude no one has reached since 1999.