Browse Historical Events by Month:
Battles, deaths, and monumental religious moments. Explore significant events from September that helped shape the world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, returns to St. Louis after a 28-month journey to the Pacific Ocean completing their journey to explore and map the western portion of the United States.
The explorers were met with a hearty welcome from the town's inhabitants, who gathered to celebrate their safe arrival and the successful completion of the first recorded round-trip overland crossing of North America.
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic Parish priest, launches the Mexican War of Independence by issuing his "Grito de Dolores" (The Battle Cry of Dolores) from the church pulpit in the town of Dolores, calling for the end of of 300 years of the Spanish rule of Mexico, the redistribution of land and racial equality.
Soon after, a peasant army was marching toward Mexico City. Hidalgo was later captured and later eventually executed, on July 30, 1811. Mexican Independence is officially celebrated on September 16.
Chile's Independence Day . Officially The Republic of Chile. (Establishment of the Government Junta of Chile).
The Battle of Borodino takes place during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, resulting in a costly victory for the French forces.
Napoleon and his Grande Armée enter the city of Moscow and find it almost deserted with most of the 275,00 residents gone and lacking the supplies the French army needed. Then, the Russians started fires throughout the city. Three days later, more than two-thirds of the city was destroyed.
After waiting a few weeks for a surrender that never came and the threat of the approaching Russian winter, Napoleon ordered the French army to leave Moscow.
The United States adopts the nickname "Uncle Sam" originating with the legend of Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, New York. Wilson supplied the army during the War of 1812. Soldiers began calling his barrels of beef, stamped with "U.S.", "Uncle Sam's".
The name, personifying the federal government, gained widespread acceptance. The term gained popularity in newspapers, and the iconic image of a man in a stars-and-stripes suit and a white beard was developed and popularized by political cartoonist Thomas Nast in the late 1860s and 1870s. This origin of the story was recognized by a Congressional resolution in 1961.
The U.S. Receives The Nickname 'Uncle Sam". During the War of 1812, Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, New York. was one of the suppliers to the U. S. Army. He labeled his barrels of beef with “U.S.” to indicate U.S. government property, but soldiers referred to the “U.S.” as Uncle Sam (Wilson). On September 7, 1813, a local newspaper picked up the story which eventually led to the widespread use of the nickname. Congress passed a resolution in 1961 that recognized Samuel Wilson as the inspiration for the symbol Uncle Sam.
The battle of Plattsburgh, also called the Battle of Lake Champlain concludes with an important American victory that saved New York from a British invasion via the Hudson River valley.
The Americans included 1,500 regulars and about 2,500 militia commanded by Gen. Alexander Macomb, supported by a 14 ship American naval squadron under Commodore Thomas Macdonough. The British army of some 14,000 troops was commanded by Sir George Prevost. More
The poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" is written by Francis Scott Key during the bombardment of Fort McHenry, later becoming the national anthem of the United States. More
El Salvador Independence Day (Act of Independence of Central America).
Guatemala Independence Day (Act of Independence of Central America).
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Honduras Independence Day (Act of Independence of Central America). On this day in 1821, the Act of Independence of Central America was signed, declaring the independence of several Central American countries, including Honduras, from Spanish rule. Honduras officially became a completely independent country on November 5, 1838, after it separated from the Federal Republic of Central America
Nicaragua Independence Day (Act of Independence of Central America).
Costa Rica Independence Day (Act of Independence of Central America).
Brazil Independence day from Portugal (Declaration of independence by Pedro I of Brazil).
Joseph Marion Hernández becomes the first Hispanic American to be elected to the United States Congress. He represented the newly created Florida Territory. Hernandez was born a Spanish citizen in St. Augustine, FL. As of 2022, There are 52 Hispanic or Latino Members serving: 46 in the House, including 2 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner, and 7 in the Senate. More
Joseph Smith's vision of Moroni. According to the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Moroni was an angel or resurrected being who appeared to Joseph Smith on this day in 1823 and instructed him to restore God's church on earth. More
Charles Darwin on board the HMS Beagle, reaches the Galápagos Islands on a five-year voyage. He was 26 at the time. More
English chemist, Michael Faraday discovers the influence of a magnetic field on polarized light; named the "Faraday effect". Among his many interests, Faraday was also active in what would now be called environmental science, or engineering.
He investigated industrial pollution at Swansea and was consulted on air pollution at the Royal Mint. In July 1855, Faraday wrote a letter to The Times on the subject of the foul condition of the River Thames, which resulted in an often-reprinted cartoon in Punch. More
Phineas Wilcox is stabbed to death in Nauvoo, Illinois, by fellow Mormons, as they were called, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), because he was believed to be a spy. Wilcox was one of the first victims of "blood atonement," a since abandoned Mormon doctrine, that certain sins were so serious as to put the sinner "beyond the reach of the atoning blood of Christ" For these fallen sinners, their "only hope" lay in having "their own blood shed to atone." More
