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HISTORY & TIMELINE
16 September

A journey through
16 September in history

The story of 16 September runs from Owain Glyndŵr’s proclamation as Prince of Wales in 1400 to Ian Thorpe’s two gold medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. In between come Washington’s first success in the field at Harlem Heights, the Grito de Dolores, the great land run into the Cherokee Outlet, the founding of General Motors, the Wall Street bombing, the Japanese surrender of Hong Kong, the first Xerox copier, the birth of Malaysia, a new home for the Metropolitan Opera, independence for Papua New Guinea, a balloon flight out of East Germany, the Montreal Protocol, Black Wednesday and a shuttle flight to the Mir space station.

Begin the Timeline ↓ ← Back to Explore This Day
JUMP THROUGH TIME
II
THE MIDDLE AGES

Medieval History

Kingdoms, conflict, faith, power and the changing medieval world.

1400
The bronze statue of Owain Glyndŵr on horseback in the square at Corwen, unveiled in 2007The bronze statue of Owain Glyndŵr on horseback in the square at Corwen, unveiled in 2007Image: Elliott Brown · CC BY-SA 2.0
politics · Europe

Owain Glyndŵr is proclaimed Prince of Wales

Owain Glyndŵr was a Welsh landowner descended from the princes of Powys, who had studied law in London and seen military service with English forces. In 1400 a quarrel with his neighbour Reginald Grey, lord of Ruthin, went unheard by the new king, Henry IV. On 16 September 1400 a small group of kinsmen and supporters gathered at his manor of Glyndyfrdwy and proclaimed him Prince of Wales, and within days they were attacking the English towns of north-east Wales. The revolt spread across the country and lasted more than a decade. Glyndŵr held parliaments and made a treaty with France before his cause faded; he was never captured. The date is kept in Wales as Owain Glyndŵr Day.

Source: Cadw: Free kids’ entry to Cadw sites to mark Owain Glyndŵr Day ↗
III
A CHANGING WORLD

Early Modern Era

Exploration, political change, scientific development and expanding global connections.

1776
The Battle of Harlem Heights, 16 September 1776, in a 19th-century print from the New York Public Library's Emmet CollectionThe Battle of Harlem Heights, 16 September 1776, in a 19th-century print from the New York Public Library’s Emmet CollectionImage: Scan by NYPL · Public domain
world · Americas

Washington’s army holds its ground at Harlem Heights

After its defeat on Long Island in August 1776, George Washington’s army had been driven up Manhattan, and on 15 September American militia fled from a British landing at Kip’s Bay. The next morning, 16 September, a party of rangers under Thomas Knowlton scouting the British lines was chased back towards the American position on Harlem Heights. Washington sent troops forward to draw the British on while Knowlton’s men worked round their flank. The trap closed too early, but the British light infantry were pushed back across the fields before Washington called his men off. Knowlton was killed. It was a small action, but it was the army’s first success in the field under Washington and it restored its confidence.

Source: George Washington’s Mount Vernon: Battle of Harlem Heights ↗
IV
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

The 1800s

Industry, empire, invention, reform and a century of enormous transformation.

1810
The parish church of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores at Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, where Hidalgo called his parishioners to revoltThe parish church of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores at Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, where Hidalgo called his parishioners to revoltImage: Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata · CC BY-SA 4.0
world · Americas

The Grito de Dolores begins Mexico’s fight for independence

In 1810 Mexico was New Spain, the richest colony of a Spanish empire thrown into crisis by Napoleon’s invasion of Spain. In the town of Querétaro a group of Mexican-born creoles plotted a rising against the colonial government. Among them was Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the well-read, unconventional parish priest of the small town of Dolores. In September the plot was betrayed, and a warning reached Hidalgo that the conspirators were about to be arrested. He decided to act at once. Early on the morning of 16 September 1810 he had the church bell rung, gathered his largely Indian and mestizo parishioners and called on them to rise. His exact words were not written down, but the speech, known as the Grito de Dolores, the Cry of Dolores, is remembered as a call to defend the Virgin of Guadalupe and to end bad government. Thousands followed him. Hidalgo was captured and shot the following year and independence was not won until 1821, but 16 September is Mexico’s Independence Day, and each year on its eve the president repeats the cry from the National Palace.

Source: Britannica: Grito de Dolores ↗
1893
Two mounted photographs of the opening of the Cherokee Strip on 16 September 1893, showing the crowd of riders and wagons before and during the runTwo mounted photographs of the opening of the Cherokee Strip on 16 September 1893, showing the crowd of riders and wagons before and during the runImage: L. D. Hodge and W. S. Prettyman · Public domain
world · Americas

The Cherokee Outlet is opened in the largest land run

The Cherokee Outlet was a broad strip of grassland in what is now northern Oklahoma, guaranteed to the Cherokee Nation by treaty and leased to cattle ranchers. Under pressure from the United States government the Cherokee sold it in 1893, and it was thrown open to settlers. At noon on 16 September 1893 guns were fired along the border and more than 100,000 people raced in on horseback, in wagons, by train and on foot to stake claims to about 40,000 homesteads and to lots in new towns such as Enid and Perry. It was the largest of Oklahoma’s land runs and one of the most chaotic, marked by fraud, hardship and a number of deaths.

Source: Oklahoma Historical Society: Cherokee Outlet Opening ↗
V
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

The 1900s

War and peace, technological leaps, social change, politics, sport and popular culture.

1908
The office of the Durant-Dort Carriage Company in Flint, Michigan, William Durant's base when he created General MotorsThe office of the Durant-Dort Carriage Company in Flint, Michigan, William Durant’s base when he created General MotorsImage: Ralph J Christian · Public domain
world · Americas

William Durant founds General Motors

William C. Durant of Flint, Michigan, had made a fortune building horse-drawn carriages before taking charge of the struggling Buick Motor Company in 1904 and turning it into one of America’s largest car makers. Convinced that the future lay in a group of companies offering many kinds of car, he incorporated General Motors as a holding company on 16 September 1908. It took over Buick and, within about a year, Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Oakland, later called Pontiac. Durant overreached and lost control to his bankers in 1910, won the company back through Chevrolet and lost it again in 1920. General Motors went on to be one of the world’s largest car makers.

Source: General Motors Heritage: William Durant ↗
1920
Marks left by the 1920 explosion, still visible in the stone wall of the former Morgan building on Wall Street; a hand shows their scaleMarks left by the 1920 explosion, still visible in the stone wall of the former Morgan building on Wall Street; a hand shows their scaleImage: NortonJuster7722 · CC BY-SA 3.0
world · Americas

A bomb explodes on Wall Street

At about noon on 16 September 1920, as office workers were heading out to lunch, a horse-drawn cart loaded with explosives and iron weights blew up outside the offices of J. P. Morgan and Company at the corner of Wall and Broad Streets in New York. Thirty people were killed at once and eight more died of their injuries; hundreds were hurt. Investigators suspected anarchists, but after years of inquiry nobody was ever charged, and the case remains unsolved. Marks left by the blast can still be seen in the stone of the old Morgan building.

Source: FBI: Wall Street Bombing 1920 ↗
1945
Rear Admiral Harcourt, seated second from right, at the ceremony marking the Japanese surrender of Hong Kong in 1945Rear Admiral Harcourt, seated second from right, at the ceremony marking the Japanese surrender of Hong Kong in 1945Image: Sergeant R. Watson, No 9 Army Film & Photographic Unit · Public domain
world · Asia

Japan’s forces in Hong Kong formally surrender

Hong Kong had fallen to Japan on Christmas Day 1941 and endured more than three and a half years of harsh occupation. After Japan’s capitulation in August 1945 a British naval force under Rear Admiral Cecil Harcourt arrived at the end of the month to take control. The formal surrender was signed at Government House on 16 September 1945: Major General Okada and Vice Admiral Fujita signed for Japan and handed over their swords, and Harcourt accepted the surrender for the Allies. British rule in Hong Kong then continued until 1997.

Source: Imperial War Museums: Hong Kong surrender ceremony, 16 September 1945 ↗
1959
The copying surface and controls of a Xerox 914, on display at the Museum of Business History and Technology in DelawareThe copying surface and controls of a Xerox 914, on display at the Museum of Business History and Technology in DelawareImage: Marcin Wichary · CC BY 2.0
world · Americas

The Xerox 914 copier is shown to the public

In 1938 the American patent attorney Chester Carlson made the first dry photocopy, using static electricity and powder instead of wet chemicals. It took a small firm in Rochester, New York, the Haloid Company, more than twenty years to turn his process, named xerography, into a practical office machine. On 16 September 1959 the company, by then Haloid Xerox, announced the Xerox 914 with a televised demonstration in New York. It was the first automatic copier to work on ordinary paper, taking its name from the 9 by 14 inch sheets it could handle. The desk-sized machine was a huge commercial success, and photocopying quickly became a routine part of office life.

Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History: Xerox 914 Plain Paper Copier ↗
1963
Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, where the proclamation of Malaysia was read in September 1963Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, where the proclamation of Malaysia was read in September 1963Image: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas · CC BY-SA 3.0
politics · Asia

Malaysia is proclaimed

Malaya had been independent of Britain since 1957. In 1961 its prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, proposed a wider federation that would join it with Singapore and Britain’s territories on the island of Borneo: Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei. Britain supported the plan as a way of ending its colonial role in the region, and Singapore’s leader Lee Kuan Yew campaigned for it. Indonesia and the Philippines objected, and a United Nations mission was sent to Borneo to test opinion there, delaying the new state by a fortnight. Malaysia came into being on 16 September 1963, uniting Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo, which took the name Sabah. Brunei chose to stay out. The proclamation was read at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur before the country’s rulers and governors. The early years were hard: Indonesia pursued an armed ‘confrontation’ against the federation, and in August 1965 Singapore left to become a separate nation. The date is kept as a public holiday, Malaysia Day.

Source: National Library Board Singapore: Singapore becomes part of Malaysia ↗
1966
The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, New York, with its five tall archesThe Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, New York, with its five tall archesImage: Ajay Suresh · CC BY 2.0
culture · Americas

The Metropolitan Opera opens its new house at Lincoln Center

New York’s Metropolitan Opera had performed since 1883 in a theatre on Broadway at 39th Street, loved for its sound but cramped backstage. In the 1960s the company joined the city’s orchestra and ballet in moving to Lincoln Center, a new arts complex on the Upper West Side. Its new house, designed by Wallace K. Harrison, had a front of five tall arches and two large murals by Marc Chagall in the lobby. The house opened on 16 September 1966 with the first performance of an opera commissioned for the occasion, Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra, written for the soprano Leontyne Price, who sang Cleopatra opposite Justino Díaz. The production by Franco Zeffirelli was vast and elaborate. Critics felt the spectacle smothered the music, and the opera’s poor reception hurt Barber deeply. The building, though, has been the company’s home ever since.

Source: Metropolitan Opera Archives: American Opera at the Met ↗
1975
Michael Somare, right, who became Papua New Guinea's first prime minister, with the Australian minister Bill Morrison in 1973Michael Somare, right, who became Papua New Guinea’s first prime minister, with the Australian minister Bill Morrison in 1973Image: Australian Information Service · Public domain
world · Oceania

Papua New Guinea becomes an independent nation

The eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its neighbouring islands had been governed by Australia for most of the 20th century: Papua as an Australian territory from 1906, and the former German New Guinea under a mandate, and later a United Nations trusteeship, after the First World War. It is one of the most varied countries on Earth, with hundreds of languages. From the 1960s an elected assembly took on growing powers, and in 1973 the territory became self-governing under its chief minister, Michael Somare. Full independence came on 16 September 1975. At ceremonies in Port Moresby the Australian flag had been lowered at sunset the evening before; now the new flag, with its bird of paradise and Southern Cross, was raised. Prince Charles represented the Queen, who remained head of state, and the Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam and governor-general Sir John Kerr attended. Somare became the first prime minister. The day is celebrated each year as Independence Day.

Source: National Archives of Australia: Independence of Papua New Guinea ↗
1979
Three of those who escaped by balloon, from left Günter Wetzel, Doris Strelzyk and Peter Strelzyk, photographed when a film of their story was being madeThree of those who escaped by balloon, from left Günter Wetzel, Doris Strelzyk and Peter Strelzyk, photographed when a film of their story was being madeImage: Ken Hively, Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0
world · Europe

Two families fly out of East Germany in a home-made balloon

Peter Strelzyk and Günter Wetzel, workmates from Pössneck in Thuringia, spent a year and a half secretly building hot-air balloons to carry their families over the fortified border into West Germany, stitching the envelopes from cloth by hand and sewing machine; the last used more than 1,200 square metres of fabric. One attempt in July 1979 came down just short of the frontier, and the secret police began hunting for the builders. In the early hours of 16 September 1979 the two couples and their four children took off in a third, larger balloon. They rose to about 2,000 metres, drifted for under half an hour and landed in a field near Naila in Bavaria. The escape made headlines around the world and was later filmed twice.

Source: Bundesarchiv: Spektakuläre Fluchtversuche ↗
1987
A NASA map of the ozone hole over Antarctica on 24 September 2006, when it equalled its largest recorded sizeA NASA map of the ozone hole over Antarctica on 24 September 2006, when it equalled its largest recorded sizeImage: NASA · Public domain
world · Global

The Montreal Protocol is signed to protect the ozone layer

High in the atmosphere a thin layer of ozone shields life on Earth from the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation. In 1974 the chemists Mario Molina and Sherwood Rowland warned that chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, the gases then widely used in refrigerators, aerosol sprays and foams, could drift upwards and destroy it. In 1985 scientists of the British Antarctic Survey reported that a ‘hole’ was opening in the ozone over Antarctica each spring. On 16 September 1987, representatives of 24 countries meeting in Montreal signed a protocol committing them to cut the production and use of the main ozone-destroying chemicals. The agreement came into force in 1989, was tightened repeatedly, and became the first United Nations treaty to be ratified by every country in the world. Almost all of the controlled substances have since been phased out, and the ozone layer is slowly recovering. Since 1995 the United Nations has marked 16 September as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

Source: United Nations: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer ↗
1992
A chart of the pound's value against the German mark during 1992, showing its fall in SeptemberA chart of the pound’s value against the German mark during 1992, showing its fall in SeptemberImage: Klip game · CC BY-SA 3.0
world · Europe

Black Wednesday: the pound is forced out of the ERM

In October 1990 Britain joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which tied the pound to the German mark within a narrow band. The aim was to bring down inflation, but it also meant keeping interest rates high in the middle of a recession. By the summer of 1992 high German interest rates were putting pressure on weaker currencies across Europe, and currency traders began to bet heavily that the pound could not hold its rate. On Wednesday 16 September 1992 the selling became a flood. The Bank of England spent billions of pounds of reserves buying sterling, and the government raised interest rates from 10 to 12 per cent and then announced a further rise to 15 per cent, all within hours. Nothing worked. That evening the chancellor, Norman Lamont, announced that Britain was suspending its membership. The day cost the Treasury more than three billion pounds and badly damaged the reputation of John Major’s government, though the cheaper pound and lower interest rates that followed helped the economy to recover.

Source: UK Parliament: The ERM and the single currency ↗
1996
The space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center at the start of the STS-79 mission to MirThe space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center at the start of the STS-79 mission to MirImage: NASA · Public domain
world · Global

Atlantis lifts off to bring Shannon Lucid home from Mir

In the 1990s American space shuttles made a series of flights to the Russian space station Mir, on which astronauts from the United States lived and worked alongside Russian cosmonauts in preparation for the International Space Station. The shuttle Atlantis was launched from the Kennedy Space Center before dawn on 16 September 1996 on the fourth docking mission, STS-79. It delivered the astronaut John Blaha to the station and collected Shannon Lucid, whose stay had been lengthened by delays to the shuttle. When she landed ten days later she had spent 188 days in space, then a record for an American and for a woman.

Source: NASA: STS-79 ↗
VI
2000 TO TODAY

Modern Day

The events of recent decades that have already become part of the historical record.

2000
Ian Thorpe's hand prints, set in bronze at the Sydney Aquatic CentreIan Thorpe’s hand prints, set in bronze at the Sydney Aquatic CentreImage: alwayscanadian · CC BY-SA 2.0
sport · Oceania

Ian Thorpe wins two golds in an hour at the Sydney Olympics

Ian Thorpe, a teenager from Sydney, was already a world champion and world record holder when the Olympic Games came to his home city in 2000. He was 17, making his Olympic debut, and expected to deliver gold on the first night of competition in the pool. On 16 September 2000 he won the 400 metres freestyle in 3 minutes 40.59 seconds, breaking his own world record. About an hour later he swam the last leg of the 4 x 100 metres freestyle relay, an event the United States had never lost at the Olympics. Michael Klim led off in a world record time for the 100 metres, Chris Fydler and Ashley Callus followed, and Thorpe held off the Americans to touch first by 0.19 of a second in another world record. The American Gary Hall Jr. had predicted that his team would smash the Australians ‘like guitars’; the winners celebrated by playing air guitar on the pool deck.

Source: Olympics.com: Australia smashes the USA like guitars at Sydney 2000 ↗
RESEARCH

Sources & Further Reading

Selected authoritative references supporting the events on this page.

Cadw: Free kids’ entry to Cadw sites to mark Owain Glyndŵr Day↗Dictionary of Welsh Biography: Owain Glyndŵr↗George Washington’s Mount Vernon: Battle of Harlem Heights↗US National Park Service: Where the Battle of Harlem Heights Began↗Britannica: Grito de Dolores↗Britannica: Mexican Independence Day↗Oklahoma Historical Society: Cherokee Outlet Opening↗Oklahoma Historical Society: Cherokee Strip Museum↗General Motors Heritage: William Durant↗Britannica: General Motors↗FBI: Wall Street Bombing 1920↗Britannica: Wall Street bombing of 1920↗Imperial War Museums: Hong Kong surrender ceremony, 16 September 1945↗Royal Museums Greenwich: The Instrument of Surrender↗Smithsonian National Museum of American History: Xerox 914 Plain Paper Copier↗Xerox: The Story of Xerography↗National Library Board Singapore: Singapore becomes part of Malaysia↗Britannica: Federation of Malaya↗Metropolitan Opera Archives: American Opera at the Met↗Britannica: Antony and Cleopatra, opera by Barber↗National Archives of Australia: Independence of Papua New Guinea↗National Museum of Australia: Papua New Guinea↗Bundesarchiv: Spektakuläre Fluchtversuche↗Wikipedia: East Germany balloon escape↗United Nations: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer↗UNEP Ozone Secretariat: 20 Questions and Answers↗UK Parliament: The ERM and the single currency↗Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, 1992 Q4: Operation of monetary policy↗NASA: STS-79↗NASA: Shannon Lucid’s Record-Setting Mission Aboard Mir↗Olympics.com: Australia smashes the USA like guitars at Sydney 2000↗Sport Australia Hall of Fame: Ian Thorpe↗
WHY THESE MOMENTS?

Significance before volume

This page is not the longest possible list of events. It is a chronological journey through 16 September, where each entry is chosen for historical significance, human interest and reliability.

Facts are checked against authoritative museums, archives, universities and reference works. Where sources disagree, the page says so.

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