1. In 2015, Alaska's Mt. McKinley was officially renamed Denali, restoring the traditional name of the highest peak in North America. The change had been sought for decades by Alaska Native groups.

2. On September 16, 1964, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake struck Alaska, the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history. The earthquake and resulting tsunami caused extensive damage and loss of life.

3. On September 16, 1957, the United States Atomic Energy Commission detonated an underground nuclear test in the Northern Pacific Ocean, part of a series of tests known as Operation Plumbbob.

4. In 1975, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was signed into law, granting Native Alaskans significant land and financial compensation for lands taken from them by the federal government.

5. On September 16, 1943, the Japanese army occupied the Aleutian island of Attu, the only time during World War II that U.S. soil was occupied by a foreign power. The U.S. military eventually retook the island in a costly and difficult campaign.