1. On September 23, 1779, during the American Revolution, the British occupied New York City. The city remained under British control until the end of the war in 1783.

2. On September 23, 1803, Robert Livingston and James Monroe negotiated the Louisiana Purchase in Paris, which doubled the size of the United States and included present-day New York City.

3. On September 23, 1838, the first public grand jury was held in New York City. Its purpose was to investigate allegations of corruption in the Tammany Hall political machine, which had been accused of defrauding the city.

4. On September 23, 1862, the Union army under General George McClellan defeated the Confederate army at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland. The battle resulted in the bloodiest single day of the Civil War, with over 22,000 casualties.

5. On September 23, 1952, Vice President Alben Barkley gave a speech at Madison Square Garden in New York City supporting the presidential campaign of Democrat Adlai Stevenson. Barkley coined the phrase "Bury Me in a Y-shaped Coffin" as a reference to the Democratic Party's symbol, the donkey.