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On September 1 of 1781 After joining together on August 29, French forces commanded by General Jean Baptiste de Rochambeau and Continental Army under George Washington break camp in Princeton to march south on their way to Yorktown, Virginia, where they would trap the British under the command of General Lord Charles Cornwallis and force his surrender on October 19.
![]() On September 5 of 1856 A fire believed to be the result of arson destroys the Mount Vernon Hotel in Cape May--the largest resort hotel in the world at the time which could lodge 2,100 guests in over 430 rooms. On September 6 of 1949
Howard Unruh, a 28-year-old Army veteran, kills 13 people (including three children) during a 12-minute walk through his neighborhood in Camden. Unruh was found to be criminally insane, and confined to the Vroom Building for the Criminally Insane near Trenton until he dies in 2009 at the age of 88. ![]()
On September 7 of 1921 A two-day "bathing beauty revue" begins in Atlantic City, concluding with 16-year-old Margaret Gorman, Miss District of Columbia, declared "The Most Beautiful Bathing Girl in America." In the following year, she is recognized as the first "Miss America" when she returns to compete. |
On September 8 of 1934
The ocean liner SS Morro Castle headed for New York from Havana catches fire in the Atlantic, losing its engines and drifting to the beach near the Asbury Park Convention Hall. The fire, whose cause was never conclusively determined, results in the deaths of 137 passengers and crew members.

On September 9 of 1806
William Paterson, justice of te US Supreme Court and former New Jersey Governor, Chancellor and US Senator, dies at the age of sixty.
On September 10 of 1955
Bert Parks begins a 25-year run as host of the "Miss America Pageant" broadcast by NBC from Atlantic City. |
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On September 11 of 2001
Four airliners are hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists, with 694 New Jersey residents killed of the total 2,996 dying in the attacks.
Four airliners are hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists, with 694 New Jersey residents killed of the total 2,996 dying in the attacks.

On September 12 of 1940
An explosion of nearly 300,000 pounds of gunpowder kills 51 workers and injures over 200 at the Hercules Powder Co. plant in the Kenvil section of Roxbury Township in Morris County
An explosion of nearly 300,000 pounds of gunpowder kills 51 workers and injures over 200 at the Hercules Powder Co. plant in the Kenvil section of Roxbury Township in Morris County
On September 13 of 1988
The rock band Bon Jovi releases their fourth album, named after their home state, New Jersey
On September 13 of 1776
William Livingston, elected as New Jersey's first state governor following the Declaration of Independence, gives his inaugural speech to the legislature, reflecting on the path the state had taken, contrasting independence against the “long … system of despotism concerted for our ruin … and … attempted to be enforced by the violence of war.”
The rock band Bon Jovi releases their fourth album, named after their home state, New Jersey
On September 13 of 1776
William Livingston, elected as New Jersey's first state governor following the Declaration of Independence, gives his inaugural speech to the legislature, reflecting on the path the state had taken, contrasting independence against the “long … system of despotism concerted for our ruin … and … attempted to be enforced by the violence of war.”
On September 14 of 1944
"The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944" results in nine deaths and injuries to another 390 people in New Jersey, along with 400 homes destroyed and damages to more than 3,000 others.
"The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944" results in nine deaths and injuries to another 390 people in New Jersey, along with 400 homes destroyed and damages to more than 3,000 others.
On September 15 of 1958
A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train runs through an open drawbridge near Bayonne, with the locomotive and leading cars plunging into Newark Bay, killing 48, including former New York Yankees second baseman George "Snuffy" Stirnweiss
A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train runs through an open drawbridge near Bayonne, with the locomotive and leading cars plunging into Newark Bay, killing 48, including former New York Yankees second baseman George "Snuffy" Stirnweiss
On September 16 of 1903
The 1903 New Jersey hurricane, also known as the "Vagabond Hurricane," is the first and only known Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in New Jersey since records were kept starting in 1851. The storm causes extensive damage, destroying hotels, homes, boardwalks and stores in Atlantic City, Asbury Park and other shore resorts.
The 1903 New Jersey hurricane, also known as the "Vagabond Hurricane," is the first and only known Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in New Jersey since records were kept starting in 1851. The storm causes extensive damage, destroying hotels, homes, boardwalks and stores in Atlantic City, Asbury Park and other shore resorts.
On September 17 of 2016
A pipe bomb bomb explodes in a trash can in Seaside Park, followed later that day by explosion of a homemade pressure cooker bomb in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Thirty-one people are injured in the Manhattan bombing. Two days later, Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old Afghan man and naturalized US citizen whose family operated a takeout restaurant in Elizabeth, is arrested in Linden; he subsequently was tried, convicted and sentenced on February 13, 2018, to life in prison without parole.
A pipe bomb bomb explodes in a trash can in Seaside Park, followed later that day by explosion of a homemade pressure cooker bomb in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Thirty-one people are injured in the Manhattan bombing. Two days later, Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old Afghan man and naturalized US citizen whose family operated a takeout restaurant in Elizabeth, is arrested in Linden; he subsequently was tried, convicted and sentenced on February 13, 2018, to life in prison without parole.
On September 18 of 2001
Letters tainted with anthrax with Trenton postmarks on this date, but believed to have been mailed from Princeton, are sent to: ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and the New York Post in New York City and to the National Enquirer in Boca Raton, Florida. Subsequent tainted letters also bearing Trenton postmarks dated October 9 are addressed to two Democratic Senators, Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. At least 22 people developed anthrax infections, with five deaths attributed to inhalation of the poison. Investigations fail to conclusively identify the perpetrator, although the FBI identified Bruce Ivins, an Anthrax researcher employed at Army labs in Maryland, as the principal suspect, with Ivins committing suicide in 2008. |
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On September 19 of 1881
James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, dies in Elberon at the age of 49 after being shot on July 2 by disappointed job-seeker Charles J. Guiteau at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, DC. Garfield had been taken by train on September 6 from Washington to a beachfront home in Elberon in an effort to aid his recovery. |
On September 20 of 1881
Chester A. Arthur, after being sworn in as president at his apartment in New York City after being notified of the death on the night before of President James A. Garfield, stops in Elberon to pay his respects to Garfield's widow and family on his way to Washington.
On September 21 of 1927
New Jersey Governor A. Harry Moore and New York Governor Al Smith join in groundbreaking ceremony for construction of a bridge across the Hudson River which later would be named the George Washington Bridge
New Jersey Governor A. Harry Moore and New York Governor Al Smith join in groundbreaking ceremony for construction of a bridge across the Hudson River which later would be named the George Washington Bridge
On September 22 of 1956
US Postal Service issues stamp commemorating 200th anniversary of completion in 1756 of Nassau Hall at then College of New Jersey (now Princeton), at the time largest stone building in the colonies
US Postal Service issues stamp commemorating 200th anniversary of completion in 1756 of Nassau Hall at then College of New Jersey (now Princeton), at the time largest stone building in the colonies
On September 23 of 1949
Bruce Springsteen, first child of Adele and Douglas Springsteen, is born at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch
Bruce Springsteen, first child of Adele and Douglas Springsteen, is born at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch

On September 24 of 1757
Aaron Burr Sr., second president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) and father of future vice president Aaron Burr, Jr., dies in Princeton at age 41 after leading the College since 1748. Seven months after his death, his widow Esther dies, orphaning their three-year-old daughter Sarah and two-year-old son Aaron.
On September 25 of 1975
41-year-old singer Jackie Wilson suffers a heart attack while performing at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill in the middle of singing one of his biggest hits, "Lonely Teardrops." He collapses to the stage, striking his head heavily, suffering brain damage and lapsing into a coma from which he never regained consciousness until his death over eight years later on January 21, 1984.
41-year-old singer Jackie Wilson suffers a heart attack while performing at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill in the middle of singing one of his biggest hits, "Lonely Teardrops." He collapses to the stage, striking his head heavily, suffering brain damage and lapsing into a coma from which he never regained consciousness until his death over eight years later on January 21, 1984.
On September 26 of 1892
John Philip Sousa and the 60-piece U.S. Marine Band perform the "Liberty Bell March" at the Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield
John Philip Sousa and the 60-piece U.S. Marine Band perform the "Liberty Bell March" at the Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield
On September 27 of 1942
Glenn Miller, a resident of Teaneck, and his Orchestra perform together for the last time in the US, at the Central Theater in Passaic, prior to Miller's entering the Army as a volunteer to entertain the troops conducting an Army band. On December 15, 1944, his plane disappears over the English Channel on a trip to Paris and he and two others aboard are never found.
On September 28 of 1967
Actress Mira Sorvino is born, spending her childhood in Tenafly at the home of her parents, Lorraine Ruth Davis, a drama therapist and former actress, and Paul Sorvino, the character actor and movie director. She would win the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's 'Mighty Aphrodite' released in 1995. |
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On September 29 of 2016
A NJ Transit commuter train crashes as it enters Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, killing a woman waiting on the platform hit with falling debris and injuring 114 others.
A NJ Transit commuter train crashes as it enters Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, killing a woman waiting on the platform hit with falling debris and injuring 114 others.
On September 30 of 1899
Gugielmo Marconi, a 25-year-old Italian inventor and electrical engineer, transmits the first wireless message from a ship at sea to land, with the message received at towers he had erected at the Twin Lights in Highlands. Marconi's message reports the sighting of the Naval fleet commanded by Commodore George Dewey, which was returning from the Pacific after its victory over the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay in the Spanish-American War. Marconi later establishes a transatlantic overseas reception station in Wall Township.
Gugielmo Marconi, a 25-year-old Italian inventor and electrical engineer, transmits the first wireless message from a ship at sea to land, with the message received at towers he had erected at the Twin Lights in Highlands. Marconi's message reports the sighting of the Naval fleet commanded by Commodore George Dewey, which was returning from the Pacific after its victory over the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay in the Spanish-American War. Marconi later establishes a transatlantic overseas reception station in Wall Township.