September 16: Dieciséis de septiembre in Mexico (1810), Independence Day in Papua New Guinea (1975)
- 1597 - Twelve ships of the Korean navy led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin sank 31 of 133 enemy ships and defeated a Japanese invasion.
- 1941 - Reza Pahlavi the Shah of Persia was forced to resign in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
- 1963 - Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak merged to form Malaysia.
- 1982 - The Phalange, a Lebanese militia, carried out a massacre in the Palestinian refugee camp of Sabra and Shatila.
- 1992 - Black Wednesday: The British Pound Sterling was forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism and suffered a major devaluation.
Recent days: September 15 - September 14 - September 13