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Today in History, September 21st

On September 21, 1780, Benedict Arnold met British Major John André to plot the betrayal of West Point. Plus France's new republic and the 1938 hurricane.

By Today in History Updated November 10, 2026 3 min read Sources checked

Published September 21, 2026 · Last updated November 10, 2026

September 21 is best known for 1780, when General Benedict Arnold met British Major John André to arrange the betrayal of West Point. The date also saw France abolish its monarchy in 1792 and the Great New England Hurricane strike in 1938.

The big story: Benedict Arnold plots to hand over West Point (1780)

Before his name became shorthand for treason, Benedict Arnold was one of the best fighting generals the Continental Army had. He helped take Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, joined the failed attack on Quebec, and won a reputation in the campaigns at Lake Champlain, Ridgefield and Saratoga. George Washington backed him. But Arnold felt cheated. In 1777, five officers junior to him were promoted over his head, and his expensive tastes had left him deep in debt. After he took command of West Point, the American fort on the Hudson River, he opened secret talks with the British. On September 21, 1780, he met British Major John André to settle the deal: the fort in exchange for money and a high rank in the British army. It fell apart within days. André was captured in late September, and Arnold, barely avoiding arrest, escaped on a British ship. He left André to be hanged as a spy.

More events on September 21

Year	What happened
1792	French revolutionaries voted to abolish the monarchy and establish the First Republic. Louis XVI was executed the following January.
1904	Chief Joseph, the Nez Perce leader who surrendered in 1877 saying he would “fight no more forever,” died on the Colville reservation in Washington.
1915	British lawyer Cecil Chubb bought Stonehenge at an auction in Salisbury for £6,600. He gave it to the nation in 1918.
1938	The Great New England Hurricane hit Long Island and southern New England, killing about 700 people in all and flooding downtown Providence.
1942	The B-29 Superfortress, the largest bomber used by any nation in World War II, made its first flight in Seattle.
1981	Belize gained independence from the United Kingdom.
1999	A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck central Taiwan, killing thousands and leaving an estimated 100,000 people homeless.
2008	The original Yankee Stadium, open since 1923, hosted its last game. The Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-3.

Born on September 21

1867: Henry L. Stimson, secretary of state under Hoover and secretary of war in World War II, born in New York City.
1947: Stephen King, horror novelist whose first published novel was Carrie, born in Portland, Maine.
1950: Bill Murray, comic actor of Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day, born in Evanston, Illinois.