1. In 1835, the Treaty of New Echota was signed, forcing the Cherokee Nation to give up their land in Alabama and move to Indian Territory. This treaty ultimately led to the Trail of Tears, a forced relocation of thousands of Native Americans, which began in 1838.

2. In 1862, during the American Civil War, Confederate General Braxton Bragg led the Army of Mississippi in a successful invasion of Kentucky, culminating in the Battle of Munfordville on September 14. This was the Confederacy's only significant offensive operation in the Western Theater.

3. In 1882, author and civil rights activist Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Though she was born deaf and blind, Keller learned to communicate through sign language and braille, and went on to become a prominent advocate for disability rights.

4. In 1979, Birmingham's historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church reopened for worship, 16 years after a bombing by white supremacists killed four young African American girls and injured dozens more. The event was a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement and a catalyst for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

5. In 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, causing widespread damage from storm surge, wind, and flooding. Though it had weakened significantly by the time it reached Alabama, Irma was one of the strongest hurricanes on record and caused billions of dollars in damage across the Caribbean and southeastern United States.