On this day 250 years ago at New Utrecht (now part of Brooklyn), New York, Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull, the President of the Congress of the State of New York (at that point making him equivalent to the Governor of New York), died of wounds he had received after he was captured by the British the day following the Battle of Brooklyn.

Source: https://www.founderoftheday.com/founder-of-the-day/nathaniel-woodhull; https://forgotten-ny.com/2013/03/state-historical-markers-in-new-york-city-part-2/?ref=bklyner.com; https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=30088

Late at night on this day 250 years ago in New York City, a great fire began that would burn all night and end up destroying much of the city. Whether the fire was started by one or more arsonists, and whether it was ordered by General Washington or the Continental Congress is still being debated by historians today.

Sources: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2024/01/16/the-mystery-of-the-great-fire-of-1776/; https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/did-george-washington-order-rebels-to-burn-new-york-city-in-1776-180982153; Schecter at 204-08