National New York Day Date in the current year: September 21, 2025

New York State, also known simply as New York, is located in the northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its nickname is the Empire State, thought to be a reference to its resources and wealth.

Before Europeans arrived, the territory that is now New York was primarily inhabited by Iroquois and Algonquian tribes, including the Wampanoag, Lenape, Mohicans, Mohawk, Petun, Erie, and Susquehannock.

The first European to visit the area was the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, who explored North America’s Atlantic coast while serving the French crown. He entered New York Bay on April 17, 1524. This anniversary is now known as Verrazzano Day.

In 1540, the French built a château in what is now Albany but abandoned it the following year. The Dutch rebuilt the château in 1614, calling it Fort Nassau. It was washed away by flooding around 1617, and the Dutch abandoned it for good in 1624 in favor of Fort Orange, which was built roughly two miles north of Fort Nassau. Over the next few decades, the Dutch founded more settlements in what is now New York. These settlements were governed as part of the colony of New Netherland.

During the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the English captured New Netherland and established the Province of New York in 1664. The Dutch briefly recaptured New York City in 1673 during the Third Anglo-Dutch War but returned it to England the following year.

New York was one of the Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against England during the American Revolution. Although its delegates did not vote for the Declaration of Independence due to a lack of authorization, New York endorsed the declaration and actively participated in the war. Approximately one-third of the battles took place in New York, including the largest, the Battle of Long Island.

New York City was designated a national capital in 1785 and remained so until December 1790, when the capital moved to Philadelphia. During the Constitutional Convention, Alexander Hamilton, one of New York’s three delegates, played an instrumental role in drafting the U.S. Constitution; however, not all of his proposals were supported by the other delegates. The Constitution was sent to the states for ratification in September 1787. New York State ratified it on July 26, 1788, officially joining the Union as the 11th state.

In 2017, National Day Calendar launched the National State Days project, celebrating each state in the order they joined the Union rather than on their admission anniversaries. In this cycle of celebrations, National New York Day falls on September 21, nearly two months after New York’s admission anniversary. These national state days are not official holidays in their respective states.