September 13

September 13 is the 257th day of the year, and the American record for it runs from 1782 to 2013 — a span of 231 years. The entry that anchors it: Margaret Chase Smith is elected United States senator, 1948.

In the years around independence, the date turns political. In 1782, American Revolutionary War — Franco-Spanish troops launch the unsuccessful "grand assault" during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. Six years on, in 1788, the Congress of the Confederation sets the date for the first presidential election in the United States, and New York City becomes the country's temporary capital.

By the middle of the nineteenth century the date carries heavier freight. In 1814, War of 1812 — Fort McHenry in Baltimore's Inner Harbor was attacked by British forces during the Battle of Baltimore, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write "Defence of Fort McHenry", later used as the lyrics to the United States national anthem. Then, in 1862, American Civil War — Union soldiers find a copy of Robert E. Lee's battle plans in a field outside Frederick, Maryland. It is the prelude to the Battle of Antietam.

The postwar entries show a nation both expanding and contesting itself. In 1948, Margaret Chase Smith is elected United States senator, and becomes the first woman to serve in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate.

Closer to the present, the date is still accumulating. In 1997, a German Air Force Tupolev Tu-154 and a United States Air Force Lockheed C-141 Starlifter collide in mid-air near Namibia, killing 33. Four years on, in 2001, Civilian aircraft traffic resumes in the United States after the September 11 attacks. Then, in 2013, Taliban insurgents attack the United States consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, with two members of the Afghan National Police reported dead and about 20 civilians injured.

The date is also a birthday. Among the Americans born on September 13: Oliver Evans (1755), American inventor, engineer and businessman; John Sedgwick (1813), American general and educator; John H. Bankhead (1842), American soldier and politician; Walter Reed (1851), American physician and biologist; and Milton S. Hershey (1857), American businessman, founded The Hershey Company.

September 13 is also a date of endings. Among the Americans who died on it: Ambrose Burnside (1881), American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island; Andrew L. Harris (1915), American general and politician, 44th Governor of Ohio; Frederic Crowninshield (1918), American artist and author; and Elias Disney (1941), Canadian-American farmer and businessman.

8 entries, 231 years, one square on the calendar. September 13 is a reminder that history is experienced as an ordinary day before it is remembered as a date.