January 26

January 26 is the 26th day of the year, and the American record for it runs from 1837 to 1998 — a span of 161 years. The entry that anchors it: Lewinsky scandal, 1998.

By the middle of the nineteenth century the date carries heavier freight. In 1837, Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state. Then, in 1861, American Civil War — the state of Louisiana secedes from the Union. Two years on, in 1863, American Civil War — Governor of Massachusetts John Albion Andrew receives permission from the Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.

In the first half of the twentieth century the date turns technological. In 1915, the Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress. Then, in 1934, Hurtig & Seamon's New Burlesque Theater in New York City reopened as the Apollo Theater, becoming one of the nation's premier venues for African-American performers. Eight years on, in 1942, World War II — the first United States forces arrive in Europe, landing in Northern Ireland. Three years on, in 1945, Audie Murphy engaged in action at the Colmar Pocket that won him a Medal of Honor and made him one of the most famous and decorated U.S. soldiers of World War II.

Closer to the present, the date is still accumulating. In 1998, Lewinsky scandal — on American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

The date is also a birthday. Among the Americans born on January 26: George Shiras Jr. (1832), American lawyer and Supreme Court justice; John Cady (1866), American golfer; Douglas MacArthur (1880), American general, Medal of Honor recipient; Marc Mitscher (1887), American admiral and pilot; and Frank Costello (1891), Italian-American mob boss.

January 26 is also a date of endings. Among the Americans who died on it: David Rice Atchison (1886), American general and politician; Abner Doubleday (1893), American general; James Edwin Campbell (1896), American educator, school administrator, newspaper editor, poet, and essayist; and William Wrigley Jr. (1932), American businessman, founded the Wrigley Company.

January 26 carries 8 entries spread across 161 years. None of the people in them knew they were sharing a date; that is a pattern only visible looking back.