October 13

October 13 is the 287th day of the year, and the American record for it runs from 1775 to 2019 — a span of 244 years. The entry that anchors it: In Washington, 1792.

The colonial record reaches this date first. In 1775, the Continental Congress establishes the Continental Navy (predecessor of the United States Navy)

In the years around independence, the date turns political. In 1792, in Washington, D.C., the cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House since 1818) is laid.

By the middle of the nineteenth century the date carries heavier freight. In 1812, War of 1812 — Sir Isaac Brock's British and native forces repel an invasion of Canada by General Rensselaer's United States forces. Two years on, in 1814, War of 1812 — after three days of fighting, the beached U.S. Revenue Cutter Service vessel Eagle was captured by the Royal Navy. Seven years on, in 1821, the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is publicly proclaimed.

In the postwar nineteenth century the date tracks a nation rebuilding. In 1885, the Georgia Institute of Technology is founded in Atlanta, Georgia.

In the first half of the twentieth century the date turns technological. In 1903, the Boston Red Sox win the first modern World Series, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the eighth game.

Closer to the present, the date is still accumulating. In 2019, at the Chicago Marathon, Kenyan runner Brigid Kosgei set the current marathon world record for women running in a mixed-sex race.

The date is also a birthday. Among the Americans born on October 13: Albert Jay Nock (1870), American theorist, author, and critic; Leon Leonwood Bean (1872), American hunter, businessman, and author, founded L.L.Bean; Rube Waddell (1876), American baseball player; Edward Hennig (1879), American gymnast; and Conrad Richter (1890), American journalist and novelist.

October 13 is also a date of endings. Among the Americans who died on it: Samuel Freeman Miller (1890), American lawyer and jurist; Florence La Badie (1917), American actress; T. Alexander Harrison (1930), American painter and educator; and E. C. Segar (1938), American cartoonist, created Popeye.

The date carries formal observance as well — International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (international). 8 entries, 244 years, one square on the calendar. October 13 is a reminder that history is experienced as an ordinary day before it is remembered as a date.