September 21

September 21 is the 265th day of the year, and the American record for it runs from 1776 to 2004 — a span of 228 years. The entry that anchors it: American Revolutionary War, 1776.

The revolutionary generation left its own mark on the date. In 1776, American Revolutionary War — the Great Fire of New York broke out during the British occupation of New York City, destroying up to 1,000 buildings. Four years on, in 1780, American Revolutionary War — Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.

Reconstruction and the years that followed added their own entries. In 1897, in response to a letter written by eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon, The New York Sun published an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church stating, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"

After 1945 the date reflects a country operating at global scale. In 1964, the North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's fastest bomber, makes its maiden flight from Palmdale, California. Then, in 1976, Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C., at the order of Augusto Pinochet. Five years on, in 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.

The most recent entries fall within living memory. In 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act was passed by the United States Congress, prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage, while allowing states to adopt any marital definition of their choosing. Eight years on, in 2004, American rock band Green Day released their seventh studio album, American Idiot.

The date is also a birthday. Among the Americans born on September 21: Christopher Gore (1758), American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 8th Governor of Massachusetts; Maurice Barrymore (1849), American actor; Fanny Searls (1851), American biologist; James E. Talmage (1862), English-American religious leader and author; and John Bunny (1863), American actor.

September 21 is also a date of endings. Among the Americans who died on it: George Read (1798), American lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Delaware; Chief Joseph (1904), American tribal leader; Samuel Arnold (1906), American conspirator; and Harry Carey (1947), American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.

The date carries formal observance as well — International Day of Peace (International). What holds these 8 entries together is nothing more than the calendar, and nothing less. 228 years separate the earliest from the latest, and each was once simply the present day.