September is the ninth month of the year. Its name comes from the ancient Roman word ‘Septem’, which means ‘seven’ because it was the seventh of ten months in the Roman Calendar.
September ushers in the vernal equinox, where daytime and nighttime are equal in length. The northern hemisphere, also marks the start of fall when the leaves on deciduous plants begin changing color, the days start drawing in, temperatures begin to drop, and animals such as bears and groundhogs prepare themselves for winter hibernation.
In history, September is an important month as many significant events took place. In the 17th century, explorer Henry Hudson discovered Manhattan Island in North America (1609), which would usher in an age of colonisation of the continent. Indeed, the Mayflower set sail for America just 19 years later with the Pilgrims (1620). London was devastated by the Great Fire of London (1666), which would lead to the famous landmark of St Paul’s Cathedral rising from the ashes and the epidemic of plague being brought under control.
The ninth month of the year is noteworthy for nation-states, too: In the 18th century, the Treaty of Paris was signed, bringing an end to the Revolutionary War (1783) and marking the birth of an independent country, which was renamed the United States of America in 1776 by the Continental Congress. It was also in September that the first amendments to the US Constitution were proposed (1789), which included the Bill of Rights.
Moving into the 19th and 20th centuries, America observed its first Labor Day Weekend to celebrate the collective achievements of workers (1887). As Hitler invaded Poland (1939), the world braced itself for World War II when France and Britain declared war on Germany (1939). Later in the six-year-long conflict, Britain was devasted by Germany’s bombardment in the Blitz (1940).
Further afield and in the aftermath of WWII, America found itself embroiled in conflict at home and abroad: In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent from France (1945), raising the alarm of spreading Communism that would lead to US involvement in the Vietnam War in the decades that followed, while the struggle for equal rights and an end to racial discrimination was made manifest with the Little Rock Nine crisis (1957) and James Meredith being barred from enrolling at Mississippi University (1962).
While the 21st century is still young, it has nonetheless gone down in history with the devastating 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States (2001) and the War on Terror.
Notable days in September include: Labor Day (2 September), National Hispanic Heritage Month Starts, Constitution Day, also known as Citizenship Day (17 September)
Notable figures born in September include: Queen Elizabeth I (1533), T.S. Eliot (1888), Agatha Christie (1890), F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896), Carl David Anderson (1905), Howard Florey (1898), Samuel Adams (1722)
Notable figures who died in September include: Mother Teresa (1997), Mao Tse-Tung (1976)