More details:
Library of Congress
Infoplease.com
While Francis Scott Key didn’t actually write the piece on Sept. 13, it is a direct result of being detained on a ship that evening. Seeing the flag still flying after an overnight shelling of Fort McHenry by the British gave him the inspiration the next morning.
I think this is an appropriate time to share this tidbit.
That’s a very interesting coincidence. As I drove home today, I was struck by how many flags I see along the road, in stores, in people’s gardens, etc.
That spirit which inspired Key still prevails, it would seem.
This brings up an interesting subject: what happened in history on the day of the events? This is a question asked at nearly any destructive event like this as it sometimes gives insight into the reasons of the attacks.
You can see the stories of Sept 11 in history by going to http://www.historychannel.com . On the left column is a section called “What happened on your birthday?” If you enter Sept 11, you can see what happened in history on Sept 11.
Allende died that day and the Battle of Plattsburgh (~50 mi away from my house) was won by the Americans, but I see no significant historical event on Sept 11 that relates to any Islamic.
At first I thought it might have been an Islamic holiday or the anniversary of American incursions in the Middle East but I’m sure that would have been mentioned by now.
The closest thing I can see is the meeting between Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat, and Menachem Begin from Sept. 5 to Sept. 17, 1978, resulting in the Camp David Accords, but that’s a range rather than a specific date.