Features
Historical September birthdays: the record behind each date
Seven September birth dates, from Elizabeth I to Beyoncé, sorted by the kind of record that carries each one and how far to trust it.
A historical birth date is only as good as the kind of record behind it. Court papers, chapel registers, civil registers, state vital records and later biography carry different weight, and seven September figures show each of them at work.
What to take away
- A date from a record made at the time outweighs one repeated in later writing.
- A tradition can be printed, but it should be labeled as a tradition rather than a record.
- Some births sit in Nonconformist chapel records, not in Church of England registers, which is why a date can be listed inconsistently.
- Where a state did not enforce birth registration, family and later documentation often stand in for a certificate.
- When two sources differ by exactly one day, check the time zone first and identity second.
Five kinds of record and the figure each one explains
These are named because their dates are documented, not because the dates are beyond dispute. Where sources conflict, both are given.
| Record type | Figure and date | What to cite |
|---|---|---|
| Court and household records | Queen Elizabeth I, 7 September 1533, Greenwich | Court and household records kept at the time |
| Later biographical writing | Confucius, traditionally 28 September 551 BCE | Later Chinese biographical writing, labeled a tradition |
| Nonconformist chapel records | Michael Faraday, 22 September 1791, Newington Butts | The Nonconformist chapel record, not the Church of England register |
| Civil registers | Agatha Christie, 15 September 1890, Torquay; Roald Dahl, 13 September 1916, Llandaff | Christie: General Register Office; Dahl: Welsh civil register |
| US state vital records | Jesse Owens, 12 September 1913, Oakville, Alabama; Beyoncé, 4 September 1981, Houston | Owens: family and later documentation; Beyoncé: Texas vital records |
Records made at the time, and records written later
Queen Elizabeth I was born on 7 September 1533 at Greenwich. The date rests on court and household records kept at the time, not on a modern reconstruction, which makes it the firmest entry on the list.
Confucius sits at the other end. The traditional date, 28 September 551 BCE, comes from later Chinese biographical writing, and scholars have argued about it for centuries. A list can print it, but it should call it a tradition rather than a record.
Chapel registers and civil registers in Britain
Michael Faraday was born on 22 September 1791 in Newington Butts, then south of London. His birth is recorded in Nonconformist chapel records rather than Church of England registers, which is why it is sometimes listed inconsistently.
Agatha Christie, born 15 September 1890 in Torquay, Devon, was registered in the civil register for England and Wales. The General Register Office holds it and is the authority to cite. Roald Dahl, born 13 September 1916 in Llandaff, Cardiff, is recorded in the Welsh civil register.
The same record types return in other months, as the pages on historical figures with January birthdays and historical figures with July birthdays show.
American births: where a certificate may not exist
Jesse Owens was born on 12 September 1913 in Oakville, Alabama. Alabama did not require statewide birth registration until 1908 and enforcement was uneven, so athletic and biographical sources often rely on family and later documentation rather than a state certificate.
Owens also appears among the athletes with September birthdays, where the question is a different one.
Beyoncé, born 4 September 1981 in Houston, Texas, is the one living celebrity here. The date is carried by Texas vital records, issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services, and repeated in every major biographical reference. The famous September birthdays index covers other living names.
When two sources differ by a day
A local clock and a time zone can shift a birth by a day. A child born at 11:40 p.m. on 31 August in a hospital that records in local time may appear as 1 September in a record kept in another zone.
One-day disagreement check
Sources disagree by exactly one day?
check the time zone
check identity fields
This is rare but it is real, and it is the first thing to check when two sources disagree by exactly one day.
The second check is identity. Two people can share a name, a birth year and a birth month. The identifiers that separate them are the full given name, the middle initial, the birthplace, and the mother's maiden name where the record includes it. A compiled list that drops the middle initial has dropped the field that does the work.
Checking a date against the archive itself
- Identify the authority that holds the recorda state or provincial vital records office, a parish register, a national civil register, or a sports league media guide.
- Read the collection description before the item. A finding aid tells you what the series covers, what its gaps are, and whether it was reconstructed after a loss.
- Check the provenance of the specific item: who created it, for what purpose, and how it reached the archive.
- Compare against a second independent source. If they agree, note both. If they disagree by one day, check the time zone. If they disagree by more, check identity.
- Record what you searched, not only what you found. A stated search is checkable; a bare date is not.
Verify a September birth date
- Identify the authority holding the record
- Read the collection description first
- Check the item's provenance
- Compare a second independent source
- Record what you searched
The underlying discipline is archival science: records stay in the groupings their makers created, because a document's meaning comes partly from what sat beside it.
The same sequence works for modern entries, such as musicians with September birthdays and actors with September birthdays, where a publicity file stands in for the register.
Common questions
What should I do when two sources disagree?
State both and cite each. Do not resolve the conflict by picking the source you like. A reader who sees the disagreement can check the two records; a reader given one date cannot check anything.
Is a traditional date good enough for a list?
Only if it is labeled. Confucius is traditionally dated 28 September 551 BCE, and the date comes from later Chinese biographical writing, so the entry should say tradition and not record.
Why is Faraday's date sometimes listed inconsistently?
His birth is recorded in Nonconformist chapel records rather than Church of England registers, so a search of the Church of England registers alone will miss it.
Where do I go for a birth certificate?
To the state or provincial vital records office that issued it, under that office's stated eligibility rules. Sealed and restricted records are not available to the general public, and no workaround changes that.
