October 13

Historic Events

2019

Kenyan Brigid Kosgei sets a new world record for a woman runner with a time of 2:14:04 at the 2019 Chicago Marathon. ›

2016

The Maldives announces its decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations. ›

2013

A stampede occurs in India during the Hindu festival Navratri, killing 115 and injuring more than 110. ›

2010

The mining accident in Copiapó, Chile ends as all 33 trapped miners arrive at the surface after a record 69 days underground. ›

1993

At least 60 people die in eastern Papua New Guinea when a series of earthquakes rock the Finisterre Range, triggering massive landslides. ›

1990

Syrian forces attack free areas of Lebanon, removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace. ›

1983

Ameritech Mobile Communications launches the first US cellular network in Chicago. ›

1977

Hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181 by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. ›

1976

The first electron micrograph of an Ebola virus is taken at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by Dr. F. A. Murphy. ›

1976

A Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Boeing 707 crashes after takeoff from El Trompillo Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, killing 91. ›

1972

Aeroflot Flight 217 crashes outside Moscow, killing 174. ›

1972

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashes in the Andes mountains. Twenty-eight survive the crash. All but 16 succumb before rescue on December 23. ›

1972

The flag of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, was officially adopted. ›

1962

The Pacific Northwest experiences a cyclone the equal of a Category 3 hurricane, with winds above 150 mph. Forty-six people die. ›

1946

France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic. ›

1944

World War II: The Soviet Riga Offensive captures the city. ›

1943

World War II: Marshal Pietro Badoglio announces that Italy has officially declared war on Germany. ›

1923

Ankara becomes the capital of Turkey. ›

1921

Soviet republics sign the Treaty of Kars to formalize the borders between Turkey and the South Caucasus states. ›

1917

The "Miracle of the Sun" is witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria in Portugal. ›

1915

First World War: The Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt marks the end of the Battle of Loos. ›

1908

Margaret Travers Symons bursts into the UK parliament and becomes the first woman to speak there. ›

1903

The Boston Red Sox win the first modern World Series, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the eighth game. ›

1892

Edward Emerson Barnard is first to discover a comet by photographic means. ›

1885

The Georgia Institute of Technology is founded in Atlanta, Georgia. ›

1881

First known conversation in modern Hebrew by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and friends. ›

1843

In New York City, B'nai B'rith, the oldest Jewish service organization in the world, is founded. ›

1821

The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is publicly proclaimed. ›

1812

War of 1812: Sir Isaac Brock's British and native forces repel an invasion of Canada by General Rensselaer's United States forces. ›

1793

French Revolutionary Wars: Austro-Prussian victory over Republican France at the First Battle of Wissembourg. ›

1792

In Washington, D.C., the cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House since 1818) is laid. ›

1775

The Continental Congress establishes the Continental Navy (predecessor of the United States Navy). ›

1710

Port Royal, the capital of French Acadia, falls in a siege by British forces. ›

1644

A Swedish–Dutch fleet defeats the Danish fleet at Fehmarn and captures about 1,000 prisoners. ›

1399

Coronation of Henry IV of England at Westminster Abbey. ›

1332

Rinchinbal Khan becomes the Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan dynasty, reigning for only 53 days. ›

1307

Hundreds of the Knights Templar in France are arrested at dawn by King Philip the Fair, and later confess under torture to heresy. ›

1269

The present church building at Westminster Abbey is consecrated. ›

409

Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and appear in Hispania. ›

54

Roman emperor Claudius dies from poisoning under mysterious circumstances. He is succeeded by his adopted son Nero, rather than by Britannicus, his son with Messalina. ›