Today In The Life: October 13

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Events

54 – Nero ascends to the Roman throne
409 – Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and appear in Hispania.
1307 – Hundreds of Knights Templar in France are simultaneously arrested by agents of Phillip the Fair, to be later tortured into "admitting" heresy.
1332 - Rinchinbal Khan, Emperor Ningzong of Yuan became the Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, reigning for only 53 days.
1362 On 13 October 1362 the Chancellor of England for the first time opened Parliament with a speech in English.
1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
1773 – The Whirlpool Galaxy is discovered by Charles Messier
1775 – The United States Continental Congress orders the establishment of the Continental Navy (later renamed the United States Navy).
1777 – After his defeat on October 7, 1777, General John Burgoyne's Army at The Battles of Saratoga become surrounded by superior numbers, setting the stage for its surrender — which feat of arms inspires the Kingdom of France to enter the American Revolutionary War against the British.
1792 – In Washington, D.C., the cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House since 1818) is laid.
1812 – War of 1812: Battle of Queenston Heights – As part of the Niagara campaign in Ontario, Canada, United States forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaer are repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops led by Sir Isaac Brock.
1843 – In New York City, Henry Jones and 11 others found B'nai B'rith (the oldest Jewish service organization in the world).
1845 – A majority of voters in the Republic of Texas approve a proposed constitution, that if accepted by the U.S. Congress, will make Texas a U.S. state.
1881 – Revival of the Hebrew language as Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and friends agree to use Hebrew exclusively in their conversations.
1884 – Greenwich is established as universal time meridian of longitude.
1885 – The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is founded in Atlanta, Georgia.
1892 – Edward Emerson Barnard discovers D/1892 T1, the first comet discovered by photographic means, on the night of October 13-14.
1915 – The Battle for the Hohenzollern Redoubt marks the end of the Battle of Loos in northern France, World War I.
1917 – The "Miracle of the Sun" is witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portugal.
1918 – Mehmed Talat Pasha and the Young Turk (C.U.P.) ministry resign and sign an armistice, ending Ottoman participation in World War I.
1923 – Ankara replaces Istanbul as the capital of Turkey.
1943 – World War II: The new government of Italy sides with the Allies and declares war on Germany.
1944 – World War II: Riga, the capital of Latvia is seized by the Red Army.
1946 – France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
1960 – 1960 World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski becomes the first person to end a World Series with a home run, as the Pirates beat the New York Yankees, four games to three.
1962 – The Pacific Northwest experiences a cyclone the equal of a Cat 3 hurricane. Winds measured above 150mph at several locations; 46 people died.
1967 – The first game in the history of the American Basketball Association is played as the Anaheim Amigos lose to the Oakland Oaks 134-129 in Oakland, California.
1971 – 1971 World Series: The first night game in World Series history is played at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium between the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates.
1972 – An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62 crashed outside Moscow killing 176.
1972 – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashes in the Andes mountains, in between the borders of Argentina and Chile. By December 23, 1972, only 16 out of 45 people lived long enough to be rescued.
1976 – A Bolivian Boeing 707 cargo jet crashes in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, killing 100 (97, mostly children, killed on the ground).
1976 – The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle was obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, who was then working at the C.D.C.
1977 – Four Palestinians hijack Lufthansa Flight 181 to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction.
1983 – Ameritech Mobile Communications (now AT&T) launched the first US cellular network in Chicago, Illinois.
1990 – End of the Lebanese war. Syrian forces launch an attack on the free areas of Lebanon removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace.
1992 – An Antonov An-124 operated by Antonov Airlines registered SSSR-82002, crashed near Kiev, Ukraine.
1999 – The United States Senate rejects ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Births

1162 – Leonora of England, Queen of Castile (d. 1214)
1244 – Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar (d. 1314)
1453 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (d. 1471)
1474 – Mariotto Albertinelli, Italian painter (d. 1515)
1566 – Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, Irish politician (d. 1643)
1613 – Luisa of Medina-Sidonia, queen of Portugal (d. 1666)
1696 – John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English statesman and writer (d. 1743)
1713 – Allan Ramsay, Scottish painter (d. 1784)
1714 – Pieter Burmann the Younger, Dutch philologist (d. 1778)
1768 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French explorer (d. 1839)
1820 – John William Dawson, Canadian geologist (d. 1899)
1821 – Rudolf Virchow, German physician, pathologist, biologist, and politician (d. 1902)
1844 – Ernest Myers, English poet, Classicist and author (d. 1921)
1853 – Lillie Langtry, British actress (d. 1929)
1862 – Mary Kingsley, English writer and explorer (d. 1900)
1874 – József Klekl, Slovene politician in Hungary (d. 1948)
1876 – Rube Waddell, American baseball player (d. 1914)
1878 – Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian Roman Catholic priest (d. 1952)
1880 – Sasha Cherny, Russian poet (d. 1932)
1887 – Jozef Tiso, Slovak politician (d. 1947)
1890 – Conrad Richter, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1968)
1895 – Mike Gazella, American baseball player (d. 1978)
1896 – E. Beatrice Riley, Australian supercentenarian (d. 2009)
1900 – Gerald Marks, American songwriter (d. 1997)
1902 – Arna Wendell Bontemps, American writer (d. 1973)
1904 – Wilfred Pickles, English actor and broadcaster (d. 1978)
1905 – Coloman Braun-Bogdan, Romanian football midfielder and manager (d. 1983)
1907 – Yves Allégret, French film director (d. 1987)
1909 – Art Tatum, American jazz pianist (d. 1956)
1909 – Herbert Block, American cartoonist (d. 2001)
1911 – Ashok Kumar, Indian actor (d. 2001)
1913 – Igor Torkar, Slovenian writer (d. 2004)
1915 – Terry Frost, English artist (d. 2003)
1915 – Cornel Wilde, American actor (d. 1989)
1917 – George Virl Osmond, Osmond family patriarch (d. 2007)
1917 – Burr Tillstrom, American puppeteer (d. 1985)
1918 – Robert Hudson Walker, American actor (d. 1951)
1920 – Laraine Day, American actress (d. 2007)
1921 – Yves Montand, Italian-born singer and actor (d. 1991)
1923 – Cyril Shaps, English actor (d. 2003)
1923 – Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer (d. 2006)
1924 – Moturu Udayam, Indian women's activist (d. 2002)
1925 – Lenny Bruce, American comedian (d. 1966)
1925 – Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1925 – Gustav Winckler, Danish singer (d. 1979)
1926 – Ray Brown, American jazz bassist (d. 2002)
1926 – Walter "Killer" Kowalski (wrestler) Canadian Wrestler (d. 2008)
1927 – Lee Konitz, American jazz saxophonist
1931 – Eddie Mathews, American baseball player (d. 2001)
1931 – Raymond Kopa, French footballer
1932 – Jack Colvin, American actor (d. 2005)
1933 – Raynald Frechette, Quebec politician and judge (d. 2007)
1933 – Queen Narriman, second and last wife of King Farouk and mother of their only child King Fuad (d. 2005)
1933 – Baron Bingham of Cornhill, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
1934 – Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician
1937 – Sami Frey, French actor
1938 – Hugo Young, English journalist (d. 2003)
1939 – T. J. Cloutier, American poker player
1939 – Melinda Dillon, American actress
1940 – Pharoah Sanders, American saxophonist
1941 – Paul Simon, American singer and musician (Simon & Garfunkel)
1942 – Jerry Jones, American football team owner
1942 – Pamela Tiffin, American film actress
1942 – Bob Bailey, American baseball player
1943 – Mike Barnicle, American newspaper columnist
1944 – Robert Lamm, American musician (Chicago)
1945 – Christophe, French singer
1945 – Dési Bouterse, Surinamese politician
1946 – Edwina Currie, British politician
1947 – Sammy Hagar, American singer (Van Halen)
1947 – Jerry Trupiano, American sports broadcaster
1947 – Alan Wakeman, English saxophonist (Soft Machine)
1948 – John Ford Coley, American musician
1948 – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani musician and singer (d. 1997)
1948 – Ted Poe, American politician
1949 – Tom Mees, American sports broadcaster (d. 1996)
1949 – Patrick Nève, Belgian racing driver
1949 – Marisol Malaret,Miss Universe 1970
1952 – Beverly Johnson, American supermodel
1952 – John Lone, Hong Kong actor
1953 – Pat Day, American jockey
1954 – George Frazier, American baseball player
1954 – Claude Ribbe, French historian
1954 – Mordechai Vanunu, Israeli nuclear technician
1956 – Frank Dunn, American Artist
1956 – Chris Carter, American television producer
1956 – Joseph Anthony Toal, Roman Catholic Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, Scotland
1957 – Reggie Theus, American basketball player and head coach
1958 – Maria Cantwell, American politician, junior senator from Washington
1958 – Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, American musician and composer
1959 – Marie Osmond, American entertainer
1960 – Joey Belladonna, American musician (Anthrax)
1960 – Tim Brewster, American football coach
1960 – Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary
1960 – Peter Keisler, acting United States attorney general
1961 – Derek Harper, American basketball player
1961 – Doc Rivers, American basketball player and head coach
1962 – T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, American actress
1962 – Kelly Preston, American actress
1962 – Jerry Rice, American football star
1963 – Colin Channer, Jamaican writer
1963 – Chip Foose, renowned automotive designer and fabricator
1964 – Allen Covert, American actor
1964 – Niè Hǎishèng, Chinese astronaut
1964 – Christopher Judge, American actor
1964 – Marco Travaglio, Italian journlaist
1965 – Johan Museeuw, Belgian cyclist
1967 – Scott Cooper, American baseball player
1967 – Trevor Hoffman, American baseball player
1967 – Steve Vickers, English footballer
1967 – Kate Walsh, American actress
1968 – Tisha Campbell-Martin, American actress and singer
1968 – Carlos Marin, Spanish baritone (Il Divo)
1969 – Rhett Akins, American country singer
1969 – Nancy Kerrigan, American figure skater
1969 – Cady McClain, American actress
1970 – Serena Altschul, American reporter
1970 – Mel Jackson, American actor and R&B musician
1970 – Rob Howley, Welsh rugby player
1970 – Paul Potts, British Opera singer and winner of Britain's Got Talent
1971 – Hitesh Modi,Kenyan cricketer
1971 – Sacha Baron Cohen, English comedian
1971 – Billy Bush, American TV host
1971 – Pyrros Dimas, Greek weightlifter
1971 – Luis Tosar, Spanish actor
1972 – Summer Sanders, American swimmer and sports broadcaster
1973 – Brian Dawkins, American football player
1973 – Peter Dumbreck, Scottish racing driver
1973 – Matt Hughes, American mixed martial artist
1973 – Nanako Matsushima, Japanese actress
1974 – Hawick Lau, Chinese actor and singer
1977 – Gareth Batty, English cricketer
1977 – Paul Pierce, American basketball player
1977 – Kiele Sanchez, American actress
1979 – Wes Brown, English footballer
1980 – Ashanti, American singer
1980 – Magne Hoseth, Norwegian footballer
1980 – Scott Parker, English footballer
1980 – David Haye, English Heavyweight Boxer
1981 – Ryan Ashford, English footballer
1981 – Kele Okereke, English singer (Bloc Party)
1982 – Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer
1984 – Frank Simek, American footballer
1984 – Misono, Japanese singer (Day After Tomorrow)
1986 – Gabriel Agbonlahor , English footballer
1987 – Ashley Newbrough, American actress
1988 – Scott Jamieson, Australian football (soccer) player
1992 – Aaron Dismuke, American voice actor

Deaths

54 – Claudius, Roman Emperor (b. 10 BC)
1093 – Robert I, Count of Flanders
1282 – Nichiren Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism (b. 1222)
1415 – Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel, English military leader (b. 1381)
1508 – Edmund de Ros, 11th Baron de Ros, English politician (b. 1446)
1605 – Theodore Beza, French theologian (b. 1519)
1673 – Kristoffer Gabel, Danish statesman (b. 1617)
1687 – Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer (b. 1633)
1694 – Samuel von Pufendorf, German jurist (b. 1632)
1706 – Iyasus the Great, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1682)
1715 – Nicolas Malebranche, French philosopher (b. 1638)
1759 – John Henley, English minister (b. 1692)
1788 – Robert Nugent, 1st Earl Nugent, Irish politician and poet (b. 1702)
1812 – Sir Isaac Brock, British general (killed in battle) (b. 1769)
1815 – Joachim Murat, French marshal and King of Naples (executed) (b. 1767)
1825 – Maximilian I of Bavaria (b. 1756)
1869 – Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French literary critic (b. 1804)
1882 – Arthur de Gobineau, French philosopher (b. 1816)
1890 – Samuel Freeman Miller, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1816)
1904 – Pavlos Melas, Greek officer who organized and participated in the Greek Struggle for Macedonia (b. 1870)
1905 – Sir Henry Irving, the first British actor to be knighted (b. 1838)
1909 – Francisco Ferrer Guardia, Spanish free-thinker (b. 1849)
1917 – Florence La Badie, American actress
1919 – Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Danish writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1857)
1926 – Hans E. Kinck, Norwegian author and philologist (b. 1865)
1931 – Ernst Didring, Swedish author (b. 1868)
1938 – E.C. Segar, American cartoonist (Popeye) (b. 1894)
1945 – Milton S. Hershey, American chocolate tycoon (b. 1857)
1950 – Ernest Haycox, American writer (b. 1899)
1955 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, President of Mexico (b. 1897)
1966 – Clifton Webb, American actor (b. 1889)
1968 – Bea Benaderet, American actress (b. 1906)
1971 – Stafford Smythe, Canadian NHL executive (b. 1921)
1974 – Ed Sullivan, American television personality (b. 1901)
1979 – Rebecca Helferich Clarke, English composer and violist (b. 1886)
1987 – Walter Brattain, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
1987 – Kishore Kumar, Indian Singer (b. 1929)
1988 – Mike Venezia, jockey (b. 1945)
1990 – Lê Ðức Thọ, Vietnamese general and politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1911)
1992 – Dantrell Davis, victim of gang crossfire in Cabrini-Green (b. 1985)
1993 – Wade Flemons, American soul singer (b. 1940)
1995 – Ali Faik Zaghloul, Egyptian radio presenter (b. 1924)
2000 – Jean Peters, American actress (b. 1926)
2001 – Peter Doyle, Australian folk singer (The New Seekers) (b. 1949)
2002 – Stephen Ambrose, American historian and biographer (b. 1936)
2003 – Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1918)
2004 – Enrique Fernando, Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court (b. 1915)
2005 – Vivian Malone Jones, American civil rights activist (b. 1942)
2006 – Wang Guangmei, Chinese first lady (b. 1921)
2007 – Bob Denard, French mercenary (b. 1929)
2008 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1989)

Holidays and Observances

Roman festivals – Fontanalia: festival dedicated to Fontus
Roman Catholic Saints – translation (1163) of Saint Edward the Confessor; memorial of Saint Gerald of Aurillac optional feast of Our Lady of Fatima
French Republican Calendar – Pêche (Peach) Day, twenty-second day in the Month of Vendémiaire

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