Important Events From This day in History – 13th October

Today in History

• 2012 – Mauritanian President injured

  Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was shot at and injured. Official reports suggest that the military mistakenly shot him.

• 2010 – Chilean Miners Rescued

  The last of the miners trapped in the San José copper-gold mine in Copiapó, Chile, were rescued after 69 days. The ordeal began on August 5, 2010, when the walls of the 121-year-old mine collapsed and trapped 33 miners. All of the miners were rescued safely by the Chilean government with the international community’s help.

• 1958 – Paddington Bear Makes His Debut

  The popular children’s literature character first appeared in English author Michael Bond’s illustrated book, A Bear Called Paddington. Paddington is a polite Peruvian spectacle bear with a special fondness for marmalade. The first book’s success was followed by 20 more books featuring the lovable bear and a successful toy franchise.

• 1792 – Construction of the White House Begins

  Irish architect James Hoban designed the office and residence of the President of the United States. It took 8 years for it to become livable and President John Adams became the first president to occupy the building on November 1, 1800.

• 1773 – First Spiral Galaxy Discovered

  French astronomer, Charles Messier, discovered the Whirlpool Galaxy. Also known as Messier 51a, the galaxy is about 30 million light-years from Earth. A spiral galaxy is a type of galaxy where stars, gasses, and other cosmic dust particles rotate or revolve in a spiral around a central bulge. Astronomers think that the bulge consists of a black hole.