Our front page for October 13 — written and set by The Yesterday Times from the events below. Not an archival document.
Day of the year
286
Days left in 2026
79
In 2026 it falls on a
Tuesday
Star sign
Libra
Birthstone
Opal
On October 13 in 2010, 16 years ago, 69 Days Underground End in Joy. This page reports 9 stories from the date, 25 people born on this day and 15 who died on it.
The stories in full
Mining Disaster
2010 — 69 Days Underground End in Joy
World watched as capsule brought men to surface one by one — a rescue operation that gripped nations and tested technology
The first rescued miner raises his fist in celebration beside the president — Gobierno de Chile
Sixty-nine days. That's how long 33 miners survived half a mile beneath Chile's Atacama Desert, the longest entrapment in history.
The men reached the surface today in a steel capsule barely wider than a man's shoulders, hoisted through a borehole drilled through solid rock. Florencio Ávalos emerged first at 12:11 a.m., raising his fist as President Sebastián Piñera stood beside him.
The final miner, Luis Urzúa, surfaced at 9:56 p.m. local time. The rescue operation at the San José copper-gold mine near Copiapó captivated global audiences.
The miners had been trapped since August 5 when a cave-in blocked their exit tunnel.
The mining accident in Copiapó, Chile ends as all 33 trapped miners arrive at the surface after a record 69 days underground.
1977 — Lufthansa Flight 181 Seized by Palestinian Commandos Over Mediterranean
Boeing 737 with 86 passengers diverted from Palma de Mallorca.
The Boeing 737 was 20 minutes out of Palma de Mallorca when four armed men burst into the cockpit.
Lufthansa Flight 181, bound for Frankfurt with 86 passengers and five crew, was seized by militants from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181 by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
1943 — Italy Switches Sides; Badoglio Declares War on Germany
Marshal Pietro Badoglio proclaimed Italy's entry into the Allied camp aboard a warship.
Marshal Badoglio walks with Allied officers aboard a battleship — Wikimedia Commons
In the shifting tides of a global war now entering its fifth year, a Mediterranean power has reversed course. Marshal Pietro Badoglio announced today that Italy has officially declared war on Germany, its former Axis partner.
The declaration marks the formal end of Italy's alliance with Berlin and its entry into the Allied camp.
World War II: Marshal Pietro Badoglio announces that Italy has officially declared war on Germany.
1775 — Congress Orders Navy Born of Revolutionary Need
Philadelphia delegates vote to fit out two swift vessels for Atlantic patrol.
Continental Navy ships sail in formation — Francis Holman
John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, put his signature to the measure this week as delegates voted to establish a Continental Navy.
The resolution authorizes the fitting of two armed vessels for Atlantic service, marking the first formal naval force under American authority. Congress acted on intelligence that British supply ships were en route to Quebec with provisions for General Carleton's army.
The Continental Congress establishes the Continental Navy (predecessor of the United States Navy).
1917 — 70,000 Report Sun Danced at Fatima; Crowd Stunned as Rain-Soaked Clothes Dry in Minutes, Witnesses Say Miracle Lasted Ten Minutes
Witnesses gathered in sodden clothing through pouring rain reported the Sun appeared to dance and advance, leaving them suddenly dry.
Seventy thousand witnesses gathered in the muddy fields of Cova da Iria near Fátima, Portugal, and saw what they are calling a miracle.
The crowd had assembled through pouring rain, many kneeling in sodden clothing, when witnesses reported the Sun appeared to dance and zig-zag across the sky, advance toward the Earth, and emit multicolored light for approximately ten minutes. Those present say their wet clothes and the muddy ground became suddenly and completely dry during the event.
The crowd at Fatima on 13 October 1917 is generally estimated to be in the high tens of thousands, with some estimates at 70,000 people.
Witnesses reported the Sun appearing to 'dance' or zig-zag in the sky, advance towards the Earth, and emit multicolored light for approximately ten minutes.
Bishop José da Silva declared the miracle 'worthy of belief' on 13 October 1930, permitting official cult of Our Lady of Fatima within the Catholic Church.
The three shepherd children who reported the apparitions were Lúcia Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto.
Witnesses reported that after rain, their wet clothes and the muddy ground became 'suddenly and completely dry' during the event.
1269 — King Henry III Consecrates Westminster Abbey Church in Presence of Prelates and Nobility
Sovereign completes dedication of rebuilt London sanctuary after three decades of construction.
King Henry III has consecrated the present church building at Westminster Abbey, fulfilling a vow made in his youth to honor Saint Edward the Confessor.
The ceremony drew prelates from across the realm and nobility from England and beyond. The King himself processed through the new nave, placing relics in the high altar and dedicating the structure to God and the Confessor.
Work on the church had consumed more than thirty years, replacing the Romanesque abbey begun by Edward and continued by the first Norman kings.
The present church building at Westminster Abbey is consecrated.
1983 — Ameritech Opens America's First Cellular Network in Chicago
The $40 million system can handle 12,000 customers across 2,100 square miles.
Ameritech Mobile Communications activated America's first commercial cellular telephone network this morning, blanketing Chicago and its suburbs with technology previously limited to car phones for the wealthy. The $40 million system, built over three years, can handle 12,000 subscribers across 2,100 square miles. Calls route automatically as drivers move between zones through an invisible handoff process. Monthly service runs $50 plus airtime, with portable phones costing $2,500 to $3,500. Ameritech won the Chicago franchise from the Federal Communications Commission in 1977 after a decade of regulatory battles. Rival systems are planned for Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles within months. Motorola supplied much of the equipment, and engineers spent weeks testing handoff reliability on the Eisenhower Expressway. The first paying call was placed by a Loop commodities trader at 6:47 a.m. Subscribers must still expect dead zones in underground garages and steel-framed buildings.
Ameritech Mobile Communications launches the first US cellular network in Chicago.
1792 White House cornerstone laid in Washington — 234 years agosource
1773 Charles Messier discovers Whirlpool Galaxy — 253 years agosource
1399 Henry IV crowned King of England — 627 years agosource
1908 First woman speaks in House of Commons — 118 years agosource
1892 First comet discovered by photography — 134 years agosource
1923 Ankara becomes capital of Turkey — 103 years agosource
1885 Georgia Institute of Technology founded — 141 years agosource
1946 France adopts Fourth Republic constitution — 80 years agosource
1881 First known conversation in modern Hebrew held — 145 years agosource
2019 Brigid Kosgei sets marathon world record — 7 years agosource
1994 Combined Loyalist Military Command announces ceasefire — 32 years agosource
2011 Bhutan's king marries Jetsun Pema — 15 years agosource
1843 B'nai B'rith founded in New York City — 183 years agosource
1921 Treaty of Kars establishes borders — 105 years agosource
1911 Prince Arthur becomes Governor General of Canada — 115 years agosource
Famous birthdays on October 13
1962Jerry Rice(64 this year)Jerry Lee Rice is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
1948Nusrat Fateh Ali KhanNusrat Fateh Ali Khan, also known as NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music director, primarily associated with qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music from Pakistan and India.
1940Pharoah SandersPharoah Sanders was an American jazz saxophonist.
1911Ashok KumarAshok Kumar was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema.
1959Marie Osmond(67 this year)Olive Marie Osmond is an American singer, actress, author, and businesswoman.
1967Trevor Hoffman(59 this year)Trevor William Hoffman is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010.
1996Joshua Wong(30 this year)Joshua Wong Chi-fung is a Hong Kong activist and politician.
1862Mary KingsleyMary Henrietta Kingsley was an English explorer, travel writer, and ethnographic observer known for her journeys through West Africa and for her influential writings on African societies and colonial policy.
1870Albert Jay NockAlbert Jay Nock was an American libertarian author, editor first of The Nation and then The Freeman, educational theorist, Georgist, and social critic of the early and middle 20th century.
1890Conrad RichterConrad Michael Richter was an American novelist whose lyrical work is concerned largely with life on the American frontier in various periods.
1917Reed EricksonReed Erickson was an American engineer, activist, and philanthropist, as well as a transgender man who, according to sociology specialist Aaron H. Devor, largely informed "almost every aspect of work being done in the 1960s and 1970s in the field of gender affirmation in the US and, to a lesser degree, in other countries." He founded and ran the Erickson Educational Foundation (EEF), a nonprofit philanthropic organisation.
1920Laraine DayLaraine Day was an American actress, radio and television commentator, and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) contract star.
1925Margaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990.
1931Eddie MathewsEdwin Lee Mathews was an American professional baseball third baseman.
1933Thomas BinghamThomas Henry Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill was a British judge who was successively Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice and Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.
1941Paul Simon(85 this year)Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel.
1952Beverly Johnson(74 this year)Beverly Ann Johnson is an American model, actress, singer, and businesswoman.
1956Chris Carter(70 this year)Christopher Carl Carter is an American television and film producer, director and writer.
1957Reggie Theus(69 this year)Reginald Wayne Theus is an American basketball coach and former player.
1962Kelly PrestonKelly Kamalelehua Smith, known professionally as Kelly Preston, was an American actress.
1964Marco Travaglio(62 this year)Marco Travaglio is an Italian journalist, writer, and pundit.
1964Matt Walsh(62 this year)Matthew Paul Walsh is an American comedian and actor.
1968Tisha Campbell-Martin(58 this year)Tisha Michelle Campbell is an American actress and singer.
1971Sacha Baron Cohen(55 this year)Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English actor, filmmaker, comedian and anti-racist advocate.
1973Matt Hughes(53 this year)Matthew Allen Hughes is an American retired mixed martial artist with a background in wrestling.
Died on October 13
1956Cahit Sıtkı TarancıCahit Sıtkı Tarancı was a Turkish poet.
1435Hermann IIHermann II, Count of Celje, was a Styrian prince and magnate, most notable as the faithful supporter and father-in-law of the Hungarian king and Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg.
2005Vivian Malone JonesVivian Juanita Malone Jones was the first Black American student to graduate from the University of Alabama, in 1965.
1973Albert MandlerAvraham Albert Mandler was an Israeli major general.
2016Jim PrenticePeter Eric James Prentice was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015.
1955Manuel Ávila CamachoManuel Ávila Camacho was a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the president of Mexico from 1940 to 1946.
2008Alexei CherepanovAlexei Andreyevich Cherepanov was a Russian professional ice hockey player.
1968Bea BenaderetBeatrice Benaderet was an American actress and comedienne.
1093Robert IRobert I, known as Robert the Frisian, was count of Flanders from 1071 until his death in 1093.
1974Ed SullivanEdward Vincent Sullivan was an American television host, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate.
1998Dmitry Nikolayevich FilippovDmitry Filippov was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman.
1987Kishore KumarKishore Kumar was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor.
1882Arthur de GobineauArthur de Gobineau, Count de Gobineau was a French writer and diplomat who is best known for helping introduce scientific race theory and "racial demography", and for developing the theory of the Aryan master race and Nordicism.
2016Dario FoDario Luigi Angelo Fo was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature.
2002Stephen AmbroseStephen Edward Ambrose was an American historian and author whose work focused particularly on World War II, the American West, and the lives of U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon.
Holidays and observances
Azerbaijani Railway Day (Azerbaijan)
Blessed Alexandrina of Balasar
Blessed Maddalena Panattieri (OP)
Daniel and companions, of Ceuta
Edward the Confessor (translation)
Gerald of Aurillac
October 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Theophilus of Antioch
Doi taikomatsuri October 13–15 (Shikokuchūō, Ehime, Japan)
International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (international)
Paramedics' Day (Poland)
Rwagasore Day (Burundi)
Quote of the Day
“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” — Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
October 13 History Quiz
How many Chilean miners were rescued from the San José mine in 2010?
33
Which baseball team won the first modern World Series in 1903?
Boston Red Sox
Where did the Miracle of the Sun reportedly occur in 1917?
Every event on this page was picked by hand from the historical record, written up as a news report, and checked against its source. Photographs are matched to the event they illustrate and verified before they are used. Sources are linked on each story.
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
Ship of Fools, Katherine Anne Porter
“Half-Breed”, 
The Hollow Hills, Mary Stewart
“I Just Called To Say I Love You”, 
The Fourth Protocol, Frederick Forsyth
Four Past Midnight, Stephen King
Black House, Stephen King and Peter Straub
“One More Night”, 
Winter of the World, Ken Follett
