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Oct 13

1972

The Miracle of the Andes

On this day in 1972, a Uruguayan plane went down carrying a rugby team. The young men were supposed to play a match in Chile, and—thinking they’d spend a holiday skiing afterward—many invited friends and family along. Of the 45 people onboard, 33 survived the impact. However, many were injured, and they were stranded in the remote Andes Mountains. Over the next two months, 17 more people would die, and survivors resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. On December 22–23, the 16 remaining survivors were finally rescued.

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Cornerstone laid for the White House

The cornerstone for the White House, the official office and home of every U.S. president and first lady since 1800 (when John and Abigail Adams moved in near the end of his term), was laid this day in 1792.

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AP Images

Margaret Thatcher

British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, born this day in 1925, was Europe’s first woman prime minister and Britain’s only prime minister in the 20th century to win three consecutive terms (1979–90).

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2025

Hamas released the final 20 living hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, and Israel freed about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, in fulfillment of a U.S.-brokered plan to end fighting in Gaza.

Cezaro De Luca—EPA/Shutterstock

2010

Amid great fanfare, Chilean workers are rescued 69 days after their mine collapsed in the Atacama Desert, Chile.

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1988

The archbishop of Turin, Italy, announced that carbon-14 dating indicated that the Shroud of Turin dates only to the Middle Ages, though the origins of the shroud remain controversial. [Watch: experts discuss the authenticity of the True Cross and the Shroud of Turin.]

Office of the Presidents of the Italian Republic

1981

One week after the assassination of Anwar Sadat, voters in Egypt approved Hosni Mubarak as the country’s new president. [Take our quiz about Egyptian history.]

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation/The Museum of Modern Art Film Stills Archive, New York City

1950

The film classic All About Eve, starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter, premiered in both Paris and New York City; known for its acid wit, it won six Academy Awards, including best picture. [Test your knowledge of women in classic cinema.]

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

1946

After being approved by French voters in a referendum, the constitution of the Fourth Republic is adopted in France. [Take our quiz about French history.]

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

1943

Italy declared war on Nazi Germany. [Sort fact from fiction in our World War II quiz.]

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1903

The Boston Americans (later Boston Red Sox) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the first modern World Series. [How much do you know about baseball?]

Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

1843

B’nai B’rith, the oldest and largest Jewish service organization in the world, was founded in New York City. [Test your knowledge of world religions.]

Today in History - Britannica.com/on-this-day/

 

Oct 12

1960

Nikita Khrushchev’s shoe speech

On this day in 1960, one of the most iconic Cold War moments unfolded when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev allegedly banged his shoe at the United Nations. The confrontation began when the Philippine delegate gave a speech accusing the Soviet Union of hypocrisy for decrying Western colonialism while it “swallowed up” Eastern European nations. Khrushchev began beating his shoe on his desk. Or maybe he just brandished it. What actually happened has been debated, though the incident was in keeping with the fiery Khrushchev’s reputation.

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Architect of the Capitol

New World sighted

The New World was “discovered” this day in 1492 when land (most likely San Salvador) was sighted in the Caribbean from the Pinta, one of the three ships that participated in Christopher Columbus’s historic voyage.

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Luciano Pavarotti

Born on this day in Modena, Italy, in 1935, Luciano Pavarotti, an operatic lyric tenor noted for his mastery of the highest notes of a tenor’s range, is considered one of the finest bel canto singers of recent times.

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AP/Wide World Photos

2001

The centennial Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to the United Nations and the organization’s secretary-general, Kofi Annan. [How much do you know about the Nobel Prize?]

U.S. Department of Defense

2000

While preparing to refuel in the Yemeni port of Aden, the USS Cole, a U.S. naval destroyer, was attacked by suicide bombers associated with al-Qaeda; 17 sailors were killed and 39 wounded.

© Bettmann/Getty Images

1999

American basketball player Wilt Chamberlain, who was considered one of the greatest offensive players in the history of the game, died at age 63. [Take our basketball quiz.]

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

1998

American college student Matthew Shepard died in Fort Collins, Colorado, several days after being beaten by two men and left in the cold in Laramie, Wyoming; Shepard’s homosexuality was believed to have motivated the attack, and his death contributed to the expansion of federal hate-crime legislation.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

1968

Equatorial Guinea gained its independence from Spain. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Africa.]

George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-20235)

1915

During World War I, English nurse Edith Cavell was executed for assisting Allied soldiers in escaping from German-occupied Belgium. [Test your knowledge of World War I.]

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1898

A landmark in labor union history, a coal-mine riot took place in Virden, Illinois, when strikebreakers were brought in. [Test your knowledge of U.S. history.]

Courtesy of the Italian Foreign Office, Rome

1896

Eugenio Montale, Italian poet, prose writer, editor, and translator who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1975, was born in Genoa. [Take our quiz about Nobel laureates in literature.]

Central Press Photos Ltd.

1866

Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour Party prime minister of the United Kingdom—in the Labour governments of 1924 and 1929–31 and in the national coalition government of 1931–35—was born. [Test your knowledge of prime ministers.]

Joe Viesti/The Viesti Collection

1810

The first Oktoberfest was celebrated in Munich, in the form of a horse race held in honour of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria (who later became King Louis I) to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. [Learn key facts about Oktoberfest.]