POPnews - October 13th

[Construction on the Executive Mansion would last until the first day of November 1800, and involve the labour of paid employees and slaves, immigrants and citizens alike - making it a uniquely American enterprise; the first President to live in the house at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was John Adams. It was set afire and gutted during the Burning of Washington in August 1814, following which it was rebuilt, and has since been added to many times.]
54 CE - Nero became Roman emperor following the death of his great uncle Claudius, who'd adopted him.

1307 - Hundreds of Knights Templar were simultaneously arrested by agents of France's King Phillip the Fair and later tortured into confessing heresy.

1332 - Rinchinbal Khan, Emperor Ningzong of Yuan became the Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty - although his reign would last for only 53 days.

1773 - The Whirlpool Galaxy was discovered by Charles Messier.

1775 - The US Continental Congress ordered the establishment of the Continental Navy (which would later be renamed the United States Navy).

1792 - The cornerstone of the original White House - then known as the Executive Mansion - was laid without ceremony.

1812 - During the War of 1812, at the Battle of Queenston Heights, as part of the Niagara Campaign in Ontario, US forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaer were repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops led by Sir Isaac Brock, who died in battle.

1843 - B'nai B'rith was founded.

1845 - A majority of voters in the Republic of Texas approve a proposed constitution that, if accepted by the US Congress, would make Texas a state.

1885 - Georgia Institute of Technology - better known as Georgia Tech - was founded.

1892 - Edward Emerson Barnard discovered D/1892 T1, the first comet discovered by photographic means.

1903 - The Boston Americans (later known as the Red Sox) beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 to win the first World Series at the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds five games to three.

1915 - The Battle for the Hohenzollern Redoubt marked the end of the Battle of Loos in northern France.

1917 - The 'Miracle of the Sun' was witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria near the Portugese town of Fátima.

1923 - Ankara replaced Istanbul as the capital of Turkey.

1943 - Italy declared war on Nazi Germany, apparently...

1946 - The constitution of France's Fourth Republic was ratified.

1958 - Michael Bond published the first Paddington Bear story, featuring illustrations by Peggy Fortnum.

1972 - Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes, on the border of Argentina and Chile; by December 23rd only 16 out of 45 people lived long enough to be rescued and/or remain uneaten. Twenty years later Ethan Hawke starred in the film Alive: The Miracle of the Andes, based on the book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read.
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