Today in History

Today is Sunday, Oct. 13, the 286th day of 2019. There are 79 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 13, 1775, the U.S. Navy had its origins as the Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.

On this date:

In 1792, the cornerstone of the executive mansion, later known as the White House, was laid by President George Washington during a ceremony in the District of Columbia.

In 1845, Texas voters ratified a state constitution.

In 1943, Italy declared war on Germany, its one-time Axis partner.

In 1944, during World War II, American troops entered Aachen, Germany.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon held the third televised debate of their presidential campaign (Nixon was in Los Angeles, Kennedy in New York).

In 1962, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", by Edward Albee, opened on Broadway.

In 1972, a Uruguayan chartered flight carrying 45 people crashed in the Andes; survivors resorted to feeding off the remains of some of the dead in order to stay alive until they were rescued more than two months later.

In 1974, longtime television host Ed Sullivan died in New York City at age 73.

In 1981, voters in Egypt participated in a referendum to elect Vice President Hosni Mubarak the new president, one week after the assassination of Anwar Sadat.

In 1999, the Senate rejected the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, with 48 senators voting in favor and 51 against, far short of the 67 needed for ratification.

In 2003, The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution expanding the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.

In 2010, rescuers in Chile using a missile-like escape capsule pulled 33 men one by one to fresh air and freedom 69 days after they were trapped in a collapsed mine a half-mile underground.

Ten years ago: The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to extend the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti for a year. Singer Al Martino, who'd played crooner Johnny Fontane in "The Godfather" and "The Godfather: Part III," died in Springfield, Pennsylvania, six days after turning 82.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama huddled with some of his senior national security aides and with top administration health officials for the latest assessment on the government's response to Ebola in the aftermath of a Dallas nurse's contracting the disease. Frenchman Jean Tirole was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in economics for showing how to encourage better products and competitive prices in industries dominated by a few companies.

One year ago: President Donald Trump welcomed American pastor Andrew Brunson to the Oval Office, celebrating his release from nearly two years of confinement in Turkey. Crews with dogs went door-to-door in the ruins of Mexico Beach, Florida, looking for additional victims or survivors of Hurricane Michael. A Turkish newspaper reported that Turkish officials had an audio recording of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Today's Birthdays: Gospel singer Shirley Caesar is 82. Actress Melinda Dillon is 80. Singer-musician Paul Simon is 78. Actress Pamela Tiffin is 77. Musician Robert Lamm (Chicago) is 75. Country singer Lacy J. Dalton is 73. Actor Demond Wilson is 73. Singer-musician Sammy Hagar is 72. Pop singer John Ford Coley is 71. Actor John Lone is 67. Model Beverly Johnson is 67. Producer-writer Chris Carter is 63. Actor Reggie Theus is 62. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is 61. R&B singer Cherrelle is 60. Singer/TV personality Marie Osmond is 60. Rock singer Joey Belladonna is 59. Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer is 59. NBA coach Doc Rivers is 58. Actress T'Keyah Crystal Keymah is 57. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice is 57. Actress Kelly Preston is 57. Country singer John Wiggins is 57. Actor Christopher Judge is 55. Actor Matt Walsh is 55. Actor Reginald Ballard is 54. Actress Kate Walsh is 52. Rhythm-and-blues musician Jeff Allen (Mint Condition) is 51. Actress Tisha Campbell-Martin is 51. Classical singer Carlos Marin (Il Divo) is 51. Olympic silver medal figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is 50. Country singer Rhett Akins is 50. Classical crossover singer Paul Potts is 49. TV personality Billy Bush is 48. Actor Sacha Baron Cohen is 48. Rock musician Jan Van Sichem Jr. (K's Choice) is 47. Rhythm-and-blues singers Brandon and Brian Casey (Jagged Edge) are 44. Actress Kiele Sanchez is 43. Former NBA All-Star Paul Pierce is 42. DJ Vice is 41. Singer Ashanti is 39. R&B singer Lumidee is 39. Christian rock singer Jon Micah Sumrall (Kutless) is 39. Olympic gold medal swimmer Ian Thorpe is 37. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is 30. Actor Caleb McLaughlin (TV: "Stranger Things") is 18.

Thought for Today: "A hero is a man who is afraid to run away." -- English proverb.

Copyright 2019, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.