Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 13, the 286th day of 2021. There are 79 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 13, 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.

On this date:

In 1775, the United States Navy had its origins as the Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.

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 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 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 2000, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Longtime American communist Gus Hall died in New York at age 90.

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

In 2006, The United Nations General Assembly appointed South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon the next U.N. secretary-general. Banker Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh won the Nobel Peace Prize for using microcredit to lift people out of poverty.

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: Raj Rajaratnam, the hedge fund billionaire at the center of one of the biggest insider-trading cases in U.S. history, was sentenced by a federal judge in New York to 11 years behind bars.

Five years ago: Donald Trump heatedly rejected the growing list of sexual assault allegations against him as "pure fiction," hammering his female accusers as "horrible, horrible liars." Bob Dylan was named winner of the Nobel prize in literature. Death claimed Thailand's longtime monarch, King Bhumibol, at age 88 and Nobel Prize-winning Italian playwright Dario Fo at age 90.

One year ago: In the first of two days of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett deflected Democrats' questions on abortion, health care and a possible disputed-election fight; she declined to say whether she would recuse herself from any election-related cases involving President Donald Trump. Early voting began with long lines in Texas, one of the few places in the U.S. not allowing widespread mail balloting during the pandemic.

Today's Birthdays: Gospel singer Shirley Caesar is 84. Actor Melinda Dillon is 82. Singer-musician Paul Simon is 80. Musician Robert Lamm (Chicago) is 77. Country singer Lacy J. Dalton is 75. Actor Demond Wilson is 75. Singer-musician Sammy Hagar is 74. Pop singer John Ford Coley is 73. Actor John Lone is 69. Model Beverly Johnson is 69. Producer-writer Chris Carter is 65. Actor and former NBA star Reggie Theus is 64. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is 63. R&B singer Cherrelle is 62. Singer/TV personality Marie Osmond is 62. Rock singer Joey Belladonna is 61. Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer is 61. NBA coach Doc Rivers is 60. Actor T'Keyah Crystal Keymah is 59. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice is 59. Actor Christopher Judge is 57. Actor Matt Walsh is 57. Actor Reginald Ballard is 56. Actor Kate Walsh is 54. R&B musician Jeff Allen (Mint Condition) is 53. Actor Tisha Campbell-Martin is 53. Classical singer Carlos Marin (Il Divo) is 53. Olympic silver medal figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is 52. Country singer Rhett Akins is 52. Classical crossover singer Paul Potts is 51. TV personality Billy Bush is 50. Actor Sacha Baron Cohen is 50. R&B singers Brandon and Brian Casey (Jagged Edge) are 46. Actor Kiele Sanchez is 45. Former NBA All-Star Paul Pierce is 44. DJ Vice is 43. Singer Ashanti is 41. R&B singer Lumidee is 41. Christian rock singer Jon Micah Sumrall (Kutless) is 41. Olympic gold medal swimmer Ian Thorpe is 39. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is 32. Actor Caleb McLaughlin (TV: "Stranger Things") is 20.