On this day in history - October 13

What Happened On This Day – October 13

• 2012 Mauritanian President injured

  Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was shot at and injured. Oficial reports suggest that he was mistakenly shot by the military.

• 2010 Chilean Miners Rescued

  The last of the miners trapped in the San José copper–gold mine in Copiapó, Chile, were rescued after 69 days. The ordeal began on August 5, 2010, when the walls of the 121-year old mine collapsed and trapped 33 miners. All of the miners were rescued safely by the Chilean government with the help of the international community.

• 1958 Paddington Bear Makes His Debut

  The popular children’s literature character first appeared in English author Michael Bond's illustrated book, A Bear Called Paddington. Paddington is a polite Peruvian spectacle bear with a special fondness for marmalade. The success of the first book was followed by 20 more books featuring the lovable bear and a successful toy franchise.

• 1792 Construction of the White House Begins

  The office and residence of the President of the United States was designed by Irish architect James Hoban. It took 8 years for it to become livable and President John Adams became the first president to occupy the building on November 1, 1800.

• 1773 First Spiral Galaxy Discovered

  French astronomer, Charles Messier, discovered the Whirlpool Galaxy. Also known as Messier 51a, the galaxy is about 30 million light-years from Earth. A spiral galaxy is a type of galaxy where stars, gasses, and other cosmic dust particles rotate or revolve in a spiral around a central bulge. Astronomers think that the bulge consists of a black hole.