October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years). There are 79 days remaining until the end of the year. (Illustration: Detail from “USS Constellation vs. Insurgente,” by Rear Admiral John W. Schmidt)

On This Day in History

• King Philip IV orders the mass arrest of members of the Knights Templar, including leader Jacques de Molay (1307)
• This day does not exist in Italy, Poland, Portugal, or Spain because of the introduction of the Gregorian calendar (1582)
• Charles Messier discovers the Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51a) (1773)
• The United States Navy (Continental Navy) is officially established (1775)
• The cornerstone of the White House is laid (1792)
• ני ברית (B’nai B’rith), the oldest Jewish service organization in the world, is founded (1843)
• Greenwich, England, is established as the Zero Meridian (1884)
• The Boston Braves complete the first World Series sweep in history (1914)
• Paddington Bear makes his debut (1958)

Birthdays

• Lillie Langtry, actress and royal mistress (1853)
• Rube Waddell, baseball player (1876)
• Conrad Richter, novelist (1890)
• Herblock, editorial cartoonist (1909)
• Art Tatum, pianist (1909)
• Cornel Wilde, actor (1915)
• Burr Tillstrom, puppeteer (1917)
• Robert Walker, actor (1918)
• Laraine Day, actress (1920)
• Yves Montand, actor (1921)
• Lenny Bruce, comedian (1925)
• Margaret Thatcher, UK prime minister (1925)
• Killer Kowalski, wrestler (1926)
• Eddie Mathews, baseball player (1931)
• Nάνα Μούσχουρη (Nana Mouskouri), singer (1934)
• Pharaoh Sanders, saxophone player (1940)
• Paul Simon, singer-songwriter (1941)
• Pamela Tiffin, actress (1942)
• Sammy Hagar, singer (1947)
• نصرت فتح علی خان (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan), ਕਵਾਲੀ (Qawwali) singer (1948)
• Lacy J. Dalton, country singer (1946)
• John Ford Coley, singer-songwriter (1948)
• Beverly Johnson, supermodel (1952)
• Marie Osmond, singer (1959)
• Nancy Kerrigan, figure skater (1969)
• Sacha Baron Cohen, comedian (1971)
• Brian Dawkins, football player (1973)
• Ashanti, singer-songwriter (1980)

Deaths

• Claudius, emperor of Rome (54)
• 日蓮 (Nichiren), Japanese Buddhist monk (1282)
• E. C. Segar, Thimble Theater (Popeye) creator (1938)
• Milton S. Hershey, chocolatier (1945)
• Clifton Webb, actor (1966)
• Bea Benaderet, actress and cartoon voice (1968)
• Otto Binder, science fiction writer (1974)
• Ed Sullivan, television host (1974)
• Lê Đức Thọ, North Vietnamese revolutionary (1990)
• Stephen Ambrose, historain (2002)
• Al Martino, Godfather crooner (2009)
• Gary Collins, actor and talk show host (2012)

Holidays

• Floating of the Lamps (Thailand)
• Fontanalia (ancient Rome)
• Friendship Day (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)
• International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction (International)
• International Newspaper Carriers Day (US)
• International Skeptics Day (October 13 or first Friday the 13th of the year, primarily US)
• National Peanut Festival (US)
• National Police Day (Thailand)
• National Pumpkin Festival (US)
• Rwagasore Day (Burundi)
• Texas Constitution Day (Texas)
• Translation Holiday of the Relics of St. Edward the Confessor (Christianity)
• Yorkshire Pudding Day (UK)