On This Day October 13

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History Highlights
History Highlights

1792 – The cornerstone is laid for a presidential residence in the newly designated capital city of Washington. Eight years later, John Adams becomes the first U.S. president to reside in the executive mansion, which is referred to as the White House beginning in 1812 because of its white-gray sandstone exterior.

1943 – With World War II raging, the government of Italy declares war on Nazi Germany, its former Axis partner, and joins the battle on the side of the Allies.

1967 – The Anaheim Amigos lose to the Oakland Oaks, 134-129, in the inaugural game of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In its first season, the ABA consists of 11 teams. In 1976, the ABA merges with the National Basketball Association (NBA), with only four teams remaining intact: the Americans (later renamed the New Jersey Nets), the Spurs, the Nuggets and the Pacers. 

1974 – TV host Ed Sullivan, who introduced American viewers to Elvis Presley and The Beatles, among other up-and-coming entertainers, dies of cancer at the age of 73.

1977 – Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa passenger jet and demand the release of 11 imprisoned members of Germany’s Baader-Meinhof terrorist group, also known as the Red Army Faction.

1999 – A Colorado grand jury investigating the highly publicized case of murdered child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is dismissed, and the Boulder County district attorney announces no indictments will be made due to insufficient evidence.

2010 – Thirty-three miners are rescued after being trapped half a mile below ground for more than two months in a northern Chile mine collapse. The miners survive longer than anyone else trapped underground in recorded history. Their rescue is described in one media account as “a feat of engineering and a triumph of faith.”

On This Day September 18

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