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October 13
5 moments across history
Chilean Miners Rescued
On October 13, 2010, rescuers completed the extraction of all 33 miners trapped for 69 days in Chile’s San José copper-gold mine. Their survival and safe recovery mattered as an extraordinary rescue achievement that drew worldwide attention and celebration. The disaster highlighted the dangers of mining, Chile’s mine-safety shortcomings, and the possibilities of international technical cooperation.
Chilean Miners Rescued
Andes Flight Disaster
Andes Flight Disaster
Year: 1972
On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes while carrying a rugby team and others to Chile. Sixteen of the 45 people aboard survived 72 days of cold, avalanches, starvation, and isolation before rescue, consuming the dead to stay alive. The disaster became a landmark survival story, prompting worldwide discussion about endurance, rescue operations, and moral choices under extreme conditions.
Italy Declares War on Germany
Italy Declares War on Germany
Year: 1943
On October 13, 1943, Pietro Badoglio’s government declared war on Germany, making Italy a co-belligerent of the Allies. The declaration mattered because Italian forces could now officially fight Germany, while the Allies continued their campaign up the peninsula. It followed Mussolini’s fall and Italy’s September armistice, amid German occupation and a widening civil war between Fascists and the resistance.
Miracle of the Sun Reported at Fátima
Miracle of the Sun Reported at Fátima
Year: 1917
On October 13, 1917, a large crowd near Fátima, Portugal, reported that the Sun appeared to change color, spin, or move in the sky after three shepherd children predicted a sign linked to Marian apparitions. The event, later called the Miracle of the Sun, helped make Fátima a major center of Catholic pilgrimage, although accounts varied and proposed explanations remain disputed. It occurred during World War I and amid conflict between Portugal’s secular First Republic and the Catholic Church; in 1930, the local bishop declared the apparitions worthy of belief.
Greenwich Meridian Adopted
Greenwich Meridian Adopted
Year: 1884
On October 13, 1884, the International Meridian Conference designated the meridian through Greenwich, England, as the world’s prime meridian. This established a common reference point for longitude and helped standardize global timekeeping, navigation, and mapping. The decision reflected the growing need for international coordination in an era of expanding railways, telegraph networks, shipping, and trade.