13 October in history

5 events that happened on 13 October, from 54 to 1943.

  1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    54 CE 1,972 years ago

    Nero becomes Roman emperor at 16

    On the death of Claudius, reputedly poisoned by his wife Agrippina, her 16-year-old son Nero was proclaimed emperor. His reign began promisingly but ended in tyranny, rebellion and his suicide in 68.

  2. 1307 CE 719 years ago

    Philip IV of France orders the arrest of the Templars

    In dawn raids across France, Philip IV's officers arrested hundreds of Knights Templar on charges of heresy and blasphemy. The heavily indebted king coveted their wealth, and the order was suppressed in 1312.

  3. 1792 CE 234 years ago

    The cornerstone of the White House is laid

    Freemasons laid the cornerstone of the President's House in the new federal city of Washington. Designed by James Hoban, it has housed every US president since John Adams.

  4. 1884 CE 142 years ago

    Greenwich is chosen as the world's prime meridian

    Delegates at the International Meridian Conference in Washington voted to adopt the meridian through Greenwich as the zero of longitude. The decision underpins maps, navigation and the world's time zones.

  5. 1943 CE 83 years ago

    Italy declares war on Germany

    Five weeks after its armistice with the Allies, Pietro Badoglio's Italian government declared war on its former Axis partner. German forces nonetheless occupied northern and central Italy until 1945.

    Allies

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