October 13 brings together stories of foundations, political power and human endurance. In 1792, the cornerstone of the White House, designed by James Hoban, was laid in Washington, D.C., by President George Washington. The project represented a new nation’s effort to give its government a lasting home. More than a century later, in 1925, Margaret Thatcher was born; she would become Britain’s first female prime minister and serve from 1979 to 1990, reshaping politics and economics through her conservative policies. In 1972, a Uruguayan Air Force plane crashed in the Andes, leaving survivors to endure 72 days before rescue.
Together, these milestones trace a striking range: the creation of a national landmark, the rise of a consequential political leader and a test of survival in a remote landscape. The dates span 180 years, a reminder that the same point on the calendar can hold events with vastly different stakes and scales. In the Northern Hemisphere, October is a season of change, and that sense of transition echoes through this list—from laying a foundation to altering a political landscape to making it through an ordeal.