What’s Happening Today?

International Day for Disaster Reduction. This is an international day that encourages every citizen and government to take part in building more disaster-resilient communities and nations. The United Nations General Assembly designated October 13 as the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction as part of its proclamation of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. Of recent, Uganda has faced an increasing number of natural disasters ranging from floods to landslides. We should use this day to address these issues and find ways of mitigating their effects.

Rwagasore Day (Burundi). This holiday commemorates the life of one of Burundi's national heroes, who was assassinated on this day in 1961. In the September 1961 elections before independence, he won 80% of the vote and became the first Prime Minister-elect. However, he was gunned down in a hotel restaurant a few weeks later on October 13 1961.

What Happened Today?

1. In 1792, the construction of the White House Began. The office and residence of the President of the United States was designed by Irish architect James Hoban. It took 8 years for it to become livable and President John Adams became the first president to occupy the building on November 1, 1800.

2. In 1976, the first electron micrograph of the Ebola Virus was taken at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention by Dr A.F Murphy. An electron micrograph is a micrograph taken by an electron microscope - a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination.  

3. In 2009, Member of Parliament David Bahati proposed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which sought to broaden the criminalization of homosexuality in Uganda. It sought to introduce the death penalty for people who have previous convictions, are HIV-positive, or engage in sexual acts with those under 18. It also introduced extradition for those engaging in same-sex sexual relations outside Uganda; and, penalized individuals, companies, media organizations, or non-governmental organizations who supported LGBT rights. The bill has however not been enacted to date.

Birthdays

1. 1925 – Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the first woman to hold that position. She died in 2013.

2. 1993 - Tiffany Trump, the fourth child of American President Donald Trump.

Sources: Wikipedia, checkiday & officeholidays.com

Picture credit: The White House