1. In 1775, the Continental Navy sloop "Providence", captained by John Paul Jones and originally built and launched in Portsmouth, NH, arrived in Portland, Maine for repairs and resupply. This was an important moment for the budding American Navy and marked Jones' first command.

2. On October 13, 1791, the USS Constitution, also known as "Old Ironsides", was completed and launched from Boston Harbor. The ship played a significant role in early American naval history and earned its nickname after withstanding cannon fire from a British ship during the War of 1812.

3. The Great Fires of 1947, a series of wildfires that devastated Maine's forests, began on October 13th of that year. The fires were caused by a combination of drought, high winds, and human error and burned over 200,000 acres of land, leading to widespread devastation and loss of life.

4. In 1962, Maine astronaut Chris Cassidy was born on October 13th in Salem, Massachusetts. Cassidy eventually became a member of the NASA astronaut corps and has flown on multiple space missions, including a six-month stint aboard the International Space Station in 2013.

5. On October 13, 1604, explorer Samuel de Champlain and his crew landed at the mouth of the St. Croix River on the border of what is now Maine and Canada. Champlain went on to conduct several expeditions in the region, laying the groundwork for European settlement and trade in the area.