1. On October 13, 1775, the Continental Navy was established by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The first commissioned naval vessel, the USS Alfred, was built in Massachusetts and commanded by John Paul Jones.

2. On October 13, 1792, the cornerstone was laid for the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill in Boston. The building, designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, took four years to complete and is now a National Historic Landmark.

3. On October 13, 1812, the USS Constitution (also known as "Old Ironsides") defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere in a historic naval battle off the coast of Nova Scotia. The victory marked the first time an American warship defeated a British ship and boosted morale during the War of 1812.

4. On October 13, 1884, Greenwich, Massachusetts was officially renamed to Ware, Massachusetts after local businessman John Ware, who had donated a large sum of money towards the construction of a new town hall.

5. On October 13, 1928, the first official transatlantic flight from East to West was completed when the Bremen, a German aircraft, landed in Greenly Island, Canada after taking off from Baldonnel Aerodrome in Dublin, Ireland. The flight path took the Bremen over Massachusetts on its way to Canada.