Historical eventOctober 131773

Charles Messier

French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the Whirlpool Galaxy (pictured), an interacting, grand design spiral galaxy located an estimated 31 million light-years away.

Everything on October 13Original source

In context

When
Wednesday, October 13 1773253 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
18th century · 1770s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

Russia, Greece and some other countries used the Julian calendar into the early 20th century, so local records may show a date up to 13 days earlier.

At a glance

Dates: From 1773.

What happened

French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the Whirlpool Galaxy (pictured), an interacting, grand design spiral galaxy located an estimated 31 million light-years away.

October 13 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1773Charles Messier
  2. 19931993 Finisterre earthquakes
  3. 1994The Troubles
  4. 20102010 Copiapó mining accident
  5. 2011King of Bhutan
  6. 2013Navaratri
  7. 20132013 Madhya Pradesh stampede
  8. 2016Monarchy of Thailand
  9. 2016Maldives
  10. 20192019 Chicago Marathon
  11. 2019Brigid Kosgei

Also in 1773

  • January 17James CookOn James Cook's second voyage, his vessel HMS Resolution became the first vessel to cross the Antarctic Circle.
  • December 16American RevolutionAmerican Revolution: A group of colonists threw chests of tea into Boston Harbor (pictured) to protest British taxation without represent…
  • April 19Partition SejmThe Polish Partition Sejm met to discuss the First Partition of Poland, carried out the previous year by Russia, Prussia and Austria.

Everything we record for 1773 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Charles Messier”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/charles-messier-1773-october-13, accessed October 28, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Charles Messier happen?

October 13 1773 — 253 years ago, on a Wednesday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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