December 13 in recent years
2009 (Sunday)
2008 (Saturday)
2007 (Thursday)
2006 (Wednesday)
2005 (Tuesday)
2004 (Monday)
2003 (Saturday)
2002 (Friday)
2001 (Thursday)
2000 (Wednesday)
December 13 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 17 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events [ ]
1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months; Celestine hoped to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit .
1545 - Council of Trent begins.
1577 - Sir Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth , England , on his round-the-world voyage.
1636 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians . This organization is recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard .
1642 - Abel Janszoon Tasman reaches New Zealand .
1643 - English Civil War : The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire .
1769 - Dartmouth College founded by the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock , with a Royal Charter from King George III , on land donated by Royal Governor John Wentworth .
1862 - American Civil War : At the Battle of Fredericksburg , Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats the Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside .
1884 - first performance of any of Richard Strauss 's compositions in the United States (Symphony in f, New York Philharmonic )
1895 - Premiere of Gustav Mahler 's Resurrection Symphony in Berlin .
1937 - Second Sino-Japanese War : Battle of Nanjing - Nanjing , defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi , falls to the Japanese .
1937 - Nanjing Massacre . Japanese troops begin carrying out several weeks of raping and killing of civilians and suspected Chinese resistance after the fall of Nanjing.
1938 - The Holocaust : 100 deportees from Sachsenhausen build the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg .
1939 - World War II : Battle of the River Plate - Captain Hans Langsdorff of the German Deutschland class cruiser (pocket battleship) Admiral Graf Spee engages with Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter , HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles .
1941 - World War II : Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States .
1943 - World War II : 710 Bombers of U.S. 8th Air Force attack Kiel , Germany.
1949 - The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel to Jerusalem .
1959 - Archbishop Makarios becomes the first President of Cyprus .
1972 - Apollo program : Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the sixth and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or "Moonwalk" of Apollo 17 . This was the last manned mission to the moon of the 20th century.
1973 - Rael , leader of the Raelian Movement claims to meet an ET he says is named Yahweh , during an alleged UFO encounter in Puy de Lassolas, France.
1974 - Malta becomes a republic.
1977 - A DC-3 aircraft chartered from the Indianapolis-based National Jet crashes near Evansville Regional Airport , killing 29, including the University of Evansville basketball team, support staff and boosters of the team.
1978 - The first Susan B. Anthony dollar enters circulation.
1979 - The Canadian Government of Prime Minister Joe Clark is defeated in the House of Commons , prompting the 1980 Canadian election .
1981 - General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland to prevent dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity .
1983 - The Denver Nuggets and the Detroit Pistons play in the highest scoring NBA game in history, with the Pistons winning 186-184 in triple overtime . In addition to most points in a game, this game also set the record for most field goals made (136), and most assists (93).
1989 - The last issue of Gnistan (The Spark), the organ of the Solidaritetspartiet , is published in Sweden .
1996 - Kofi Annan is elected as Secretary-General of the United Nations .
2000 - The "Texas 7 " escape from the John Connally Unit near Kenedy and go on a robbery spree, during which police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot and killed.
2000 - American Vice President Al Gore delivers his concession speech ending his hopes of becoming the 43rd President of the United States .
2001 - the Indian Parliament Sansad is attacked by terrorists, killing 15 people, including all the terrorists.
2002 - Enlargement of the European Union : The European Union announces that Cyprus , the Czech Republic , Estonia , Hungary , Latvia , Lithuania , Malta , Poland , Slovakia , and Slovenia will become members from May 1 , 2004 .
2003 - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit (see Operation Red Dawn ).
2003 - In the most-attended basketball game in history, 78,129 watch Michigan State University lose 79-74 to the University of Kentucky at Ford Field .
2004 - Former Chilean dictator , General Augusto Pinochet is put under house arrest, after being sued under accusations over 9 kidnapping actions and manslaughter. The house arrest is lifted the same day on appeal.
2006 - The Baiji , or Chinese River Dolphin, announced as extinct.
Births [ ]
1521 - Pope Sixtus V (d. 1590 )
1533 - King Eric XIV of Sweden (d. 1577 )
1553 - King Henry IV of France (d. 1610 )
1585 - William Drummond of Hawthornden , Scottish poet (d. 1649 )
1640 - Robert Plot , English naturalist (d. 1696 )
1662 - Francesco Bianchini , Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1729 )
1678 - Yongzheng Emperor of China (d. 1735 )
1720 - Carlo Gozzi , Italian dramatist (d. 1804 )
1724 - Franz Aepinus , German scientist (d. 1802 )
1784 - Archduke Louis of Austria (d. 1864 )
1797 - Heinrich Heine , German poet (d. 1856 )
1804 - Joseph Howe , Canadian politician (d. 1873 )
1816 - Ernst Werner von Siemens , German engineer, inventor, and industrialist (d. 1892 )
1818 - Mary Todd Lincoln , First Lady of the United States (d. 1882 )
1836 - Franz von Lenbach , German painter (d. 1904 )
1854 - Thomas A. Watson , American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934 )
1856 - Svetozar Boroević , Austro-Hungarian field marshal (d. 1920 )
1860 - Lucien Guitry , French actor (d. 1925 )
1864 - Emil Seidel , Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1947 )
1867 - Kristian Birkeland , Norwegian explorer and scientist (d. 1917 )
1870 - Edward LeSaint , American actor and director (d. 1940 )
1871 - Emily Carr , Canadian artist (d. 1945 )
1874 - Josef Lhévinne , Russian-born pianist (d. 1944 )
1883 - Belle da Costa Greene , American librarian, bibliographer and archivist (d. 1950 )
1887 - George Polya , Hungarian-born mathematician (d. 1985 )
1887 - Alvin York , American soldier & Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964 )
1897 - Drew Pearson , American journalist (d. 1969 )
1903 - Carlos Montoya , Spanish guitarist (d. 1993 )
1906 - Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (d. 1968 )
1906 - Sir Laurens van der Post , South African author (d. 1996 )
1910 - Van Heflin , American actor (d. 1971 )
1911 - Trygve Haavelmo , Norwegian economist and Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1999 )
1911 - Kenneth Patchen , American poet and painter (d. 1972 )
1913 - Archie Moore , American boxer and World Light-Heavyweight Champion (d. 1998 )
1913 - Arnold Brown , the 11th General of The Salvation Army (d. 2002 )
1915 - Curd Jürgens , German actor (d. 1982 )
1915 - Ross Macdonald , American-born author (d. 1983 )
1915 - B.J. Vorster , Prime Minister of South Africa 1966-1978 (d. 1983 )
1917 - John Hart , American actor
1919 - Hans-Joachim Marseille , German flying ace of World War II (d. 1942 )
1920 - George Shultz , United States Secretary of State 1982-1989
1923 - Philip Warren Anderson , American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
1923 - Larry Doby , American baseball player (d. 2003 )
1925 - Dick Van Dyke , American actor and comedian
1926 - George Rhoden , Jamaican athlete and Olympic gold medalist
1929 - Christopher Plummer , Canadian actor
1930 - Robert Prosky , American actor
1934 - Richard D. Zanuck , American film producer
1935 - Joe Christopher , American baseball player
1935 - Ken Hall , American football player, known as the “Sugar Land Express”
1935 - Lindy McDaniel , American baseball player
1936 - His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan (Aga Khan IV), Imam (leader) of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims
1936 - J.C. Martin American baseball player
1938 - Alvin Curran , American composer
1939 - Eric Flynn , British actor and singer (d. 2002 )
1941 - John Davidson , American actor and game show host
1942 - Anna Eshoo , American politician
1943 - Ferguson Jenkins , Canadian baseball player
1943 - Gösta Winbergh , Swedish tenor (d. 2002 )
1944 - Hwang Jang Lee , Korean martial artist and film actor
1945 - Brian McGuire , Australian racing driver (d. 1977 )
1947 - Darlene Cates , American actress
1947 - Dave Hamilton , American baseball player
1948 - Ted Nugent , American guitarist
1948 - Jeff Baxter , American guitarist (Steely Dan , The Doobie Brothers )
1948 - Brian Wilson , Scottish politician
1949 - Tom Verlaine , American singer/guitarist of Television
1950 - Wendie Malick , American actress
1950 - Tom Vilsack , Governor of Iowa
1952 - Sylvester Ritter , American professional wrestler better known as "Junkyard Dog" (d. 1998 )
1953 - Ben Bernanke , American economist and current United States Chairman of the Federal Reserve
1953 - Bill Castro , Dominican baseball player
1953 - Bob Gainey , Canadian ice hockey player
1954 - John Anderson , American country musician
1954 - Tamora Pierce , author
1956 - Dale Berra , American baseball player
1957 - Steve Buscemi , American actor
1957 - Morris Day , American singer (The Time )
1957 - Jean-Marie Messier , French businessman
1958 - Lynn-Holly Johnson , American figure skater and actress
1959 - Jim Barrell , American professional wrestler
1959 - Johnny Whitaker , American actor
1960 - Daggubati Venkatesh , Indian actor
1961 - Harry Gregson-Williams , English composer
1961 - Irene Saez , Miss Universe 1981 and Venezuelan Politician
1964 - Hideto Matsumoto , Japanese musician (X Japan ) (d. 1998 )
1965 - Marko Mäetamm , Estonian artist
1966 - Ross Burden , New Zealand celebrity chef
1966 - Don Roff , American writer and filmmaker
1967 - Jamie Foxx , American actor
1969 - Murat Nasyrov , Russian singer (d. 2007 )
1969 - Sergei Fedorov , Russian ice hockey player
1973 - Christie Clark , American actress
1974 - Nicholas McCarthy , British guitarist (Franz Ferdinand )
1974 - Sara Cox , TV and radio presenter
1975 - Tom DeLonge , American guitarist (blink-182 , Angels & Airwaves )
1975 - Matthew LeCroy , American baseball player
1976 - Josh Fogg , American baseball player
1976 - Radosław Sobolewski , Polish footballer
1977 - Peter Stringer , Irish Rugby International
1978 - Ryo Kawakita , Japanese guitarist (Maximum the Hormone )
1979 - Jon Elliott , American radio talkshow host
1981 - Amy Lee , American singer/songwriter (Evanescence )
1982 - Ricky Nolasco , American baseball player
1982 - Freddie Weinke , American football player
1982 - Tuka Rocha , Brazilian racing driver
1982 - Dominik Werling , German footballer
1982 - Anthony Callea , Australian Singer/Songwriter
1983 - Matt Deis , American bassist
1983 - Otylia Jędrzejczak , Polish Olympic swimmer
1989 - Taylor Swift , American singer/songwriter
1991 - Jay Greenberg , American composer
1992 - Laura Helena Saldaña , famous Latin American joker
2005 - Prince Nicolas of Belgium
2005 - Prince Aymeric of Belgium
Deaths [ ]
1048 - Al-Biruni , Persian mathematician (b. 973 )
1124 - Pope Callixtus II
1126 - Henry IX
1204 - Maimonides , Spanish rabbi and philosopher (b. 1135 )
1250 - Frederick II (b. 1194 )
1404 - Albert (b. 1336 )
1466 - Donatello , Florentine artist and sculptor (b. 1386 )
1516 - Johannes Trithemius , German cryptographer (b. 1462 )
1521 - Manuel I of Portugal (b. 1469 )
1557 - Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia , Italian mathematician
1565 - Conrad Gessner , Swiss naturalist (b. 1516 )
1603 - François Viète , French mathematician (b. 1540 )
1621 - Katarina Stenbock , Queen of Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1535 )
1716 - Charles de La Fosse , French painter (b. 1640 )
1721 - Alexander Selkirk , Scottish sailor and castaway (b. 1676 )
1729 - Anthony Collins , English philosopher (b. 1676 )
1754 - Mahmud I , Ottoman Sultan (b. 1696 )
1769 - Christian Fürchtegott Gellert , German poet (b. 1715 )
1783 - Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin , Swedish astronomer (b. 1717 )
1784 - Samuel Johnson , British writer and lexicographer (b. 1709 )
1814 - Charles Joseph , Belgian-born Austrian field marshal (b. 1735 )
1835 - John Storm , American Revolutionary soldier (b. 1760 )
1837 - Herman of Alaska , Russian Orthodox hermit (b. 1756 )
1863 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel , German writer (b. 1813 )
1868 - Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius , German botanist (b. 1794 )
1881 - August Senoa , Croatian writer (b. 1838 )
1883 - Victor de Laprade , French poet and critic (b. 1812 )
1895 - Anyos Jedlik , Hungarian physicist (b. 1800 )
1919 - Woldemar Voigt , German physicist (b. 1850 )
1922 - Hannes Hafstein , Icelandic politician and poet (b. 1861 )
1924 - Samuel Gompers , American labor and political leader, founder of American Federation of Labor (b. 1850 )
1930 - Fritz Pregl , Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869 )
1931 - Gustave le Bon , French psychologist (b. 1840 )
1932 - Georgios Jakobides , Greek painter (b. 1853 )
1935 - Victor Grignard , Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871 )
1940 - Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval , French physicist (b. 1851 )
1942 - Wlodimir Ledochowski , Polish-Austrian director of the Society of Jesus (b. 1866 )
1944 - Wassily Kandinsky , Russian-born French artist (b. 1866 )
1944 - Lupe Vélez , Mexican actress (b. 1908 )
1945 - Irma Grese , Nazi war criminal (b. 1923 )
1945 - Elisabeth Volkenrath , supervisor at concentration camps (b. 1919 )
1945 - Josef Kramer , commandant of Bergen Belsen concentration camp (b. 1906 )
1947 - Nicholas Roerich , Russian-born painter (b. 1874 )
1950 - Abraham Wald , Hungarian mathematician (b. 1902 )
1954 - John Raymond Hubbell , American writer (b. 1879 )
1955 - Egas Moniz , Portuguese psychiatrist, neurosurgeon, and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874 )
1958 - Tim Moore , American actor (b. 1887 )
1961 - Grandma Moses , American painter (b. 1860 )
1969 - Raymond A. Spruance , American admiral (b. 1886 )
1969 - Spencer Williams, Jr. , American actor (b. 1893 )
1973 - Henry Green , English author (b. 1905 )
1979 - Jon Hall , American actor (b. 1915 )
1981 - Pigmeat Markham , American entertainer (b. 1904 )
1983 - Alexander Schmemann , Orthodox Christian priest and theologian (b. 1921 )
1983 - Nichita Stanescu , Romanian poet (b. 1933 )
1992 - Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney , American businessman and heir (b. 1899 )
1992 - K.C. Irving , Canadian industrialist (b. 1899 )
1993 - Vanessa Duriès , French novelist (b. 1972 )
1994 - Norman Beaton , English actor, First black teacher of Liverpool
2001 - Chuck Schuldiner , American musician (Death ) (b. 1967 )
2002 - Zal Yanovsky , American musician (The Lovin' Spoonful ) (b. 1945 )
2003 - William V. Roth , U.S. Senator (b. 1921 )
2004 - Andre Rodgers , Bahamian baseball player (b. 1934 )
2004 - David Wheeler , British computer scientist (b. 1927 )
2005 - Stanley Tookie Williams , co-founder of the Crips (b. 1953 )
2005 - Timothy Jordan II , American musician (The All American Rejects , Jonezetta ) (b. 1981 )
2006 - Lamar Hunt , American sports executive (b. 1932 )
Holidays and observances [ ]
External links [ ]
106 Familypedia people were born on December 13
129 Familypedia people died on December 13
85 Familypedia people were first married on December 13