December 13
December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 18 days remaining.
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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 1949 - The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel to Jerusalem.
- 1959 - Archbishop Makarios becomes the first President of Cyprus.
- 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.
- 1974 - The Detroit Wheels of the WFL are established.
- 1977 - A United States government aircraft DC-3 crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 29, including the University of Evansville basketball 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.
- 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, Texas 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. Tensions escalate in South Asia, with nuclear war likelihoods.
- 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.
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)
- 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)
- 1813 - David Spangler Kaufman, American politician (d. 1851)
- 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 Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934)
- 1856 - Svetozar Boroević, Austro-Hungarian field marshal (d. 1920)
- 1864 - Emil Seidel, Mayor of Milwaukee (d. 1947)
- 1867 - Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian explorer and scientist (d. 1917)
- 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, Afrikaner-born 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)
- 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
- 1934 - Richard D. Zanuck, American film producer
- 1935 - Lindy McDaniel, American baseball player
- 1936 - His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan (Prince Karim El Husseni)
- 1939 - Eric Flynn, British actor and singer (d. 2002)
- 1942 - Anna Eshoo, American politician
- 1943 - Ferguson Jenkins, Canadian baseball player
- 1944 - Hwang Jang Lee, Korean martial artist and film actor
- 1948 - Ted Nugent, American guitarist
- 1948 - Jeff Baxter, American guitarist (Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers)
- 1948 - Lillian Board, British athlete (d. 1970)
- 1948 - Brian Wilson, British politician
- 1949 - Tom Verlaine, American singer/guitarist of Television
- 1950 - Tom Vilsack, Governor of Iowa
- 1952 - Sylvester Ritter, Professional wrestler better known as Junkyard Dog (d. 1998)
- 1953 - Ben Bernanke, American economist
- 1953 - Bob Gainey, Canadian hockey player
- 1954 - John Anderson, American country musician
- 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 - Nadia Russ, Soviet-born artist
- 1959 - Jim Darrel, American professional wrestler
- 1961 - Harry Gregson-Williams, British composer
- 1963 - Jake White, South African rugby union coach
- 1964 - Matsumoto Hideto, Japanese guitarist and singer (X-Japan)
- 1965 - Marko Mäetamm, Estonian artist
- 1967 - Jamie Foxx, American actor
- 1969 - Sergei Fedorov, Russian hockey player
- 1972 - Mauricio Solís, Costa Rican footballer
- 1973 - Christie Clark, American actress
- 1974 - Nicholas McCarthy, British-born guitarist (Franz Ferdinand)
- 1974 - Sara Cox, TV and Radio presenter
- 1975 - Tom Delonge, American guitarist (Blink-182, Angels and Airwaves)
- 1976 - Josh Fogg, American baseball player
- 1976 - Radosław Sobolewski, Polish footballer
- 1977 - Christopher Hudgens, American Painter
- 1981 - Amy Lee, American singer/songwriter (Evanescence)
- 1982 - Ricky Nolasco, Major League Baseball Pitcher, Florida Marlins
- 1983 - Otylia Jędrzejczak, Polish swimmer, FINA World Champion and Olympic gold medalist
Deaths
- 1048 - Al-Biruni, Persian mathematician (b. 973)
- 1124 - Pope Callixtus II
- 1204 - Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (b. 1135)
- 1250 - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1194)
- 1404 - Albert, Count of Holland (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, Prince de Ligne, Belgian-born Austrian field marshal (b. 1735)
- 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)
- 1930 - Fritz Pregl, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
- 1931 - Gustave le Bon, French psychologist (b. 1840)
- 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)
- 1947 - Nicholas Roerich, Russian-born painter (b. 1874)
- 1955 - Egas Moniz, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
- 1961 - Grandma Moses, American painter (b. 1860)
- 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)
- 1993 - Vanessa Duriès, French novelist (b. 1972)
- 2001 - Chuck Schuldiner, American musician (Death) (b. 1967)
- 2002 - Zal Yanofsky, American musician (The Lovin' Spoonful) (b. 1945)
- 2003 - William V. Roth, Jr., U.S. Senator (b. 1921)
- 2004 - Andre Rodgers, Bahamian baseball player (b. 1934)
- 2004 - David Wheeler, British computer scientist (b. 1927)
- 2005 - Stanley Williams, co-founder of the Crips (b. 1953)
Holidays and observances
External links
December 12 - December 14 - November 13 - January 13 -- listing of all days
Categories
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