Today May 13th in history click read more below to view detail events, deaths, births, Holidays and observances, and video clips in hisotry. Please comments, last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1497 – Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola.
1515 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Charles Brandon were officially married, at Greenwich.
1568 – Battle of Langside: the forces of Mary Queen of Scots are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.
1619 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after having been accused of treason.
1648 – Construction of the Red Fort at Delhi is completed.
1779 – War of Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from them (the Innviertel).
1787 – Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England with eleven ships full of convicts (First Fleet) to establish a penal colony in Australia.
1804 – Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derne from the Americans attack the city.
1830 – Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia.
1846 – Mexican-American War: The United States declares war on Mexico.
1848 – First performance of Finland s national anthem.
1861 – American Civil War: Queen Victoria of Britain issues a proclamation of neutrality which recognizes the breakaway states as having belligerent rights.
1861 – The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Resaca – the battle begins with Union General Sherman fighting toward Atlanta, Georgia.
1865 – American Civil War: Battle of Palmito Ranch – in far south Texas, more than a month after Confederate General Robert E. Lee s surrender, the last land battle of the Civil War ends with a Confederate victory.
1880 – In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway.
1888 – With the passage of the Lei Áurea (Golden Law), Brazil abolishes slavery.
1909 – The first Giro d Italia takes place in Milan. Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna is the winner.
1912 – The Royal Flying Corps (now the Royal Air Force) is established in the United Kingdom.
1913 – Igor Sikorsky becomes the first man to pilot a four-engine aircraft.
1939 – The first commercial FM radio station in the United States is launched in Bloomfield, Connecticut. The station later becomes WDRC-FM.
1940 – World War II: Germany s conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse River. Winston Churchill makes his blood, toil, tears, and sweat speech to the House of Commons.
1940 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees the Nazi invasion in the Netherlands to Great Britain. Princess Juliana takes her children to Canada for their safety.
1941 – World War II: Yugoslav royal colonel Dragoljub Mihailovic starts fighting with German occupation troops, beginning the Serbian resistance.
1943 – World War II: German Afrika Korps and Italian troops in North Africa surrender to Allied forces.
1948 – 1948 Arab-Israeli War: the Kfar Etzion massacre is committed by Arab irregulars, the day before the declaration of independence of the state of Israel on May 14.
1950 – The first round of the Formula 1 World Championship is held at Silverstone.
1952 – The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.
1954 – The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese Middle School students in Singapore, take place.
1958 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard Nixon s car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
1958 – The trade mark Velcro is registered.
1958 – May 1958 crisis: a group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers, demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.
1960 – Hundreds of UC Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Thirty-one students are arrested, and the Free Speech Movement is born.
1967 – Dr. Zakir Hussain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of Indian Union. He holds this position till August 24, 1969.
1969 – Race riots, later known as the May 13 Incident, take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
1972 – Faulty electrical wiring ignites a fire underneath the Playtown Cabaret in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators cause 118 fatalities, with many victims leaping to their deaths.
1980 – An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.
1981 – Mehmet Ali Agca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter s Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.
1985 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, police storm MOVE headquarters to end a stand-off, killing 11 MOVE members and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.
1989 – Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
1992 – Li Hongzhi gave the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People s Republic of China.
1994 – Johnny Carson makes last television appearance on The David Letterman Show.
1996 – Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
1998 – Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesian of Chinese descendants are looted and women raped.
1998 – India carries out two nuclear tests at Pokhran, in addition to the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
2000 – In Enschede, the Netherlands, a fireworks factory explodes, killing 22 people, wounding 950, and resulting in approximately €450 million in damage.
2001 – Silvio Berlusconi s House of Freedoms coalition wins the Italian general elections.
2005 – The Andijan Massacre occurs in Uzbekistan.
2006 – 2006 São Paulo violence: a major rebellion occurs in several prisons in Brazil.
2007 – Construction of the Calafat-Vidin Bridge between Romania and Bulgaria begins.
2007 – Republic Protests in Turkey.
Births
1024 – Hugh of Cluny, French saint (d. 1109)
1254 – Maria of Brabant, queen of France (d. 1321)
1588 – Ole Worm, Danish physician (d. 1654)
1638 – Richard Simon, French Biblical critic (d. 1712)
1655 – Pope Innocent XIII (d. 1724)
1699 – Marquis of Pombal, Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1782)
1707 – Carl von Linné, Swedish scientist (d. 1778)
1712 – Johann Hartwig Ernst, Count von Bernstorff, Danish statesman (d. 1772)
1717 – Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (d. 1780)
1730 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1782)
1742 – Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (d. 1798)
1753 – Lazare Carnot, French general, politician, and mathematician (d. 1823)
1792 – Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)
1794 – Louis-Leopold Robert, French painter (d. 1835)
1795 – Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist (d. 1875)
1822 – Francis of Assisi of Bourbon, King Consort of Spain (d. 1902)
1830 – Zebulon Baird Vance, three-time governor of North Carolina (d. 1894)
1840 – Alphonse Daudet, French novelist (d. 1897)
1842 – Arthur Sullivan, English composer (d. 1900)
1856 – Tom O Rourke, American boxing manager (d. 1938)
1857 – Ronald Ross, English physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1932)
1882 – Georges Braque, French painter (d. 1963)
1883 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek doctor, inventor of the Pap smear (d. 1962)
1894 – Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, 2nd President of Iceland (d. 1972)
1898 – Justin Tuveri, Italian veteran of the First World War (d. 2007)
1904 – Louis Duffus, South African cricketer (d. 1984)
1907 – Dame Daphne du Maurier, English author (d. 1989)
1911 – Robert Middleton, American film and television actor (d. 1977)
1912 – Gil Evans, Canadian musician (d. 1988)
1912 – Judah Nadich, American rabbi (d. 2007)
1913 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian president (d. 1980)
1913 – Lambros Konstantaras, Greek actor (d. 1985)
1914 – Joe Louis, American boxer (d. 1981)
1918 – T. Balasaraswati, Bharatanatyam dancer (d. 1984)
1920 – Gareth Morris, British flautist (d. 2007)
1922 – Michael Ainsworth, British cricketer (d. 1978)
1922 – Beatrice Arthur, American actress
1924 – Harry Schwarz, South African anti-apartheid politician, lawyer and diplomat
1924 – Theodore Mann, American theatre producer and director
1926 – Wallace Breem, British author
1927 – Archie Scott-Brown, English race car driver (d. 1958)
1927 – Herbert Ross, American director (d. 2001)
1928 – Édouard Molinaro, French film actor, director and screenwriter
1928 – Enrique Bolaños, President of Nicaragua
1928 – Jim Shoulders, Champion rodeo cowboy (d. 2007)
1930 – Mike Gravel, Former Democratic Senator of Alaska and 2008 Presidential Candidate
1930 – José Jiménez Lozano, Spanish writer
1930 – Vernon Shaw, former president of Dominica
1931 – Jim Jones, American cult leader (d. 1978)
1934 – Leon Wagner, baseball player (d. 2004)
1935 – Dominic Cossa, American baritone
1937 – Roch Carrier, Canadian novelist
1937 – Roger Zelazny, American author (d. 1995)
1937 – Trevor Baylis, English inventor of the wind-up radio
1937 – Zohra Lampert, American actress
1938 – Laurent Beaudoin, French Canadian businessman (Bombardier)
1938 – Giuliano Amato, Italian politician
1939 – Harvey Keitel, American actor
1939 – Hildrun Claus, German athlete
1940 – Bruce Chatwin, British writer (d. 1989)
1941 – Senta Berger, Austrian actress
1941 – Joe Brown, British singer
1941 – Ritchie Valens, American singer (d. 1959)
1941 – Jody Conradt, American college basketball coach
1943 – Kurt Trampedach, Danish artist
1943 – Mary Wells, American singer (d. 1992)
1944 – Armistead Maupin, American author
1945 – Sam Anderson, American actor
1945 – Magic Dick, American musician (The J. Geils Band)
1947 – Edgar Burcksen, Dutch film editor
1949 – Zoë Wanamaker, English-American actress
1950 – Stevie Wonder, American singer and musician
1950 – Danny Kirwan, British musician (Fleetwood Mac)
1950 – Bobby Valentine, Major League baseball manager
1951 – Sharon Sayles Belton, Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota
1951 – Jim Douglas, American politician, governor of Vermont
1951 – Paul Thompson, British rock drummer (Roxy Music)
1952 – John Kasich, U.S. Republican Congressman
1954 – Johnny Logan, Irish singer and songwriter
1956 – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder of the Art of Living Foundation
1956 – Richard Madeley, Television presenter
1957 – Alan Ball, American screenwriter, director, and producer
1957 – Koji Suzuki, Japanese writer (Ring, Dark Water)
1957 – Andrea Klump, German terrorist
1961 – Dennis Rodman, American basketball player and actor
1962 – Eduardo Palomo, Mexican actor (d. 2003)
1962 – Kathleen Jamie, Scottish poet
1962 – Sean McDonough, American sports newscaster
1962 – Paul McDermott, Australian comedian
1963 – Wally Masur, Australian former tennis player
1964 – Stephen Colbert, American comedian and actor
1964 – Ronnie Coleman, American bodybuilder
1964 – Tom Verica, American actor
1965 – José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountain climber (d. 2006)
1965 – Hikari Ota, Japanese comedian
1965 – Tasmin Little, English violinist
1965 – Lari White, American country music singer
1966 – Darius Rucker, American singer (Hootie & the Blowfish)
1966 – Nikos Aliagas, Greek TV show host
1966 – Kamen Vodenicharov, Bulgarian entertainer
1967 – Chuck Schuldiner, American musician (Death, Control Denied) (d. 2001)
1967 – Melanie Thornton, African American German pop singer, former member of La Bouche. (d. 2001)
1968 – Alison Goldfrapp, English musician
1968 – Buckethead, Guitarist
1968 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician (d. 1997)
1968 – PMD, American rapper
1969 – André Schmechta, German musician (X Marks the Pedwalk)
1971 – Tom Nalen, American football player
1972 – Stefaan Maene, Belgian swimmer
1974 – Brian Geraghty, American actor
1976 – Mark Delaney, Welsh footballer
1977 – Ilse DeLange, Dutch singer
1977 – Neil Hopkins, American actor
1977 – Samantha Morton, English actress
1977 – Robby Hammock, baseball player
1978 – Mike Bibby, American basketball player
1978 – Ryan Bukvich, American baseball player
1978 – Barry Zito, American baseball player
1978 – Steve Mildenhall, English football player
1978 – Dilshan Vitharana, Sri Lankan cricketer
1979 – Prince Carl Philip of Sweden
1979 – Michael Madden, American musician (Maroon 5)
1980 – Waka Inoue, Japanese gravure idol and actress
1980 – Mau Marcelo, Filipino singer
1980 – Chris Barker (bassist), American Bassist for the band Anti-flag
1981 – Jimmy Yang, American wrestler
1981 – Sunny Leone, Canadian model
1981 – Rebecka Liljeberg, Swedish actress
1982 – Yoko Kumada, Japanese gravure idol
1982 – Oguchi Onyewu, American footballer
1983 – Casey Donovan, Australian singer
1983 – Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (d. 2007)
1983 – Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer
1983 – Anita Görbicz, Hungarian handball player
1984 – Caitlin Murphy, Australian actress and Model
1985 – Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Giuliana Marino, Playboy Playmate of the Year, Germany 2005
1986 – Robert Pattinson, English actor, musician, and model
1986 – Scott Sutter, Swiss footballer
1987 – Hunter Parrish, American actor
1993 – Debby Ryan, American actress
Deaths
1162 – Géza II of Hungary
1176 – Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1119)
1312 – Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1263)
1573 – Takeda Shingen, Japanese warlord (b. 1521)
1619 – Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch statesman (b. 1547)
1704 – Louis Bourdaloue, French Jesuit preacher (b. 1632)
1742 – Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1719)
1807 – Eliphalet Dyer, American statesman and judge (b. 1721)
1832 – Georges Cuvier, French naturalist (b. 1769)
1835 – John Nash, English architect (b. 1752)
1866 – Nikolai Brashman, Russian mathematician (b. 1796)
1871 – Daniel Auber, French composer (b. 1782)
1884 – Cyrus McCormick, American inventor (b. 1809)
1885 – Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician (b. 1809)
1901 – Leopoldo Alas y Ureña, a.k.a. Clarín, Spanish novelist and literary critic (b. 1851)
1903 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino political theoretician and Prime Minister (b. 1864)
1916 – Sholom Aleichem, Russian author (b. 1859)
1921 – Jean Aicard, French poet and novelist (b. 1848)
1925 – Boris Savinkov, Russian writer and terrorist (b. 1879)
1926 – Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian Catholic prelate (b. 1857)
1930 – Fridtjof Nansen, Nobel Peace Prize winner (b. 1861)
1937 – Ekaterina Geladze, mother of Joseph Stalin (b. 1858)
1938 – Charles Edouard Guillaume, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
1945 – Tubby Hall, American musician (b. 1895)
1961 – Gary Cooper, American actor (b. 1901)
1962 – Henry Trendley Dean, American dental researcher (b. 1893)
1963 – Alois Hudal, bishop, helped Nazi war criminals escape (b. 1885)
1972 – Dan Blocker, American actor (b. 1928)
1974 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican writer (b. 1902)
1975 – Bob Wills, American musician (b. 1905)
1977 – Mickey Spillane, Irish-American gangster (b. 1934)
1985 – Leatrice Joy, American actress (b. 1893)
1988 – Chet Baker, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1929)
1992 – F. E. McWilliam, Northern Irish sculptor (b. 1909)
1994 – Duncan Hamilton, British racing driver (b. 1920)
1999 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer (b. 1902)
2000 – Paul Bartel, American actor (b. 1938)
2000 – Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese professional wrestler (b. 1951)
2001 – R.K. Narayan, Indian novelist (b. 1906)
2001 – Jason Miller, American playwright (b. 1939)
2002 – Valeri Lobanovsky, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
2002 – Ruth Cracknell, Australian actress (b. 1925)
2005 – George Dantzig, American mathematician (b. 1914)
2005 – Michael Ross, American serial killer (b. 1959)
2005 – Eddie Barclay, French record producer (b. 1921)
2006 – Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian (b. 1923)
2006 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (b. 1949)
2008 – Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Sheikh of Kuwait (b. 1930)
2008 – Ron Stone, American television reporter (b. 1936)
Holidays and observances
Commemoration of Julian of Norwich (Roman Catholic).
Roman Empire – Feast of the Lemures (See Larvae).
Abbotsbury Garland Day, Dorset, England.
Rotuma Day in Fiji.
Our Lady of Fatima
