Today February 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
1258 – Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed.
1503 – Disfida di Barletta – Famous challenge between 13 Italian and 13 French knights near Barletta.
1542 – Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, is executed for adultery.
1575 – Henry III of France is crowned at Rheims.
1575 – Henry III of France marries Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont.
1633 – Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition.
1635 – The first public school in the U.S., Boston Latin School, is founded.
1668 – Spain recognizes Portugal as an independent nation.
1689 – William and Mary are proclaimed co-rulers of England.
1692 – Massacre of Glencoe : About 78 Macdonalds at Glen Coe, Scotland are killed early in the morning for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new king, William of Orange.
1815 – The Cambridge Union Society is founded.
1866 – Jesse James and his gang commit the first armed bank robbery in United States history during peacetime in Liberty, Missouri.
1880 – Work begins on the covering of the Senne, burying Brussels s primary river and creating the modern central boulevards.
1880 – Thomas Edison observes the Edison effect.
1881 – The feminist newspaper La Citoyenne is first published in Paris by the activist Hubertine Auclert.
1894 – Auguste and Louis Lumière patent the Cinematographe, a combination movie camera and projector.
1899 – Tallahassee, Florida records its all time coldest temperature of -2 degrees Fahrenheit.
1914 – Copyright: In New York City the ASCAP (for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
1920 – The Negro National League is formed.
1934 – The Soviet steamship Cheliuskin sinks in the Arctic Ocean.
1935 – A jury in Flemington, New Jersey finds Bruno Hauptmann guilty of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, the son of Charles Lindbergh.
1945 – World War II: Red Army forces take Budapest, Hungary from Wehrmacht forces.
1945 – World War II: Royal Air Force bombers are dispatched to Dresden, Germany to attack the city with a massive aerial bombardment (see Bombing of Dresden in World War II).
1955 – Israel obtains 4 of the 7 Dead Sea scrolls.
1960 – Nuclear testing: France tests its first atomic bomb.
1971 – Vietnam War: Backed by American air and artillery support, South Vietnamese troops invade Laos.
1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
1975 – A fire erupts in the World Trade Center in New York City, New York.
1978 – Hilton bombing: a bomb explodes in a refuse truck outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two refuse collectors and a policeman.
1979 – An intense windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a 1/2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.
1981 – A series of sewer explosions destroys more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky.
1984 – Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1990 – German reunification: An agreement is reached on a two-stage plan to reunite Germany.
1991 – Gulf War: Two laser-guided smart bombs destroy a bunker in Baghdad. The bunker was being used as a military communications outpost and unknown to allied forces, as a shelter for Iraqi civilians.
2000 – The last original Peanuts comic strip appears in newspapers one day after Charles M. Schulz dies.
2001 – An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale hits El Salvador, killing at least 400.
2004 – The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics discovers the universe s largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093.
2007 – Taiwan opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigns as the chairman of the Kuomintang party after being indicted by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office on charges of embezzlement during his tenure as the mayor of Taipei; Ma also announces his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.
2008 – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes an historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.
Births
1457 – Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold and wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1482)
1480 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1542)
1599 – Pope Alexander VII (d. 1667)
1672 – Étienne François Geoffroy, French chemist (d. 1731)
1683 – Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Italian painter and Fortune teller (d. 1754)
1721 – John Reid, British army general and composer (d. 1807)
1728 – John Hunter, Scottish surgeon (d. 1793)
1743 – Joseph Banks, English botanist and naturalist (d. 1820)
1754 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, French politician (d. 1838)
1766 – Thomas Robert Malthus, English demographer and political economist (d. 1834)
1768 – Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, French marshal (d. 1835)
1769 – Ivan Krylov, Russian fabulist (d. 1844)
1805 – Peter Gustav Dirichlet, German mathematician (d. 1859)
1811 – François Achille Bazaine, French marshal (d. 1888)
1835 – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (d. 1908)
1855 – Paul Deschanel, French President (d. 1922)
1870 – Leopold Godowsky, Polish-American pianist, composer (d. 1938)
1873 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian bass (d. 1938)
1876 – Fritz Buelow, German-born American baseball player (d. 1933)
1879 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1949)
1881 – Eleanor Farjeon, English author (d. 1965)
1884 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American athlete, inventor, and businessman (d. 1961)
1885 – Bess Truman, First Lady of the United States, wife of President Harry S. Truman (d. 1982)
1891 – Kate Roberts, Welsh nationalist and writer (d. 1985)
1891 – Grant Wood, American painter (d. 1942)
1900 – Roy Harrod, English economist (d. 1978)
1903 – Georges Simenon, Belgian writer (d. 1989)
1906 – Agostinho da Silva, Portuguese philosopher (d. 1994)
1907 – Katy de la Cruz, Filipino singer (d. 2004)
1910 – William Shockley, American physicist and eugenicist, Nobel Laureate (d. 1989)
1911 – Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Pakistani Urdu poet, Lenin Peace Prize winner (d. 1984)
1915 – Aung San, Burmese general and politician (d. 1947)
1915 – Lyle Bettger, American actor (d. 2003)
1918 – Patty Berg, American golfer (d. 2006)
1919 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American musician (d. 1991)
1919 – Eddie Robinson, American football coach (d. 2007)
1920 – Boudleaux Bryant, American songwriter (d. 1987)
1920 – Eileen Farrell, American opera soprano (d. 2002)
1922 – Francis Pym, British Foreign Secretary 1982-83
1922 – Gordon Tullock, American economist
1923 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American politician (d. 2002)
1923 – Yfrah Neaman, Lebanese violinist (d. 2003)
1923 – Chuck Yeager, American fighter and test pilot
1924 – Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French journalist (d. 2006)
1928 – Dorothy McGuire, American singer (The McGuire Sisters)
1929 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian ruler (d. 1981)
1930 – Ernst Fuchs, Austrian artist
1932 – Susan Oliver, American actress (d. 1990)
1933 – Paul Biya, Cameroon politician
1933 – Costa Gavras, Greek-French filmmaker
1933 – Kim Novak, American actress
1933 – Caroline Blakiston, British actress
1934 – George Segal, American actor
1935 – Dr. Don Panoz, American entrepreneur and motorsports impresario (ALMS)
1937 – Ali El-Maak, Sudanese writer (d. 1992)
1938 – Oliver Reed, English actor (d. 1999)
1939 – Beate Klarsfeld, German Nazi hunter
1941 – Andrea Conte, First Lady of Tennessee
1941 – Sigmar Polke, German painter
1942 – Carol Lynley, American actress
1942 – Peter Tork, American musician and actor (The Monkees)
1943 – Geoff Edwards, American game show host
1944 – Rebop Kwaku Baah, Nigerian percussionist (d. 1983)
1944 – Stockard Channing, American actress
1944 – Jerry Springer, American television host
1944 – Bo Svenson, Swedish-born actor
1944 – Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Indian actor (d. 2006)
1945 – King Floyd, American musician (d. 2006)
1945 – David Tremlett, English Artist
1946 – Louis Kondos, Greek actor
1946 – Colin Matthews, British composer
1947 – Mike Krzyzewski, American basketball player and coach
1950 – Peter Gabriel, English musician (Genesis), composer and humanitarian
1951 – Greg Fulginiti, American mastering engineer
1951 – David Naughton, American actor and singer
1952 – Freddy Maertens, Belgian cyclist
1953 – Rico J. Puno, Filipino pop singer
1954 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (d. 1989)
1955 – Joe Birkett, American lawyer
1956 – Peter Hook, English bassist (Joy Division and New Order)
1956 – Yiannis Kouros, Greek-Australian runner
1956 – Princess Alia bint Al Hussein, Jordanian Royal Family member
1956 – Liam Brady, Irish footballer
1957 – Denise Austin, American fitness expert
1958 – Pernilla August, Swedish actress
1958 – Marc Emery, Canadian cannabis activist
1958 – Derek Riggs, British artist
1958 – Tip Tipping, British actor and stuntman (d. 1993)
1959 – Gaston Gingras, National Hockey League defenceman
1959 – Gord Hampson, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 – Pierluigi Collina, Italian football referee
1960 – Gary Patterson, American football coach
1960 – Matt Salinger, American actor
1960 – Artur Yusupov, Russian-German chess player
1961 – Henry Rollins, American musician
1961 – Marc Crawford, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1962 – Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, American politician
1964 – Mark Patton, American actor
1964 – Ylva Johansson, Swedish politician
1966 – Jeff Waters, Canadian musician (Annihilator)
1967 – Stanimir Stoilov, Bulgarian footballer and coach
1968 – Kelly Hu, American actress
1969 – Ahlam, Bahraini singer
1970 – Karoline Krüger, Norwegian singer
1971 – Sonia, British singer
1971 – Mats Sundin, Swedish ice hockey player
1971 – Todd Williams, American baseball player
1972 – Charlie Garner, American football player
1974 – Gus Hansen, Danish professional poker player
1974 – Robbie Williams, English singer
1974 – Jeff Duran, American radio personality
1975 – Iván González, Puerto Rican writer and musician
1975 – Tony Dalton, Mexican (American born) actor and screenwriter
1976 – Martin Sastre, Uruguayan artist
1976 – Feist, Canadian singer and songwriter
1976 – Dave Padden, Canadian musician (Annihilator)
1977 – Randy Moss, American football player
1977 – Ben Collins, British racing driver
1978 – Mini Anden, Swedish model and actress
1978 – Hamish Glencross, Scottish guitarist My Dying Bride
1979 – Rafael Márquez, Mexican footballer
1979 – Mena Suvari, American actress
1980 – Sebastian Kehl, German footballer
1980 – Mark Watson, British comedian
1981 – Luisão, Brazilian footballer
1981 – Liam Miller, Irish footballer
1981 – Luke Ridnour, American basketball player
1982 – Lanisha Cole, American model
1982 – Michael Turner, American football player
1983 – Mike Nickeas, American baseball player
1985 – Kwak Ji-min, South Korean actress
1985 – Alexandros Tziolis, Greek footballer
1985 – David Padgett, American basketball player
1986 – Luke Moore, English footballer
1986 – Jamie Murray, Scottish tennis player
1988 – Aston Merrygold, British Singer
1989 – Carly McKillip, Canadian actress
1989 – Rhys Palmer, Australian footballer
1989 – Rodrigo Possebon, Brazilian Footballer
1990 – Olivia Allison, British synchronized swimmer
Deaths
858 – Kenneth I of Scotland
1130 – Pope Honorius II
1141 – Béla II of Hungary (b. 1110)
1219 – Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shogun (b. 1192)
1332 – Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1259)
1539 – Isabella d Este, Marquise of Mantua (b. 1474)
1542 – Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII of England (executed) (b. 1525)
1571 – Benvenuto Cellini, Italian artist (b. 1500)
1585 – Alfonso Salmeron, Spanish Jesuit biblical scholar (b. 1515)
1592 – Jacopo Bassano, Italian painter
1600 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (b. 1538)
1602 – Alexander Nowell, English clergyman
1608 – Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski, Lithuanian prince (b. 1526)
1624 – Stephen Gosson, English satirist (b. 1554)
1657 – Miles Sindercombe, attempted assassin of Oliver Cromwell
1660 – King Charles X of Sweden (b. 1622)
1662 – Elizabeth Stuart (b. 1596)
1727 – William Wotton, English scholar (b. 1666)
1728 – Cotton Mather, American Puritan minister (b. 1663)
1732 – Charles-René d Hozier, French historian (b. 1640)
1787 – Ruder Boškovic, Croatian scientist and diplomat (b. 1711)
1787 – Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French statesman and diplomat (b. 1717)
1813 – Samuel Ashe, Governor of North Carolina (b. 1725)
1818 – George Rogers Clark, American military leader (b. 1752)
1826 – Petr Alekseevich Pahlen, Russian general (b. 1745)
1837 – Mariano José de Larra, Spanish journalist and writer (b. 1809)
1845 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian-German philosopher (b. 1773)
1883 – Richard Wagner, German composer (b. 1813)
1888 – Jean Baptiste Lamy, 1st Archbishop of Santa Fe (b. 1814)
1889 – João Maurício Wanderley, Brazilian magistrate and politician (b. 1885)
1905 – Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter (b. 1844)
1906 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (b. 1866)
1942 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian president (b. 1865)
1950 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian author (b. 1875)
1951 – Lloyd C. Douglas, American author (b. 1877)
1952 – Josephine Tey, English author (b. 1896)
1956 – Jan Lukasiewicz, Polish mathematician (b. 1878)
1958 – Georges Rouault, French painter (b. 1871)
1958 – Dame Christabel Pankhurst, a leading suffragette (English) Queen of the mob (b. 1880)
1964 – Werner Heyde, German psyhiatrist (b. 1902)
1968 – Mae Marsh, American actress (b. 1895)
1975 – André Beaufre, French General (b. 1902)
1976 – Murtala Mohammed, Nigerian military leader (b. 1938)
1976 – Lily Pons, French-born soprano (b. 1904)
1980 – David Janssen, American actor (b. 1931)
1984 – Andre Stander, South African police captain and bank robber (b. 1946)
1989 – Wayne Hays, American politician (b. 1911)
1991 – Arno Breker, German sculptor (b. 1900)
1992 – Nikolay Bogolyubov, Russian mathematician (b. 1909)
1996 – Martin Balsam, American actor (b. 1919)
1997 – Mark Krasnosel skii, Russian-Ukrainian mathematician (b. 1920),Jessica Browne,singer and dancer
2000 – James Cooke Brown, American author and inventor (b. 1921)
2002 – Waylon Jennings, American musician (b. 1937)
2003 – Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (b. 1926)
2003 – Axel Jensen, Norwegian author (b. 1932)
2003 – Walt Rostow, U.S. government official (b. 1916)
2004 – Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, Chechen leader (b. 1952)
2005 – Nelson Briles, baseball player (b. 1943)
2005 – Lúcia Santos, Carmelite nun and Fatima visionary (b. 1907)
2005 – Maurice Trintignant, French race car driver (b. 1917)
2005 – Dick Weber, American professional bowler (b. 1929)
2005 – Emilios T. Harlaftis, Greek astrophysicist (b. 1965)
2006 – Andreas Katsulas, Greek-American actor (b. 1946)
2006 – Peter Frederick Strawson, British philosopher (b. 1919)
2007 – Elizabeth Jolley, Australian writer (b. 1923)
2007 – Charlie Norwood, American politician (b. 1941)
2007 – Johanna Sällström, Swedish actress (b. 1974)
2007 – Richard Gordon Wakeford, Air Marshal, Royal Air Force (b. 1922)
2008 – Roger Voisin, Trumpet player, Boston Symphony (b. 1918)
Holidays and observances
Saint Beatrice
Saint Ermenildis
Saint Fulcran
Saint Polyeuctus
See also February 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
