What happened on December 13? There are more than 291 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About December 13
December 13 is the 348th day of the year 2024. There are 18 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday. This day falls under the 50th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53208 sunrise will occur at 07:13 AM and sunset will occur at 04:19 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Sagittarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Turquoise while the mystical birthstone is Onyx.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 47 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Are you looking for a day of the week calculator? Try it on any date like anniversaries, birthday of someone you know, or any other date that is special to you. You can even try it on historical dates. For example: November 24
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Historical Events For December 13
- 1294Saint Celestine V resigns the papacy after only five months; Celestine hoped to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.
- 1545Council of Trent begins.
- 1577Sir Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.
- 1636The 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.
- 1642Abel Janszoon Tasman reaches New Zealand.
- 1643English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire.
- 1769Dartmouth College is founded by the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, with a Royal Charter from King George III, on land donated by Royal Governor John Wentworth.
- 1809Dr. Ephraim McDowell performed the first ovariotomy, removing a 22 pound tumor.
- 1862American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats the Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside.
- 1867Fenian bomb explodes in Clerkenwell, London, killing six.
- 1937Nanjing Massacre. Japanese troops begin carrying out several weeks of raping and killing of civilians and suspected Chinese resistance after the fall of Nanjing.
- 1937Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanjing – Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese.
- 1938The Holocaust: The Neuengamme concentration camp opens in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, Germany.
- 1939World 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.
- 1941World War II: Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States.
- 1943World War II: The Massacre of Kalavryta by German occupying forces in Greece.
- 1949The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel to Jerusalem.
- 1959Archbishop Makarios becomes the first President of Cyprus.
- 1960While Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Imperial Bodyguard seizes the capital and proclaim him deposed and his son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, Emperor.
- 1962NASA Relay 1 launch, first active repeater communications satellite in orbit.
- 1967Constantine II of Greece attempts an unsuccessful counter-coup against the Regime of the Colonels
- 1968Brazilian president Artur da Costa e Silva decrees the AI-5 (or the fifth Institutional Act), which lasts until 1978 and marks the beginning of the hard times of Brazilian military dictatorship.
- 1972Apollo program: Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the third and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or “Moonwalk” of Apollo 17. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon.
- 1974Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations
- 1977A 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.
- 1979The Canadian Government of Prime Minister Joe Clark is defeated in the House of Commons, prompting the 1980 Canadian election.
- 1981General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland to prevent dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity.
- 1988Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat gives a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in the Swiss city of Geneva after the United States authorities refused to give him a visa to enter New York.
- 1989Attack on Derryard checkpoint: The Provisional Irish Republican Army launch an attack on a British Army nonpermanent vehicle checkpoint near Rosslea, Northern Ireland. Two British soldiers are killed and one badly wounded.
- 2000Al Gore concedes the U.S. presidential election to George W. Bush.
- 2000The “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.
- 2001The Indian Parliament Sansad is attacked by terrorists. 15 people are killed, including all the terrorists.
- 2001The King of Perlis has has sweared and signed the proclamation of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong,thus became the de jure 12th Yang Di-Pertuan Agong,the head of state of Malaysia.He replaced the Sultan of Selangor,whose died in office for five years.
- 2002Enlargement 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.
- 2003Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit (see Operation Red Dawn).
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Who Were Born On December 13?
- 1521Pope Sixtus V (d. 1590)
- 1533King Eric XIV of Sweden (d. 1577)
- 1553King Henry IV of France (d. 1610)
- 1585William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (d. 1649)
- 1640Robert Plot, English naturalist (d. 1696)
- 1662Francesco Bianchini, Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1729)
- 1678Yongzheng Emperor of China (d. 1735)
- 1720Carlo Gozzi, Italian dramatist (d. 1804)
- 1724Franz Aepinus, German scientist (d. 1802)
- 1784Archduke Louis of Austria (d. 1864)
- 1797Heinrich Heine, German poet (d. 1856)
- 1804Joseph Howe, Canadian politician (d. 1873)
- 1814Ana Néri, Brazilian nurse (d. 1880)
- 1816Ernst Werner von Siemens, German engineer, inventor, and industrialist (d. 1892)
- 1818Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady of the United States (d. 1882)
- 1836Franz von Lenbach, German painter (d. 1904)
- 1854Herman Bavinck, Dutch theologian and churchman (d. 1921)
- 1856Svetozar Boroević, Austro-Hungarian field marshal (d. 1920)
- 1860Lucien Guitry, French actor (d. 1925)
- 1864Emil Seidel, Mayor of Milwaukee (d. 1947)
- 1867Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian explorer and scientist (d. 1917)
- 1870Edward LeSaint, American actor and director (d. 1940)
- 1871Emily Carr, Canadian artist (d. 1945)
- 1874Josef Lhévinne, Russian-born pianist (d. 1944)
- 1883Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer and archivist (d. 1950)
- 1884Aimilios Veakis, Greek actor (d. 1951)
- 1887Alvin York, American soldier & Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
- 1887George Polya, Hungarian-born mathematician (d. 1985)
- 1897Albert Aalbers, Dutch architect (d. 1961)
- 1897Drew Pearson, American journalist (d. 1969)
- 1900Jonel Perlea, Romanian conductor (d. 1970)
- 1902Panagiotis Kanellopoulos, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1986)
- 1902Talcott Parsons, American sociologist, (d. 1979)
- 1903Carlos Montoya, Spanish guitarist (d. 1993)
- 1903Ella Baker, American civil rights activist (d. 1986)
- 1906Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (d. 1968)
- 1906Sir Laurens van der Post, South African author (d. 1996)
- 1910Van Heflin, American actor (d. 1971)
- 1911Kenneth Patchen, American poet and painter (d. 1972)
- 1911Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist and Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1999)
- 1913Archie Moore, American boxer (d. 1998)
- 1913Arnold Brown, the 11th General of The Salvation Army (d. 2002)
- 1914Alan Bullock, British author of the first biography of Hitler written in any language. (d. 2004)
- 1915B. J. Vorster, Prime Minister of South Africa 1966-1978 (d. 1983)
- 1915Curd Jürgens, German-born Austrian actor (d. 1982)
- 1915Ross Macdonald, American-born author (d. 1983)
- 1917John Hart, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1919Hans-Joachim Marseille, German flying ace of World War II (d. 1942)
- 1920George Shultz, American economist, statesman, and 60th United States Secretary of State
- 1923Larry Doby, American baseball player (d. 2003)
- 1923Philip Warren Anderson, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1925Dick Van Dyke, American actor and comedian
- 1926George Rhoden, Jamaican athlete
- 1929Christopher Plummer, Canadian actor
- 1930Robert Prosky, American actor (d. 2008)
- 1934Richard D. Zanuck, American film producer
- 1935Joe Christopher, American baseball player
- 1935Ken Hall, American football player
- 1935Lindy McDaniel, American baseball player
- 1936His Highness Prince Shah Karim al-Husseini Aga Khan IV, Present Imam (leader) of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims
- 1936J. C. Martin, American baseball player
- 1937Rob Houwer, Dutch film producer
- 1937Ron Taylor, Canadian baseball player
- 1937Ulf G. Lindén, Swedish entrepreneur (d. 2009)
- 1938Alvin Curran, American composer
- 1938Heino, German folk singer
- 1939Eric Flynn, British actor and singer (d. 2002)
- 1941Bessel Kok, Dutch businessman and chess organiser
- 1941John Davidson, American actor and game show host
- 1942Anna Eshoo, American politician
- 1943Ferguson Jenkins, Canadian baseball player
- 1943Gösta Winbergh, Swedish tenor (d. 2002)
- 1944Dick Dees, Dutch politician
- 1944Hwang Jang Lee, Korean martial artist and film actor
- 1944Marti Webb, British actor and singer
- 1945Brian McGuire, Australian racing driver (d. 1977)
- 1945Herman Cain, American businessman, radio host, and politician
- 1945Kathy Garver, American actress
- 1947Darlene Cates, American actress
- 1947Dave Hamilton, American baseball player
- 1947Rex Hagon, Canadian actor and host
- 1948Brian Wilson, Scottish politician
- 1948Jeff Baxter, American guitarist (Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers)
- 1948Lester Bangs, Rock critic (d. 1982)
- 1948Lillian Board, British track and field athlete (d. 1970)
- 1948Ted Nugent, American guitarist
- 1949Luc Sala, Dutch entrepreneur and writer
- 1949Paula Wilcox, English actress
- 1949Randy Owen, American country singer and guitarist (Alabama)
- 1949Robert Lindsay, English actor
- 1949Tom Verlaine, American singer and guitarist (Television)
- 1950Tom Vilsack, 40th Governor of Iowa and 30th United States Secretary of Agriculture
- 1950Wendie Malick, American actress
- 1952Sylvester Ritter (Junkyard Dog), American professional wrestler (d. 1998)
- 1953Ben Bernanke, American economist and current United States Chairman of the Federal Reserve
- 1953Bill Castro, Dominican baseball player
- 1953Bob Gainey, Canadian ice hockey player and General Manager
- 1953Jim Davidson, British comedian
- 1954Emma Bull, American science fiction and fantasy author
- 1954John Anderson, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1954Steve Forbert, American singer-songwriter
- 1954Tamora Pierce, American author
- 1956Dale Berra, American baseball player
- 1956Majida El Roumi, Lebanese soprano, singer
- 1956Phil Hubbard, American basketball player
- 1957Eric Marienthal, American saxophonist
- 1957Jean-Marie Messier, French businessman
- 1957Morris Day, American singer (The Time)
- 1957Steve Buscemi, American actor
- 1958Lynn-Holly Johnson, American figure skater and actress
- 1959Jim Barrell, American professional wrestler
- 1959Johnny Whitaker, American actor
- 1960Daggubati Venkatesh, Indian actor
- 1960Rusty Cundieff, American actor
- 1961Gary Zimmerman, American football player
- 1961Harry Gregson-Williams, English composer
- 1961Irene Saez, Miss Universe 1981 and Venezuelan politician
- 1962Jamie Raskin, American law professor and politician
- 1962Kendra Slewenski, English netballer
- 1962Rex Ryan, American football coach
- 1962Rob Ryan, American football coach
- 1962Roger Ilegems, Belgian track cyclist and road bicycle racer
- 1964Hideto “hide” Matsumoto, Japanese musician (X Japan) (d. 1998)
- 1965Jackie Clune, British entertainer and actress
- 1965Marko Mäetamm, Estonian artist
- 1966Don Roff, American writer and filmmaker
- 1966Mike Tirico, sports broadcaster
- 1966Ross Burden, New Zealand celebrity chef
- 1967Bo Pelini, American football coach
- 1967Jamie Foxx, American actor and singer
- 1969Murat Nasyrov, Russian singer (d. 2007)
- 1969Sergei Fedorov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1969Tony Curran, Scottish actor
- 1970Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, Austrian mountaineer
- 1972Chris Grant, Australian football player
- 1972Niki Evans, English singer
- 1973Christie Clark, American actress
- 1974Debbie Matenopoulos, American television personality and actress
- 1974Nicholas McCarthy, English guitarist (Franz Ferdinand)
- 1974Sara Cox, English TV and radio presenter
- 1975Bates Battaglia, American ice hockey player
- 1975Kostas Kiassos, Greek footballer
- 1975Matthew LeCroy, American baseball player
- 1975Tom DeLonge, American guitarist (blink-182, Angels & Airwaves)
- 1976Josh Fogg, American baseball player
- 1976Radosław Sobolewski, Polish footballer
- 1976Søren Friis, Danish footballer
- 1977Peter Stringer, Irish rugby union footballer
- 1977Sascha Kindred, British Paralympic swimmer
- 1978BJ Penn, American mixed martial artist
- 1978Olav Bjortomt, British quiz champion
- 1978Ryo Kawakita, Japanese guitarist (Maximum the Hormone)
- 1980Bosco Wong, Hong Kong Singer and Actor
- 1980Patrik Antonius, Finnish poker player
- 1980Ryan France, English footballer
- 1980Satoshi Tsumabuki, Japanese actor
- 1981Amy Lee, American singer/songwriter (Evanescence)
- 1982Anthony Callea, Australian singer/songwriter
- 1982Dan Hamhuis, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982Dominik Werling, German footballer
- 1982Ricky Nolasco, American baseball player
- 1982Tuka Rocha, Brazilian racing driver
- 1983Matt Deis, American bassist
- 1983Otylia Jędrzejczak, Polish swimmer
- 1984Hanna-Maria Seppälä, Finnish swimmer
- 1984Santi Cazorla, Spanish footballer
- 1985Alby Mathewson, New Zealand rugby player
- 1985Laurence Leboeuf, Canadian actress
- 1985Michael Bumpus, American football player
- 1988Rickie Fowler, American golfer
- 1989Taylor Swift, American singer
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Who Died On December 13?
- 1048Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī, Persian mathematician (b. 973)
- 1124Pope Callixtus II
- 1126Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria
- 1204Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (b. 1135)
- 1250Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1194)
- 1404Albert, Count of Holland (b. 1336)
- 1466Donatello, Florentine artist and sculptor (b. 1386)
- 1516Johannes Trithemius, German cryptographer (b. 1462)
- 1521Manuel I of Portugal (b. 1469)
- 1557Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia, Italian mathematician
- 1565Conrad Gessner, Swiss naturalist (b. 1516)
- 1603Franciscus Vieta, French mathematician (b. 1540)
- 1621Katarina Stenbock, Queen of Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1535)
- 1716Charles de La Fosse, French painter (b. 1640)
- 1721Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor and castaway (b. 1676)
- 1729Anthony Collins, English philosopher (b. 1676)
- 1754Mahmud I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1696)
- 1769Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet (b. 1715)
- 1783Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, Swedish astronomer (b. 1717)
- 1784Samuel Johnson, English writer and lexicographer (b. 1709)
- 1814Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligne, Belgian-born Austrian field marshal (b. 1735)
- 1835John Storm, American Revolutionary soldier (b. 1760)
- 1837Herman of Alaska, Russian Orthodox hermit (b. 1756)
- 1863Christian Friedrich Hebbel, German writer (b. 1813)
- 1868Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist (b. 1794)
- 1881August Senoa, Croatian writer (b. 1838)
- 1883Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (b. 1812)
- 1893Georg August Rudolph, German politician (b. 1816)
- 1895Ányos Jedlik, Hungarian physicist (b. 1800)
- 1919Woldemar Voigt, German physicist (b. 1850)
- 1922Hannes Hafstein, Icelandic politician and poet (b. 1861)
- 1924Samuel Gompers, American labor leader (b. 1850)
- 1930Fritz Pregl, Slovenian-born Austrian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1869)
- 1931Gustave le Bon, French psychologist (b. 1840)
- 1932Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter (b. 1853)
- 1934Thomas A. Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (b. 1854)
- 1935Victor Grignard, French chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1871)
- 1940George Regas, Greek actor (b. 1890)
- 1940Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval, French physicist (b. 1851)
- 1942Wlodimir Ledochowski, Austrian-born Polish religious figure (b. 1866)
- 1944Lupe Vélez, Mexican actress (b. 1908)
- 1944Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born French artist (b. 1866)
- 1945Elisabeth Volkenrath, Polish-born German concentration camp supervisor (b. 1919)
- 1945Irma Grese, German concentration camp supervisor (b. 1923)
- 1945Josef Kramer, German concentration camp commandant (b. 1906)
- 1947Nicholas Roerich, Russian-born painter (b. 1874)
- 1950Abraham Wald, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1902)
- 1954John Raymond Hubbell, American writer (b. 1879)
- 1955Egas Moniz, Portuguese psychiatrist and neurosurgeon, Nobel laureate (b. 1874)
- 1958Tim Moore, American actor (b. 1887)
- 1960Dora Marsden, British editor, writer (b. 1882)
- 1961Grandma Moses, American painter (b. 1860)
- 1962Harry Barris, American popular singer (b. 1905)
- 1969Raymond A. Spruance, American admiral (b. 1886)
- 1969Spencer Williams, Jr., American actor (b. 1893)
- 1973Henry Green, English author (b. 1905)
- 1979Jon Hall, American actor (b. 1915)
- 1981Pigmeat Markham, American entertainer (b. 1904)
- 1983Alexander Schmemann, Estonian Orthodox Christian priest and theologian (b. 1921)
- 1983Nichita Stănescu, Romanian poet (b. 1933)
- 1986Ella Baker, American civil rights activist (b, 1903)
- 1986Heather Angel, British actress (b. 1909)
- 1986Smita Patil, Indian Actress (b.1955)
- 1992Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and heir (b. 1899)
- 1992K.C. Irving, Canadian industrialist (b. 1899)
- 1993Vanessa Duriès, French novelist (b. 1972)
- 1994Michalis Nikolinakos, Greek actor (b. 1923)
- 1994Norman Beaton, Guyanese actor (b. 1934)
- 1996Edward Blishen, English author (b. 1920)
- 2001Chuck Schuldiner, American musician (Death) (b. 1967)
- 2002Zal Yanovsky, Canadian musician (The Lovin' Spoonful) (b. 1944)
- 2003William V. Roth, Jr., American politician (b. 1921)
- 2004Andre Rodgers, Bahamian baseball player (b. 1934)
- 2004David Wheeler, English computer scientist (b. 1927)
- 2005Stanley Tookie Williams, American convicted murderer (b. 1953)
- 2005Timothy Jordan II, American musician (The All American Rejects, Jonezetta) (b. 1981)
- 2006Lamar Hunt, American sports executive (b. 1932)
- 2007Floyd Red Crow Westerman, American actor (b. 1936)
- 2007Mark Partridge, Rhodesian politician (b. 1922)
- 2008John Drake, New Zealand rugby union footballer (b. 1959)
- 2008Kathy Staff, British actress (b. 1928)
- 2010Enrique Morente, Spanish flamenco singer (b. 1942)
- 2010Richard Holbrooke, American diplomat (b. 1941)
- 2010Woolly Wolstenholme, British Musician (b. 1947)
- 2011Kabir Chowdhury, Bangladeshi National Professor (b. 1923)
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