August 13Birthdays & History

On this day: August 13 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 29 BCOctavian holds the first of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes.Europe
2. 523John I becomes the new Pope after the death of Pope Hormisdas.Europe
3. 554Emperor Justinian I issues a Pragmatic Sanction in which he organises the renewed Roman rule over the recently re-conquered Italy. All privileges granted to Romans under the Gothic rule until 538 are confirmed, confiscated estates restored and the participation of the Roman Church in civil government increased.Europe
4. 582Maurice is crowned Emperor of the Byzantine Empire by the dying emperor Tiberius.Europe
5. 871Emperor Louis II of Italy and Empress Engelberga are captured by Prince Adelchis of Benevento.Europe
6. 900Count Reginar I of Hainault rises against Zwentibold of Lotharingia and slays him near present-day Susteren.Europe
7. 1099Election of Pope Paschal II following the death of pope Urban II in the previous month.Europe
8. 1415The English invasion of France begins when English king Henry V lands in France.Europe
9. 1516The Treaty of Noyon between France and Spain is signed. Francis I of France recognizes Charles's claim to Naples, and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, recognizes Francis's claim to Milan.Europe
10. 1521After an extended siege, forces led by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés capture Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc and conquer the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.EuropeLatin America
11. 1532Union of Brittany and France: The Duchy of Brittany is absorbed into the Kingdom of France.Europe
12. 1536Buddhist monks from Kyoto, Japan's Enryaku-ji temple set fire to 21 Nichiren temples throughout Kyoto in what will be known as the Tenbun Hokke Disturbance.Asia
13. 1553Michael Servetus is arrested by John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland as a heretic.Europe
14. 1624The French king Louis XIII appoints Cardinal Richelieu as prime minister.Europe
15. 1645Sweden and Denmark sign the Peace of Brömsebro.Europe
16. 1650Colonel George Monck of the English Army forms Monck's Regiment of Foot, which will later become the Coldstream Guards.Europe
17. 1704War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Blenheim: English and Imperial forces are victorious over French and Bavarian troops.Europe
18. 1724Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott, BWV 101, a chorale cantata on a famous tune.Europe
19. 1779American Revolutionary War: The Royal Navy defeats the Penobscot Expedition with the most significant loss of United States naval forces prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.North America
20. 1792King Louis XVI of France is formally arrested by the National Tribunal, and declared an enemy of the people.Europe
21. 1806Battle of Mišar during the Serbian Revolution begins. The battle ends two days later with a Serbian victory over the Ottomans.Europe
22. 1814The Convention of London, a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United Netherlands, is signed in London, England.Europe
23. 1868The 8.5–9.0 Mw Arica earthquake strikes southern Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing 25,000+ deaths and a destructive basin-wide tsunami that affected Hawaii and New Zealand.Latin AmericaNorth AmericaOceania
24. 1876A performance of Wagner's Das Rheingold opens the first Ring cycle at the first Bayreuth Festival.Europe
25. 1889William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut is granted United States Patent Number 408,709 for "Coin-controlled apparatus for telephones."North America
26. 1898Spanish–American War: Spanish and American forces engage in a mock battle for Manila, after which the Spanish commander surrendered in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.EuropeNorth AmericaAsia
27. 1898Carl Gustav Witt discovers 433 Eros, the first near-Earth asteroid to be found.Europe
28. 1900The steamer Deutschland of Hamburg America Lines sets a new record for the eastward passage when it docks in Plymouth, England, five days, 11 hours and 45 minutes after sailing from New York, breaking by three hours, six minutes its previous mark in its maiden voyage in July.EuropeNorth America
29. 1905Norwegians vote to end the union with Sweden.Europe
30. 1906The all black infantrymen of the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Regiment are accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer in Brownsville, Texas, despite exculpatory evidence; all are later dishonorably discharged. (Their records were later restored to reflect honorable discharges but there were no financial settlements.)North America
31. 1913First production in the UK of stainless steel by Harry Brearley.Europe
32. 1918Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha May Johnson is the first woman to enlist.North America
33. 1918Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) is established as a public company in Germany.Europe
34. 1920Polish–Soviet War: The Battle of Warsaw begins and will last till August 25. The Red Army is defeated.Europe
35. 1937Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Shanghai begins.AsiaAsia
36. 1940World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches an air operation, codenamed Adlertag, during the Battle of Britain in an attempt to destroy the British Royal Air Force.Europe
37. 1942Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project.North America
38. 1944World War II: German troops begin the pillage and razing of Anogeia in Crete that would continue until September 5.Europe
39. 1954Radio Pakistan broadcasts the "Qaumī Tarāna", the national anthem of Pakistan for the first time.Asia
40. 1960The Central African Republic declares independence from France.AfricaEurope
41. 1961Cold War: East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West, and construction of the Berlin Wall is started. The day is known as Barbed Wire Sunday.Europe
42. 1964Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans are hanged for the murder of John Alan West becoming the last people executed in the United Kingdom.Europe
43. 1967Two young women became the first fatal victims of grizzly bear attacks in the 57-year history of Montana's Glacier National Park in separate incidents.North America
44. 1968Alexandros Panagoulis attempts to assassinate the Greek dictator Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos in Varkiza, Athens.Europe
45. 1969The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker-tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.North America
46. 1973Aviaco Flight 118 crashes on approach to A Coruña Airport in A Coruña, Spain, killing all 85 people on the plane and one other one the ground.Europe
47. 1977Members of the British National Front (NF) clash with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, London, resulting in 214 arrests and at least 111 injuries.Europe
48. 1978One hundred fifty Palestinians in Beirut are killed in a terrorist attack during the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War.Middle East
49. 1990A mainland Chinese fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5202 is hit by a Taiwanese naval vessel and sinks in a repatriation operation of mainland Chinese immigrants, resulting in 21 deaths. This is the second tragedy less than a month after Min Ping Yu No. 5540 incident.Asia
50. 1997The animated TV comedy South Park airs its very first episode.North America
51. 2004One hundred fifty-six Congolese Tutsi refugees are massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.Africa
52. 2008Russo-Georgian War: Russian units occupy the Georgian city of Gori.Europe
53. 2014A Cessna Citation Excel crashes in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil killing all seven people aboard, including Brazilian Socialist Party presidential candidate Eduardo Campos.Latin America
54. 2015At least 76 people are killed and 212 others are wounded in a truck bombing in Baghdad, Iraq.Middle East
55. 2020Israel–United Arab Emirates relations are formally established.Middle East

Source: Wikipedia "August 13" / CC BY-SA 4.0