April 13

2024 Calendar

April 13 is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 262 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

1111 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor is crowned.
1204 – Constantinople falls to the crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire.
1598 – Henry V of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing religious freedom for Huguenots. The edict is repealed in 1685.
1742 – George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah has its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland.
1749 – A cyclone off Southeast India sinks British ships HMS Pembroke and HMS Namur, killing 850 people. Only 14 survive.
1777 – American Revolutionary War; American forces are ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey.
1796 – The first elephant ever seen in the United States arrives from India.
1829 – Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom are granted the right to vote and are allowed to sit in parliament.
1849 – Hungary becomes a Republic.
1861 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter, South Carolina, surrenders to Confederate forces.
1868 – The Abyssynian War ends as British and Indian troops capture Maqdala.
1870 – New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.
1873 – The Colfax Massacre, in which over 60 African Americans are murdered, takes place in Colfax, Louisiana.

1901 – 2000

1904 – The Russian battleship Petropavlovsk of the Russian Pacific Fleet hits a Japanese mine and sinks. The painter Vasily Vereshchagin is among those who are killed in the incident.
1909 – The Turkish military reverses the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 to force the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
1919 – Establishment of the Provisional Government of Korea.
1919 – Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British troops gun down at least 379 unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar, India. 1,200 are injured.
1934 – While still under construction, the railway bridge in Saratov, Russia, collapses, killing 150 people.
1941 – The USSR and Japan sign a pact of neutrality.
1943 – The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, DC.
1943 – World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyn massacre is announced. This causes a rift between the Polish Government–in–exile (based in London) and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.
1944 – The USSR and New Zealand establish diplomatic relations.
1945 – World War II: German troops kill over 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany.
1945 – World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna.
1948 – Hadassah medical convoy massacre: In an ambush, 79 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital and a British soldier are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarra near Jerusalem.
1960 – The US launches Transit 1–B, the world's first satellite navigation system.
1964 – Sidney Poitier becomes the first African American to win a Best Actor Oscar.
1970 – Houston, we've had a problem: An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, causing major damage, and putting the crew at risk. They safely return to Earth.
1972 – The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People's Republic of China instead of the Republic of China.
1975 – At least 17 people are killed in a gun battle between Palestinian Guerrillas and Christian militants in Beirut.
1984 – India annexes territory beyond the Line of Control.
1986 – Pope John Paul II becomes the first Pope to visit a Jewish place of worship when he visits a synagogue in Rome.
1987 – Portugal agrees to return Macau to China's control in 1999.
1992 – In the United Kingdom, the leader of the Labour Party, Neil Kinnock, announces his resignation.
1992 – Chicago is flooded.
1997 – Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the US Masters tournament.

From 2001

2002 – Armenian anti–government protests are violently crushed.
2003 – The National Library in Baghdad is set on fire, with many historical documents being lost.
2013 – Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum is officially re–opened after a decade–long restoration.
2014 – A bus crash in Veracruz, Mexico, kills 36 people.
2017 – The United States drops its biggest–ever non–nuclear bomb in eastern Afghanistan.

Births

Up to 1900

1506 – Peter Faber, French theologian (d. 1546)
1519 – Catherine of Medici, Queen of France (d. 1589)
1570 – Guy Fawkes, English conspirator (d. 1606)
1573 – Christina of Holstein–Gottorp (d. 1625)
1593 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Stratford, English politician (d. 1641)
1732 – Frederick North, Lord North, Prime Minister of Great Britain (d. 1792)
1735 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician (d. 1791)
1743 – Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
1747 – Louis II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1793)
1771 – Richard Trevithick, Cornish engineer (d. 1833)
1780 – Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer (d. 1868)
1784 – Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877)
1802 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist (d. 1884)
1808 – Antonio Meucci, Italian inventor (d. 1889)
1816 – Sterndale Bennett, English composer, pianist and conductor (d. 1875)
1825 – Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868)
1832 – Juan Montalvo, Ecuadorean writer (d. 1889)
1850 – Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, Irish astronomer (d. 1917)
1852 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, American businessman (d. 1919)
1860 – James Ensor, Belgian painter (d. 1949)
1864 – Bertha Zuckerkandl, Austrian writer and journalist (d. 1945)
1866 – Butch Cassidy, American outlaw (d. 1908)
1872 – Jan Szczepanik, Polish chemist and inventor (d. 1926)
1872 – John Cameron, Scottish footballer (d. 1935)
1873 – John W. Davis, American politician (d. 1955)
1875 – Ray Lyman Wilbur, American doctor, academic and politician (d. 1949)
1885 – Georg Lukacs, Hungarian philosopher and critic (d. 1971)
1890 – Frank Murphy, 56th United States Attorney General (d. 1949)
1891 – Nella Larsen, American writer (d. 1964)
1891 – Robert Scholl, German politician (d. 1973)
1892 – Robert Watson–Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1973)
1894 – Arthur Fadden, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973)
1897 – Werner Voss, German pilot (d. 1917)
1899 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and inventor of Scrabble (d. 1993)
1899 – Alfred Schütz, Austrian philosopher (d. 1959)
1900 – Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976)

1901 – 1950

1906 – Samuel Beckett, Irish playwright (d. 1989)
1906 – Gabriel Ramanantsoa, President of Madagascar (d. 1979)
1907 – Harold Stassen, American politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2001)
1909 – Stanislaw Ulam, Ukrainian–American mathematician (d. 1984)
1911 – Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer (d. 1946)
1917 – Bill Clements, American politician, 42nd Governor of Texas (d. 2011)
1919 – Madalyn Murray O'Hair, American activist, founder of American Atheists (d. 1995)
1919 – Howard Keel, American actor (d. 2004)
1920 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982)
1920 – Liam Cosgrave, Irish Taoiseach (d. 2017)
1920 – Claude Cheysson, French politician (d. 2012)
1921 – Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen–Bornemisza, Dutch–Swiss businessman (d. 2002)
1921 – Dona Ivone Lara, Brazilian singer and composer (d. 2018)
1922 – John Braine, English novelist (d. 1986)
1922 – Julius Nyerere, 1st President of Tanzania (d. 1999)
1923 – Don Adams, American actor (d. 2005)
1924 – Stanley Donen, American director and choreographer (d. 2019)
1925 – Michael Halliday, English–Australian linguist (d. 2018)
1926 – John Spencer–Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, English aristocrat and businessman (d. 2014)
1927 – Maurice Ronet, French actor and director (d. 1983)
1928 – Alan Clark, English politician (d. 1999)
1929 – Marilynn Smith, American golfer (d. 2019)
1930 – Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romanian director, screenwriter and politician (d. 2013)
1931 – Robert Enrico, French director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1931 – Jon Stone, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
1932 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean–American economist, politician and educator (d. 1976)
1934 – John Muckler, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and manager
1937 – Berge Furre, Norwegian politician, historian and theologian (d. 2016)
1939 – Seamus Heaney, Irish writer (d. 2013)
1939 – Paul Sorvino, American actor
1940 – J. M. G. Le Clézio, French writer
1940 – Max Mosley, English racing executive
1940 – Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
1941 – Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist
1941 – Margaret Price, Welsh soprano (d. 2011)
1942 – Bill Conti, American composer and conductor
1946 – Al Green, American singer
1948 – Juan Taverna, Argentine footballer (d. 2014)
1949 – Christopher Hitchens, British journalist, writer and critic (d. 2011)
1950 – Ron Perlman, American actor

1951 – 1975

1951 – Peter Davison, British actor
1951 – Joachim Streich, East German footballer
1951 – Kaci Kullmann Five, Norwegian politician (d. 2017)
1951 – Max Weinberg, American drummer
1951 – Peabo Bryson, American singer
1953 – Stephen Byers, British politician
1953 – Brigitte Macron, French teacher, wife of Emmanuel Macron
1955 – Ole von Beust, German politician, former Mayor of Hamburg
1960 – Rudi Völler, German footballer
1962 – Edivaldo Martins Fonseca, Brazilian footballer (d. 1993)
1962 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli–born guitarist (d. 1988)
1963 – Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player
1964 – Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress
1964 – Andy Goram, Scottish footballer
1964 – John Swinney, Scottish politician
1964 – Davis Love III, American golfer
1966 – Ali Boumnijel, Tunisian footballer
1968 – Margrethe Vestager, Danish politician
1970 – Rick Schroder, American actor and director
1972 – Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish ice hockey player
1974 – David Zdrilic, Australian footballer
1974 – Marta Jandova, Czech singer

From 1976

1976 – Valentina Cervi, Italian actress
1976 – Yoo Ji–tae, South Korean actor and director
1978 – Carles Puyol, Spanish–Catalan footballer
1978 – James Jordan, English dancer and choreographer
1979 – Meghann Shaugnessy, American tennis player
1979 – Tony Lundon, Irish singer–songwriter, producer and dancer (Liberty X)
1980 – Quentin Richardson, American basketball player
1980 – Jason Maguire, Irish jockey
1980 – Alan Melikdjanian, Latvian–American actor, director and producer
1981 – Gemma Doyle, Scottish politician
1981 – Courtney Peldon, American actress
1983 – Nicole Cooke, Welsh road racing cyclist
1983 – Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
1983 – Claudio Bravo, Chilean footballer
1983 – Heidi Anderson, American voice actress
1984 – Anders Lindegaard, Danish footballer
1985 – Anna Jennings–Edquist, Australian actress, director and producer
1987 – Brandon Hardesty, American actor
1987 – Allison Weiss, American singer–songwriter
1988 – Petteri Kopponen, Finnish basketball player
1988 – Anderson Luis de Abreu Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
1989 – Nastassia Mionchyk–Ivanova, Belarussian long jumper
1990 – Alyssa Mendonsa, Indian singer
1992 – George North, Welsh rugby player
1993 – Hannah Marks, American actress

Deaths

Up to 1900

548 – Ly Nam De, Emperor of Vietnam (b. 503)
814 – Krum, Bulgarian ruler
1093 – Prince Vsevolod of Kiev (b. 1030)
1138 – Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
1592 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor (b. 1511)
1605 – Tsar Boris Godunov of Russia (b. 1551)
1794 – Nicolas Chamfort, French playwright (b. 1741)
1853 – Leopold Gmelin, German chemist (b. 1788)
1853 – James Iredell, Jr., American politician, 23rd Governor of North Carolina (b. 1788)
1868 – Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1818)
1880 – Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist (b. 1813)
1882 – Bruno Bauer, German historian and philosopher (b. 1809)

1901 – 2000

1904 – Vasily Vereshchagin, Russian painter (b. 1842)
1904 – Stepan Makarov, Russian naval commander (b. 1849)
1911 – John McLane, Scottish–American politician, 50th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1852)
1911 – George Washington Glick, American politician, 9th Governor of Kansas (b. 1827)
1912 – Ishikawa Takuboku, Japanese writer (b. 1886)
1918 – Lavr Georgevich Kornilov, Russian general (b. 1870)
1927 – Georg Voigt, German politician (b. 1866)
1936 – Konstantinos Demertzis, 129th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876)
1938 – Grey Owl, English–Canadian conservationist (b. 1888)
1941 – Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (b. 1863)
1942 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician (b. 1879)
1945 – Ernst Cassirer, German philosopher (b. 1874)
1954 – Samuel Jones, American high jumper (b. 1880)
1954 – Angus Lewis Macdonald, Canadian politician, 12th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1890)
1956 – Emil Nolde, German painter (b. 1867)
1962 – Culbert Olson, American politician, 29th Governor of California (b. 1876)
1966 – Georges Duhamel, French writer (b. 1884)
1966 – Abdul Salam Arif, 2nd President of Iraq (b. 1921)
1972 – Johannes Sveinsson Kjarval, Icelandic painter (b. 1885)
1975 – Larry Parks, American actor (b. 1914)
1975 – François Tombalbaye, 1st President of Chad (b. 1918)
1981 – Prince Asaka Yasuhiko of Japan (b. 1887)
1984 – Richard Hurndall, British actor (b. 1910)
1999 – Ortvin Sarapu, New Zealand chess player (b. 1924)
1999 – Willi Stoph, East German politician (b. 1914)
2000 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian writer (b. 1916)

From 2001

2002 – Desmond Titterington, Northern Irish racing driver (b. 1928)
2004 – Caron Keating, English–Irish television host (b. 1962)
2006 – Muriel Spark, Scottish writer (b. 1918)
2008 – Mark Speight, English children's television presenter (b. 1965) (body found on this date)
2008 – John Archibald Wheeler, American theoretical physicist (b. 1911)
2011 – Buster Martin, French–British marathon runner (b. 1906 or 1913)
2013 – Lin Yang–kang, Chinese–Taiwanese politician (b. 1927)
2014 – Ernesto Laclau, Argentine political theorist (b. 1935)
2014 – Peter Drummond–Murray of Mastrick, Scottish herald and banker (b. 1929)
2015 – Ronnie Carroll, Northern Irish singer and politician (b. 1934)
2015 – Thelma Coyne Long, Australian tennis player (b. 1918)
2015 – Herb Trimpe, American comic book artist (b. 1939)
2015 – Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist, novelist and writer (b. 1940)
2015 – Günter Grass, German novelist (b. 1927)
2015 – Orma Slack, Canadian supercentenarian (b. 1903)
2016 – Mariano Mores, Argentine tango composer and pianist (b. 1918)
2016 – Manouchehr Sotodeh, Iranian geographer (b. 1913)
2016 – Gareth Thomas, Welsh actor (b. 1945)
2016 – Ray Thornton, American attorney and politician (b. 1928)
2016 – Nera White, American basketball player (b. 1935)
2017 – Fred Goldsmith, Australian football player (b. 1932)
2017 – David Mwiraria, Kenyan politician (b. 1938)
2017 – Dan Rooney, American football executive and diplomat (b. 1932)
2017 – K. S. Chandrasekharan, Indian–Swiss mathematician (b. 1920)
2018 – Art Bell, American writer and radio host (b. 1945)
2018 – Joy Laville, English–Mexican sculptor, painter and potter (b. 1923)
2018 – Milos Forman, Czech–American film director and screenwriter (b. 1932)
2019 – Francisca Aguirre, Spanish poet (b. 1930)
2019 – Tony Buzan, English writer (b. 1942)
2019 – Neus Catala, Spanish Resistance fighter and Holocaust survivor (b. 1915)
2019 – Paul Greengard, American neuroscientist (b. 1925)
2019 – Norio Kaifu, Japanese astronomer (b. 1943)
2019 – D. Babu Paul, Indian civil servant (b. 1941)
2019 – Paul Raymond, English musician (b. 1945)
2019 – S. K. Shivakumar, Indian rocket scientist (b. 1953)
2019 – Lydia Wideman, Finnish cross–country skier (b. 1920)
2019 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand athlete (b. 1929)

Observances

Songkan (Laos)
Songkran (Thailand)
Cambodian New Year
Thomas Jefferson's birthday (United States)