March 13

Historic Events

2020

President Donald Trump declares the COVID-19 pandemic to be a national emergency in the United States. ›

2020

Breonna Taylor is killed by police officers who were forcibly entering her home in Louisville, Kentucky; her death sparked extensive protests against racism and police brutality. ›

2020

Katerina Sakellaropoulou is sworn in as the first female President of Greece amid strict COVID-19 measures. ›

2016

The Ankara bombing kills at least 37 people. ›

2016

Three gunmen attack two hotels in the Ivory Coast town of Grand-Bassam, killing at least 19 people. ›

2015

Serbian Army Mi-17 helicopter crashes near Belgrade airport while transporting a 5-day-old baby with respiratory problems to hospital, killing all 7 on board. ›

2013

The 2013 papal conclave elects Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio taking the name Pope Francis as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church. ›

2012

The Sierre coach crash kills 28 people, including 22 children. ›

2003

An article in Nature identifies the Ciampate del Diavolo as 350,000-year-old hominid footprints. ›

1997

The Missionaries of Charity choose Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as their leader. ›

1996

The Dunblane massacre leads to the death of sixteen primary school children and one teacher in Dunblane, Scotland. ›

1993

The 1993 Storm of the Century affects the eastern United States, dropping feet of snow in many areas. ›

1992

The Mw 6.6 Erzincan earthquake strikes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). ›

1989

Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-29 carrying the TDRS-4 satellite. ›

1988

The Seikan Tunnel, the longest tunnel in the world with an undersea segment, opens between Aomori and Hakodate, Japan. ›

1979

The New Jewel Movement, headed by Maurice Bishop, ousts the Prime Minister of Grenada, Eric Gairy, in a coup d'état. ›

1974

Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight 802 crashes into the White Mountains near Bishop, California, killing 36. ›

1969

Apollo 9 returns safely to Earth after testing the Lunar Module. ›

1964

Kitty Genovese is murdered in New York City, prompting research into the bystander effect due to the false story that neighbors witnessed the killing and did nothing to help her. ›

1957

Cuban student revolutionaries storm the presidential palace in Havana in a failed attempt on the life of President Fulgencio Batista. ›

1954

The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ begins with an artillery barrage by Viet Minh forces under Võ Nguyên Giáp; Viet Minh victory led to the end of the First Indochina War and French withdrawal from Vietnam. ›

1940

The Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union officially ends after the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty. ›

1930

The news of the discovery of Pluto is announced by Lowell Observatory. ›

1920

The Kapp Putsch briefly ousts the Weimar Republic government from Berlin. ›

1900

British forces occupy Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, during the Second Boer War. ›

1888

The eruption of Ritter Island triggers tsunamis that kill up to 3,000 people on nearby islands. ›

1884

The Siege of Khartoum begins. It lasts until January 26, 1885. ›

1862

The Act Prohibiting the Return of Slaves is passed by the United States Congress, effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation. ›

1848

The German revolutions of 1848–1849 begin in Vienna. ›

1845

Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto receives its première performance in Leipzig with Ferdinand David as soloist. ›

1825

Pope Leo XII publishes the apostolic constitution Quo Graviora in which he renewed the prohibition on Catholics joining freemasonry. ›

1815

Participants at the Congress of Vienna declare Napoleon an outlaw following his escape from Elba. ›

1811

A French and Italian fleet is defeated by a British squadron off the island of Vis in the Adriatic during the Napoleonic Wars. ›

1809

Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden is deposed in the Coup of 1809. ›

1781

William Herschel discovers Uranus. ›

1741

The Battle of Cartagena de Indias (part of the War of Jenkins' Ear) begins. ›

1697

Nojpetén, capital of the last independent Maya kingdom, falls to Spanish conquistadors, the final step in the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. ›

1639

Harvard College is named after clergyman John Harvard. ›

1591

At the Battle of Tondibi in Mali, Moroccan forces of the Saadi dynasty, led by Judar Pasha, defeat the Songhai Empire, despite being outnumbered by at least five to one. ›

1567

The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War. ›

1323

Siege of Warangal: Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq sends an expeditionary army led by his son, Muhammad bin Tughluq, to the Kakatiya capital Warangal – after ruler Prataparudra has refused to make tribute payments. He besieges the city and finally, after a campaign of 8 months, Prataparudra surrenders on November 9. ›

1261

The Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Genoa sign a permanent treaty against the Venetians at Nymphaeum. ›

624

The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh. ›

483

Election of Pope Felix III following the death of Pope Simplicius earlier that month. ›

222

Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander. ›