July 13

Historic Events

2024

Former president of the United States Donald Trump is injured in an assassination attempt while speaking at an election campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. ›

2020

After a five-day search, the body of American actress and singer Naya Rivera is recovered from Lake Piru in California, where she had drowned. ›

2016

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron resigns, and is succeeded by Theresa May. ›

2014

Germany wins the FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina in the final 1–0 after extra time. ›

2013

Typhoon Soulik kills at least nine people and affects more than 160 million in East China and Taiwan. ›

2011

Mumbai is rocked by three bomb blasts during the evening rush hour, killing 26 and injuring 130. ›

2011

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1999 is adopted, which admits South Sudan to member status of United Nations. ›

2011

Noar Linhas Aéreas Flight 4896 crashes in Boa Viagem, Recife, killing all 16 people on board. ›

2008

Battle of Wanat begins when Taliban and al-Qaeda guerrillas attack US Army and Afghan National Army troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. deaths were, at that time, the most in a single battle since the beginning of operations in 2001. ›

2003

French DGSE personnel abort an operation to rescue Íngrid Betancourt from FARC rebels in Colombia, causing a political scandal when details are leaked to the press. ›

1995

Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-70 to deploy the TDRS-7 satellite. ›

1990

Lenin Peak disaster: a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan triggers an avalanche on Lenin Peak, killing 43 climbers in the deadliest mountaineering disaster in history. ›

1985

The Live Aid benefit concert takes place in London and Philadelphia, as well as other venues such as Moscow and Sydney. ›

1985

Vice President George H. W. Bush becomes the Acting President for the day when President Ronald Reagan undergoes surgery to remove polyps from his colon. ›

1977

Somalia declares war on Ethiopia, starting the Ogaden War. ›

1977

Amidst a period of financial and social turmoil, New York City experiences an electrical blackout lasting nearly 24 hours that leads to widespread fires and looting. ›

1973

Watergate scandal: Alexander Butterfield reveals the existence of a secret Oval Office taping system to investigators for the Senate Watergate Committee. ›

1962

In an unprecedented action, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismisses seven members of his Cabinet, marking the effective end of the National Liberals as a distinct force within British politics. ›

1956

The Dartmouth workshop is the first conference on artificial intelligence. ›

1951

Vuoristorata, one of the oldest still-operating wooden roller coasters in Europe, is opened at the Linnanmäki amusement park in Helsinki, Finland. ›

1941

World War II: Montenegrins begin the Trinaestojulski ustanak (Thirteenth of July Uprising), a popular revolt against the Axis powers. ›

1930

The inaugural FIFA World Cup begins in Uruguay. ›

1919

The British airship R34 lands in Norfolk, England, completing the first airship return journey across the Atlantic in 182 hours of flight. ›

1913

The 1913 Romanian Army cholera outbreak during the Second Balkan War starts. ›

1878

Treaty of Berlin: The European powers redraw the map of the Balkans. Serbia, Montenegro and Romania become completely independent of the Ottoman Empire. ›

1863

American Civil War: The New York City draft riots begin three days of rioting which will later be regarded as the worst in United States history. ›

1854

In the Battle of Guaymas, Mexico, General José María Yáñez stops the French invasion led by Count Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon. ›

1849

The Charleston Workhouse Slave Rebellion begins in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. ›

1841

Austria, Britain, France, Prussia and Russia conclude the London Straits Convention, which forbids warships to cross the Bosporus and Dardanelles in times of war. ›

1831

Regulamentul Organic, a quasi-constitutional organic law, is adopted in Wallachia, one of the two Danubian Principalities that were to become the basis of Romania. ›

1830

The General Assembly's Institution, now the Scottish Church College, one of the pioneering institutions that ushered the Bengali Renaissance, is founded by Alexander Duff and Raja Ram Mohan Roy, in Calcutta, India. ›

1814

The Carabinieri, the national gendarmerie of Italy, is established. ›

1798

The French Armée d'Orient under Napoleon Bonaparte defeats a Mamluk army under Murad Bey in battle of Shubra Khit. ›

1794

The Battle of Trippstadt between French forces and those of Prussia and Austria begins. ›

1787

The Congress of the Confederation enacts the Northwest Ordinance establishing governing rules for the Northwest Territory. It also establishes procedures for the admission of new states and limits the expansion of slavery. ›

1690

Nine Years' War: French naval forces led by Anne Hilarion de Tourville, fresh from their victory at Beachy Head, sail West and launch a raid on the small English town of Teignmouth, leaving it devastated. ›

1643

English Civil War: Battle of Roundway Down: In England, Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, commanding the Royalist forces, heavily defeats the Parliamentarian forces led by Sir William Waller. ›

1586

Anglo–Spanish War: A convoy of English ships from the Levant Company manage to repel a fleet of eleven Spanish and Maltese galleys off the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria. ›

1573

Eighty Years' War: The Siege of Haarlem ends after seven months. ›

1558

Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul de Thermes at Gravelines. ›

1402

Nanjing surrenders to Zhu Di without a fight, ending the Jingnan campaign. The Jianwen Emperor disappears and his family is incarcerated. ›

1260

The Livonian Order suffers its greatest defeat in the 13th century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. ›

1249

Coronation of Alexander III as King of Scots. ›

1174

William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173–74, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England. ›