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This day in history

This day in history: 13 May

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Key facts

315 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 13 May.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2014: An explosion at an underground coal mine in southwest Turkey kills 301 miners.

Holidays and observances

Abbotsbury Garland Day (Dorset, England)

Christian feast day: André-Hubert Fournet

Christian feast day: Conchita Barrecheguren (Roman Catholic)

Christian feast day: Frances Perkins (Episcopal Church (USA))

Christian feast day: Gerard of Villamagna

Christian feast day: Glyceria

Christian feast day: John the Silent (Roman Catholic)

Christian feast day: Julian of Norwich (Roman Catholic)

Christian feast day: May 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Our Lady of Fátima

Christian feast day: Servatius

Rotuma Day (Rotuma)

Events

2014An explosion at an underground coal mine in southwest Turkey kills 301 miners.

2013American physician Kermit Gosnell is found guilty in Pennsylvania of murdering three infants born alive during attempted abortions, involuntary manslaughter of a woman during an abortion procedure, and other charges.

2012Forty-nine dismembered bodies are discovered by Mexican authorities on Mexican Federal Highway 40.

2011Two bombs explode in the Charsadda District of Pakistan killing 98 people and wounding 140 others.

2006São Paulo violence: Rebellions occur in several prisons in Brazil.

2005Andijan uprising, Uzbekistan: Troops open fire on crowds of protestors after a prison break; at least 187 people were killed according to official estimates.

2000A fireworks storage depot explodes in a residential neighborhood in Enschede, Netherlands, killing 23 people and injuring 950 others.

1999Kosovo War: NATO bombs the village of Koriša, killing at least 87 people.

1998India carries out two nuclear weapon tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.

1998Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped.

1996Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.

1995Alison Hargreaves, a 33-year-old British mother, becomes the first woman to ascend Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.

1992Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People's Republic of China.

1990The Dinamo–Red Star riot takes place at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia, between the Bad Blue Boys (fans of Dinamo Zagreb) and the Delije (fans of Red Star Belgrade).

1989Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.

1985Police bomb MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia, killing six adults and five children, and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.

1981Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.

1980An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.

1972A fire occurs in the Sennichi Department Store in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators result in 118 fatalities (many victims leaping to their deaths).

1972The Troubles: A car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army. Seven people are killed and over 66 injured.

1969In the aftermath of the 1969 Malaysian general election, Sino-Malay sectarian violence erupts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

1967Dr. Zakir Husain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, 1969.

1960Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

1958Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.

1958During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, the US Vice President Richard Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.

1958May 1958 crisis: A group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.

1954The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place.

1952The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.

1951The 400th anniversary of the founding of the National University of San Marcos is commemorated by the opening of the first large-capacity stadium in Peru.

1950The inaugural Formula One World Championship race takes place at Silverstone Circuit. The race was won by Giuseppe Farina, who would go on to become the inaugural champion that year.

1949Aeroflot Flight 17 crashes on approach to Severny Airport in Novosibirsk, killing 25.

1948Arab–Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre occurs, a day prior to the Israeli Declaration of Independence.

1945World War II: Yevgeny Khaldei's photograph Raising a Flag over the Reichstag is published in Ogonyok magazine.

1943World War II: Operations Vulcan and Strike force the surrender of the last Axis troops in Tunisia.

1940World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins, as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons.

1917Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal.

1912The Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.

1909The first edition of the Giro d'Italia, a long-distance multiple-stage bicycle race, begins in Milan; the Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna was the eventual winner.

1888With the passage of the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law"), the Empire of Brazil abolishes slavery.

1862Southern slave Robert Smalls steals the steamboat Planter, spirits it through Confederate lines and hands it to the United States Navy, who quickly commission it as the gunboat USS Planter and appoint Smalls as captain, thus making him the

Born on this day

2005Romain Esse, English footballer

2003Jabari Smith Jr., American basketball player

2003Javi Guerra, Spanish footballer

2003Jaxson Dart, American football player

2002Diego López, Spanish footballer

1999Aníbal Moreno, Argentine footballer

1999Óscar Mingueza, Spanish footballer

1998Adrià Pedrosa, Spanish footballer

1998Luca Zidane, Algerian footballer

1997Nico Hoerner, American baseball player

1994Percy Tau, South African footballer

1993Abby Dahlkemper, American footballer

1993Debby Ryan, American actress and singer

1993Morgan Wallen, American singer-songwriter

1993Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer

1992Josh Papalii, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player

1992Mark Stone, Canadian hockey player

1992Thievy Bifouma, Congolese footballer

1992Tyrann Mathieu, American football player

1992Willson Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player

1991Alan Patrick, Brazilian footballer

1991Francis Coquelin, French footballer

1991Jen Beattie, Scottish footballer

1991Junior Messias, Brazilian footballer

1990Mychal Givens, American baseball player

1989P. K. Subban, Canadian ice hockey player

1988Casey Donovan, Australian singer-songwriter

1988Lydia Williams, Australian footballer

1988Paulo Avelino, Filipino actor and singer

1987Candice King, American singer-songwriter and actress

1987Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclist

1986Alexander Rybak, Belarusian-Norwegian singer-songwriter, violinist, and actor

1986Kris Versteeg, Canadian ice hockey player

1986Lena Dunham, American actress, director, and screenwriter

1986Robert Pattinson, English actor

1985Iwan Rheon, Welsh actor and singer

1985Jaroslav Halák, Slovak ice hockey player

1985Javi Balboa, Equatoguinean footballer

1985Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player

1984Dawn Harper, American hurdler

Died on this day

2025Danny Lendich, New Zealand businessperson (born 1944)

2025José Mujica, Uruguayan politician, 40th President of Uruguay (born 1935)

2025Kit Bond, American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of Missouri (born 1939)

2024Alice Munro, Canadian short story writer (born 1931)

2024Cyril Wecht, American forensic pathologist (born 1931)

2024Samm-Art Williams, American playwright and screenwriter (born 1946)

2022Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2nd President of the United Arab Emirates (born 1948)

2019Doris Day, American singer and actress (born 1922)

2019Unita Blackwell, American civil rights activist and politician (born 1933)

2016Murray A. Straus, American sociologist and academic (born 1926)

2015David Sackett, American-Canadian physician and academic (born 1934)

2015Earl Averill, Jr., American baseball player (born 1931)

2015Gainan Saidkhuzhin, Russian cyclist (born 1937)

2015Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (born 1928)

2015Robert Drasnin, American clarinet player and composer (born 1927)

2014David Malet Armstrong, Australian philosopher and author (born 1926)

2014J. F. Coleman, American soldier and pilot (born 1918)

2014Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish director and producer (born 1977)

2014Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (born 1948)

2014Ron Stevens, Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1949)

2013Chuck Muncie, American football player (born 1953)

2013Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (born 1973)

2013Jagdish Mali, Indian photographer (born 1954)

2013Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, author, and actress (born 1927)

2013Lynne Woolstencroft, Canadian politician (born 1943)

2013Otto Herrigel, Namibian lawyer and politician (born 1937)

2012Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Cuban-American theologian, author, and academic (born 1943)

2012Arsala Rahmani Daulat, Afghan politician (born 1937)

2012Donald "Duck" Dunn, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (born 1941)

2012Don Ritchie, Australian humanitarian (born 1925)

Quote of the day

“When walking, walk. When eating, eat.”

Zen proverb

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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