Title: December 13 Content: == Events == === Up to 1900 === * 1294 - Pope Celestine V resigns from the papacy after only five months. He was the last pope to resign voluntarily until Pope Benedict XVI did so in 2013. * 1545 - The Council of Trent begins. * 1577 - Francis Drake sets sail on his global voyage from Plymouth, Southwest England, on the ship The Golden Hind. * 1642 - Abel Tasman reaches New Zealand. * 1643 - English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire. * 1675 - The Swedish-controlled North German city of Wismar is attacked by Danish troops during the Scanian War. * 1758 - English transport ship Duke William sinks in the North Atlantic Ocean, killing over 360 people. * 1769 - Dartmouth College is founded in New Hampshire. * 1862 - American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats Union General Ambrose Burnside. * 1864 - Paraguay declares war on Brazil. === 1901 2000 === * 1937 - Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking - Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese. This is followed by the Nanking Massacre committed by Japanese forces against local civilians. * 1939 - Holocaust: Neuengamme Concentration Camp opens. * 1939 - World War II: The Battle of River Plate takes place between the German Navy and the British Royal Navy. * 1941 - World War II: The Kingdoms of Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. * 1941 - A glacier breaks apart at Palcacocha Lake in the Peruvian Andes, resulting in a mud avalanche that kills around 6,000 people in the city of Huaraz. * 1943 - World War II: Massacre of Kalavryta by German occupying forces in Greece. * 1949 - Israel's parliament, the Knesset, votes to make Jerusalem the capital city of Israel. * 1959 - Archbishop Makarios III becomes the first President of Cyprus. * 1960 - Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie is removed from power while on a visit abroad, in Brazil. * 1962 - NASA launches Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit. * 1967 - The deposed King Constantine II of Greece attempts an unsuccessful coup against the Regime of the Colonels. * 1967 - The Pioneer 8 space probe is launched. * 1972 - Apollo 17 astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan become the last people to-date to have set foot on the Moon. * 1974 - Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations. * 1977 - A DC-3 aircraft chartered from Indianapolis-based National Jet crashes near Evansville Regional Airport in Indiana, killing 29 people, including the entire University of Evansville basketball team. * 1979 - Joe Clark's Canadian government is defeated in a vote of confidence. A new election in early 1980 brings Pierre Trudeau back as Prime Minister of Canada, less than a year after being voted out of the post. * 1981 - General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares Martial Law in Poland. * 1982 - The Arabian peninsula is struck by magnitude 6 earthquake, killing around 2,800 people. * 1985 - Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, killing all 256 people on board. * 1989 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out an attack at the Derryard Checkpoint in Northern Ireland, killing 2 British soldiers. * 1996 - Kofi Annan is chosen as UN Secretary-General. He succeeds Boutros Boutros-Ghali on January 1, 1997. * 2000 - The "Texas Seven" escape from the John B. Connally Unit near Kennedy, Texas and go on a robbery spree. === From 2001 === * 2001 - The Indian parliament building in New Delhi is attacked by terrorists. * 2002 - The EU announces that ten new member states are to join on May 1, 2004. * 2003 – Saddam Hussein is captured by United States-led forces near his home town of Tikrit. * 2006 - Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is adopted. * 2007 - Treaty of Lisbon is adopted. * 2011 - Gunman Nordine Amrani shoots six people dead at a Christmas market in Liege, Belgium, before killing himself. * 2014 - A landslide in Java, Indonesia, kills at least 18 people and leaves 90 missing. * 2016 - Syrian civil war: Government forces take control of the city of Aleppo. == Births == === Up to 1900 === * 1272 - Frederick III of Sicily (d. 1337) * 1521 - Pope Sixtus V (d. 1590) * 1533 - King Eric XIV of Sweden (d. 1577) * 1553 – King Henry IV of France (d. 1610) * 1560 - Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, French statesman (d. 1641) * 1640 - Robert Plot, English chemist and academic (d. 1696) * 1662 - Francesco Bianchini, Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1729) * 1678 - Yongzheng Emperor of China (d. 1735) * 1684 - Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian, philosopher and author (d. 1754) * 1720 - Carlo Gozzi, Italian dramatist (d. 1804) * 1780 - Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, German chemist (d. 1849) * 1784 - Archduke Louis of Austria (d. 1864) * 1790 - Giuseppe Marco Fieschi, conspirator against Louis Philippe I of France (d. 1836) * 1797 - Heinrich Heine, German poet (d. 1856) * 1804 - Joseph Howe, 5th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 1873) * 1816 - Ernst Werner von Siemens, German engineer, inventor and industrialist (d. 1892) * 1818 - Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady of the United States (d. 1882) * 1836 - Franz von Lenbach, German painter (d. 1904) * 1846 - Henri-Paul Motte, French painter (d. 1922) * 1854 - Herman Bavinck, Dutch theologian and churchman (d. 1921) * 1860 - Lucien Guitry, French actor (d. 1925) * 1864 - Emil Seidel, Mayor of Milwaukee (d. 1947) * 1867 - Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian explorer and scientist (d. 1917) * 1870 - Edward LeSaint, American actor and director (d. 1914) * 1871 - Emily Carr, Canadian artist (d. 1945) * 1874 - Josef Lhevinne, Russian pianist and professor (d. 1944) * 1883 - Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer and archivist (d. 1950) * 1887 - Alvin York, American soldier (d. 1964) * 1894 - Fernando de Fuentes, Mexican movie director (d. 1958) * 1897 - Albert Aalbers, Dutch architect (d. 1961) * 1900 - Jonel Perlea, Romanian conductor (d. 1970) === 1901 1950 === * 1902 - Panagiotis Kanellopoulos, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1986) * 1902 - Talcott Parsons, American sociologist (d. 1979) * 1903 - Ella Baker, American Civil Rights activist (d. 1986) * 1903 - Carlos Montoya, Spanish guitarist (d. 1993) * 1906 - Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (d. 1968) * 1906 - Laurens van der Post, South African writer (d. 1996) * 1911 - Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist (d. 1999) * 1913 - Arnold Brown, 11th General of the Salvation Army (d. 2002) * 1913 - Archie Moore, American boxer (d. 1998) * 1915 - B. J. Vorster, Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1983) * 1915 - Curd Jürgens, German-Austrian actor (d. 1982) * 1916 - Archie Moore, American boxer (d. 1998) * 1918 - Kim Won-kwon, Korean athlete * 1918 - Rosalia Lombardo, Italian pneumonia victim (d. 1920) * 1920 - George Shultz, 60th United States Secretary of State * 1923 - Philip Warren Anderson, American physicist * 1923 - Antoni Tapies, Catalan artist (d. 2012) * 1923 - Edward Clancy, Australian cardinal (d. 2014) * 1923 - Frankie Fraser, English gangster (d. 2014) * 1924 - Maria Riva, American actress * 1925 - Dick Van Dyke, American actor * 1926 - George Rhoden, Jamaican athlete * 1927 - Geneviève Page, French actress * 1928 - Nati Mistral, Spanish actress (d. 2017) * 1928 - Jack Tramiel, Polish-born American businessman (d. 2012) * 1929 - Christopher Plummer, Canadian actor * 1933 - Doug Mohns, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2014) * 1934 - Richard D. Zanuck, American movie producer (d. 2012) * 1936 - Shah Karim al-Husseini, Agha Khan IV * 1937 - Robert Gernhardt, German poet (d. 2006) * 1938 - Heino, German folk singer * 1941 - John Davidson, American actor and game show host * 1942 - Howard Brenton, English playwright and screenwriter * 1942 - Arne Treholt, Norwegian politician * 1942 - Anna Eshoo, American politician * 1942 - Ferguson Jenkins, Canadian baseball player * 1943 - Nikhil Baran Sengupta, Indian art director, producer and designer (d. 2014) * 1945 - Herman Cain, American businessman and politician * 1946 - Pierino Prati, Italian footballer * 1947 - Luis Angelo Gonzalez Macchi, former President of Paraguay * 1948 - Ted Nugent, American musician * 1948 - Lillian Board, British athlete (d. 1970) * 1949 - Robert Lindsay, British actor * 1949 - Manfred Bleskin, German journalist (d. 2014) * 1950 - Tom Vilsack, 40th Governor of Iowa === 1951 1975 === * 1952 - Sylvester Ritter, American professional wrestler (d. 1998) * 1953 - Ben Bernanke, American economist * 1953 - Thomas Kurzhals, German keyboardist and songwriter (d. 2014) * 1953 - Bob Gainey, Canadian ice hockey player * 1956 - Majida El Roumi, Lebanese soprano * 1956 - Phil Hubbard, American basketball player * 1957 - Steve Buscemi, American actor * 1958 - Lynn-Holly Johnson, American figure skater * 1959 - Johnny Whitaker, American actor and singer * 1960 - José Eduardo Agualusa, Angolan writer * 1961 - Harry Gregson-Williams, British movie score composer, music producer and conductor * 1961 - Toru Yoshikawa, Japanese footballer * 1962 - Roger Ilegems, Belgian cyclist * 1964 - Hide, Japanese musician (d. 1998) * 1964 - Dieter Eilts, German footballer * 1966 - Craig Brewster, Scottish footballer * 1967 – Jamie Foxx, American actor and singer * 1967 - Noel Fitzpatrick, Irish veterinarian * 1969 - Sergei Fedorov, Russian ice hockey player * 1970 - Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, Austrian mountaineer * 1971 - Leanne Wood, Welsh politician, leader of Plaid Cymru * 1971 - Gloria Casarez, American activist (d. 2014) * 1973 - Christie Clark, American actress * 1974 – Sara Cox, English television and radio presenter * 1974 - Nicholas McCarthy, British musician for Franz Ferdinand * 1975 - Tom DeLonge, American musician === From 1976 === * 1976 - Radoslaw Sobolewski, Polish footballer * 1977 - Sascha Kindred, German-born British Paralympic swimmer * 1977 - Lauri Porra, Finnish musician * 1977 - Peter Stringer, Irish rugby player * 1978 - Kaspars Kambala, Latvian basketball player * 1978 - Olav Bjortomt, British quiz player, crossword compiler * 1980 - Satoshi Tsumabuki, Japanese actor * 1980 - Agnieszka Wlodarczyk, Polish actress * 1981 - Amy Lee, American singer-songwriter * 1981 - Liam Lawrence, Irish footballer * 1984 - Santi Cazorla, Spanish footballer * 1984 - Michal Kadlec, Czech footballer * 1985 - Michael Bumpus, American football player * 1987 - James Holmes, American mass shooter * 1988 - Rickie Fowler, American golfer * 1989 – Taylor Swift, American country singer * 1989 - Dasha Kapustina, Russian model * 1989 - Katherine Schwarzenegger, American author * 1991 - Sénah Mongo, Togolese footballer * 1995 - Marvin Friedrich, German footballer == Deaths == === Up to 1900 === * 558 - Childebert I, King of Paris (b. 496) * 838 - Pepin I of Aquitaine (b. 797) * 1048 - Abu Rahman al-Biruni, Persian scholar and polymath (b. 973) * 1124 - Pope Callixtus II (b. 1065) * 1126 - Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1075) * 1204 - Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (b. 1135) * 1250 - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1194) * 1404 - Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1336) * 1466 - Donatello, Florentine painter and sculptor (b. 1386) * 1516 - Johannes Trithemius, German cryptographer and historian (b. 1462) * 1521 - King Manuel I of Portugal (b. 1469) * 1557 - Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia, Italian mathematician and engineer (b. 1500) * 1565 - Conrad Gessner, Swiss botanist and physician (b. 1516) * 1621 - Catherine Stenbock, Queen Consort of Sweden (b. 1535) * 1721 - Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor and castaway, inspiration for Robinson Crusoe (b. 1676) * 1729 - Anthony Collins, English philosopher (b. 1676) * 1754 - Mahmud I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1696) * 1769 - Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet (b. 1715) * 1783 - Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, Swedish astronomer (b. 1717) * 1784 - Samuel Johnson, English poet and lexicographer (b. 1709) * 1837 - Herman of Alaska, Russian missionary and saint (b. 756) * 1863 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel, German poet and playwright (b. 1813) * 1868 - Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist and explorer (b. 1794) * 1883 - Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (b. 1812) === 1901 2000 === * 1917 - Ebe W. Tunnell, Governor of Delaware (b. 1844) * 1922 - Hannes Hafstein, 1st Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1861) * 1924 - Samuel Gompers, English-American labor leader (b. 1850) * 1930 - Fritz Pregl, Slovenian-Austrian chemist (b. 1869) * 1931 - Gustave le Bon, French psychologist (b. 1841) * 1932 - Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter (b. 1853) * 1934 - Thomas A. Watson, assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (b. 1854) * 1935 - Victor Grignard, French chemist (b. 1871) * 1942 - Wlodimir Ledochowski, Austrian-Polish religious leader (b. 1866) * 1944 - Wassily Kandinsky, Russian painter (b. 1866) * 1944 - Lupe Velez, Mexican actress (b. 1908) * 1954 - John Raymond Hubbell, American director and composer (b. 1879) * 1955 - Egas Moniz, Portuguese psychiatrist and neurosurgeon (b. 1874) * 1961 - Grandma Moses, American painter (b. 1860) * 1962 - Harry Barris, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1905) * 1969 - Spencer Williams, American actor and director (b. 1893) * 1972 - Gustav Schwarzenegger, Austrian police chief and inspector (b. 1907) * 1973 - Giuseppe Beltrami, Italian cardinal and Vatican City diplomat (b. 1889) * 1974 – Betty Van Patter, member of the Black Panther Party, murdered. * 1981 - Pigmeat Markham, American actor, singer and dancer (b. 1904) * 1986 - Heather Angel, English actress (b. 1969) * 1986 - Ella Baker, American Civil Rights activist (b. 1903) * 1992 - Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman (b. 1899) * 1994 - Antoine Pinay, Prime Minister of France (b. 1891) === From 2001 === * 2001 – Chuck Schuldiner, singer/guitarist of Death * 2002 - Zal Yanovsky, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944) * 2003 - William V. Roth, Jr., American politician (b. 1921) * 2006 - Lamar Hunt, American businessman (b. 1932) * 2008 - Kathy Staff, English actress (b. 1928) * 2008 - Horst Tappert, German actor (b. 1923) * 2009 - Paul Samuelson, American economist (b. 1918) * 2010 - Richard Holbrooke, American diplomat (b. 1941) * 2011 - Klaus-Dieter Sieloff, German footballer (b. 1942) * 2012 - Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer (b. 1919) * 2014 - Ernst Albrecht, German politician, Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (b. 1930) * 2014 - Andreas Schockenhoff, German politician (b. 1957) * 2014 - Bill Bonds, American news presenter (b. 1932) * 2014 - Joan Barril, Spanish writer and journalist (b. 1952) * 2015 - Benedict Anderson, American academic and writer (b. 1936) * 2015 - John Bannon, Australian politician, Premier of South Australia (b. 1943) * 2016 - Thomas Schelling, American economist (b. 1921) * 2016 - Alan Thicke, Canadian actor (b. 1947) * 2017 - Warrel Dane, American heavy metal singer-songwriter (b. 1961) * 2017 - Simon Dickie, New Zealand rower (b. 1951) * 2017 - Bruce Gray, Puerto Rican-Canadian actor (b. 1936) * 2017 - Bill Hudson, American football player (b. 1935) * 2017 - Dan Johnson, American politician (b. 1960) * 2017 - Frank Lary, American baseball player (b. 1930) * 2017 - Gerald O'Brien, New Zealand politician (b. 1924) * 2021 - Tank, dog of Tristan Corso ==Holidays== *Saint Lucy's Day, celebrated in some European countries, mainly in Sweden *National Day of Saint Lucia *Republic Day (Malta) *Acadian Remembrance Day Category:Days of the year