October 13

Events
Up to 1900
54 Roman Empire emperor Claudius dies after being poisoned by his wife Agrippina. Nero becomes Emperor.
409 Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and reach Hispania, present-day Spain.
1307 All Knights Templar in France are simultaneously arrested by agents of Phillip the Fair, to be later tortured into "admitting" heresy.
1399 Henry IV of England is crowned King. He founds the Royal House of Lancaster.
1582 Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
1644 A Swedish-Dutch fleet defeats the Danes and captures about 1,000 prisoners.
1710 Port Royal, capital of French Acadia, falls in a siege to British forces.
1773 Charles Messier discovers the Whirlpool Galaxy.
1775 The United States Continental Congress orders the establishment of the Continental Navy (later renamed the United States Navy).
1792 In Washington, DC, the cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House since 1818) is laid.
1803 The first European settlement in Victoria, Australia, is started at Sullivan Bay, Victoria.
1812 War of 1812: Battle of Queenston Heights - On the Niagara frontier in Ontario, Canada, United States forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaerof are repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops led by Sir Isaac Brock.
1825 Ludwig I of Bavaria becomes King.
1843 In New York City, Henry Jones and 11 others found B'nai B'rith (the oldest Jewish service organization in the world).
1845 A majority of voters in the Republic of Texas approve a proposed constitution, that if accepted by the U.S. Congress, will make Texas a U.S. state.
1881 First known conversation in modern Hebrew by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and a group of his friends.
1884 Greenwich, London is decided as the place that the 0 degree longitude line will pass through.
1885 The Georgia Institute of Technology is founded of Atlanta, Georgia.
1898 British passenger ship Mohegan crashes into a reef off Cornwall, sinking within 12 minutes, killing 106 people.
1901 2000
1911 Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn becomes the first British royal to be Governor-General of Canada.
1914 The Boston Braves complete a 4 games to 0 win over the Philadelphia Athletics at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts in the first such victory in Baseball World Series history.
1917 "Miracle of the Sun" is said to have been seen by 70,000 people in Fatima, Portugal.
1918 Talaat Pasha and the Young Turk (C.U.P.) ministry resign and sign an armistice, ending Ottoman participation in World War I.
1921 The Soviet republics of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia sign the Treaty of Kars with the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to determine modern borders between Turkey and the Southern Caucasus states.
1923 Ankara replaces Istanbul as capital city of Turkey.
1943 World War II: The new government of Italy sides with the Allies and declares war on Germany.
1944 World War II: Riga, Latvia is occupied by the Red Army.
1945 The Christian Social Union of Bavaria, the main political party of Bavaria, is founded.
1946 France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
1958 Debut of Paddington Bear fictional character, created by Michael Bond.
1960 1960 World Series: Baseball player Bill Mazeroski becomes the first person to end a World Series with a home run.
1962 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opens on Broadway.
1967 The first game of the American Basketball Association is played in Oakland, California, as the Oakland Oaks defeat the Anaheim Amigos 134-129.
1970 Fiji joins the UN.
1972 An Aeroflot Ilyushin-62 crashed outside Moscow killing 176
1972 Andes flight disaster: Fairchild passenger plane transporting a rugby team crashes in Andes. They are found alive December 20 but they have had to resort to cannibalism to survive, as chronicled in the 1993 movie Alive: The Miracle of the Andes.
1976 A Bolivian Boeing 707 cargo jet crashes in Santa Cruz, Bolivia killing 100 (97, mostly children killed on the ground)
1976 The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle was obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, who was then working at the C.D.C..
1977 Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction.
1990 End of the Lebanese Civil War: Syrian forces launch an attack on the free areas of Lebanon, removing Michel Aoun from the Presidential Palace.
1992 An Antonov An-124 operated by Antonov Airlines crashes near Kiev, Ukraine, killing 8 people.
1995 Microsoft releases Windows 95.
1999 The United States Senate rejects ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
From 2001
2003 The Public Library of Science commences publication of an open-access scientific journal, PLoS Biology.
2006 Ban Ki-moon is chosen to succeed Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General.
2006 Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank win the Nobel Peace Prize.
2010 Miracle of Copiapo: 33 miners, who survived for a record 69 days, trapped underground in the San Jose mine in Chile, are rescued, in a rescue operation that was followed by people around the world.
2016 Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand, dies aged 88 after more than 70 years on the throne. He was the world's longest-serving head of state at the time of his death.
2016 Bob Dylan becomes the first singer-songwriter to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
2016 The Maldives announce their withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Nations.
2017 The United States and Israel announce their withdrawal from UNESCO.
2019 Simone Biles becomes the most-successful ever gymnast at the World Gymnastics Championships.
Births
Up to 1900
1162 Leonora of England, Queen of Castile (d. 1214)
1453 Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (d. 1471)
1474 Mariotto Albertinelli, Italian painter (d. 1495)
1499 Claude of France (d. 1524)
1566 Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, Irish politician (d. 1643)
1613 Luisa of Medina-Sidonia, Queen of Portugal (d. 1666)
1680 Catherine Opalinska, Queen of Poland (d. 1747)
1713 Allan Ramsay, Scottish painter (d. 1784)
1768 Jacques Felix Emmanuel Hamelin, French explorer (d. 1839)
1816 Benjamin H. Brewster, United States Attorney General (d. 1888)
1820 John William Dawson, Canadian geologist (d. 1899)
1821 Rudolf Virchow, German physician, pathologist, biologist and politician (d. 1902)
1825 Charles Frederick Worth, English fashion designer (d. 1895)
1844 Ernest Myers, English poet (d. 1921)
1853 Lillie Langtry, British actress (d. 1929)
1862 Mary Kingsley, British explorer (d. 1900)
1867 Ramon Maximiliano Valdes, 7th President of Panama (d. 1918)
1870 Albert Jay Nock, American writer (d. 1945)
1872 Blaise Diagne, Senegalese politician (d. 1934)
1874 Jozsef Klekl, Slovenian politician in Hungary (d. 1948)
1876 Rube Waddell, American baseball player (d. 1914)
1877 Theodore G. Bilbo, Governor of Mississippi (d. 1947)
1878 Stepan Shahumyan, Armenian politician and revolutionary (d. 1918)
1879 Edward Hennig, American gymnast (d. 1960)
1880 Sasha Cherny, Russian poet (d. 1932)
1883 William Dickey, American diver (d. 1950)
1887 Jozef Tiso, Slovakian politician (d. 1947)
1890 Conrad Richter, American writer (d. 1968)
1891 Irene Rich, American actress (d. 1988)
1893 Kurt Reidemeister, German mathematician (d. 1971)
1895 Mike Gazella, American baseball player (d. 1978)
1896 E. Beatrice Riley, Australian supercentenarian (d. 2009)
1900 Gerald Marks, American composer (d. 1997)
1901 1950
1902 Karl Leichter, Estonian musicologist (d. 1987)
1904 Wilfred Pickles, English actor (d. 1978)
1905 Coloman Braun-Bogdan, Romanian footballer (d. 1983)
1905 Yves Allegret, French movie director (d. 1987)
1908 Steinn Steinarr, Icelandic poet (d. 1958)
1909 Art Tatum, American jazz musician (d. 1956)
1911 Ashok Kumar, Indian actor (d. 2001)
1911 Migjeni, Albanian poet (d. 1938)
1915 Terry Frost, English artist (d. 2003)
1915 Wesley Powell, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1981)
1917 George Osmond, patriarch of the Osmonds (d. 2007)
1920 Laraine Day, American actress (d. 2007)
1921 Yves Montand, French actor and singer (d. 1991)
1923 Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer (d. 2006)
1923 Iona Opie, English folklorist
1924 Terry Gibbs, American jazz musician
1924 Charlie Silvera, American baseball player (d. 2019)
1924 Roberto Eduardo Viola, Argentine military leader (d. 1994)
1925 Lenny Bruce, American comedian (d. 1966)
1925 Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2013)
1925 Gustav Winckler, Danish singer (d. 1979)
1926 Killer Kowalski, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 2008)
1926 Tommy Whittle, British jazz saxophonist (d. 2013)
1927 Lee Konitz, American jazz saxophonist
1927 Turgut Ozal, 8th President of Turkey (d. 1993)
1929 Shivinder Singh Sidhu, Indian politician, Governor of Meghalaya and Goa (d. 2018)
1931 Raymond Kopa, French footballer (d. 2017)
1933 Narriman Sadek, Egyptian royal
1933 Mark Zakharov, Russian director and screenwriter (d. 2019)
1934 Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician
1934 Jack Colvin, American actor (d. 2005)
1938 Christiane Horbiger, Austrian actress
1939 Melinda Dillon, American actress
1940 Pharoah Sanders, American saxophonist
1940 Chris Farlowe, English rock, blues and soul singer
1941 Paul Simon, American musician and songwriter
1942 Rutanya Alda, Latvian-American actress
1943 Edmund Daukoru, OPEC Secretary-General
1943 Peter Sauber, Swiss Formula One team principal
1945 Desi Bouterse, President of Suriname
1946 Edwina Currie, British politician
1947 Joe Dolce, American-born Australian singer-songwriter
1947 Sammy Hagar, American singer
1949 Raimundo Fagner, Brazilian singer, composer and actor
1949 Marisol Malaret, Puerto Rican model
1949 Rick Vito, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
1949 Mark Winzenried, American middle-distance runner
1950 Rolf Russmann, German footballer (d. 2009)
1951 1975
1952 Mundo Earwood, American country musician and singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
1954 Haitham bin Tariq, Sultan of Oman
1954 Mordechai Vanunu, Israeli nuclear technician
1956 Chris Carter, American TV and movie producer, director and writer
1958 Maria Cantwell, American politician
1958 Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi journalist (d. 2018)
1959 Marie Osmond, American entertainer
1960 Joey Belladonna, American musician
1960 Eric Joyce, Scottish politician
1960 Ari Fleischer, 24th White House Press Secretary
1960 Peter Keisler, United States Attorney General
1961 Doc Rivers, American basketball player and coach
1962 Kelly Preston, American actress
1962 Jerry Rice, American football player
1963 Thomas Dorflein, German zookeeper (d. 2008)
1964 Nie Haisheng, Chinese astronaut
1964 Christopher Judge, American actor
1966 John Regis, English athlete
1967 Trevor Hoffman, American baseball player
1967 Javier Sotomayor, Cuban athlete
1967 Kate Walsh, American actress
1968 Carlos Marin, Spanish baritone (Il Divo)
1968 Tisha Campbell, American actress
1969 Nancy Kerrigan, American figure skater
1970 Mel Jackson, American actor and musician
1970 Paul Potts, English tenor
1970 Rob Howley, Welsh rugby player and coach
1971 Sacha Baron Cohen, English actor and comedian
1971 Kira Reed, American actress and TV host, writer and producer
From 1976
1977 Katrin Wagner-Augustin, German canoeist
1977 Paul Pierce, American basketball player
1977 Antonio Di Natale, Italian footballer
1978 Wes Brown, English footballer
1978 Markus Heikkinen, Finnish footballer
1978 Jermaine O'Neal, American basketball player
1980 Magne Hoseth, Norwegian footballer
1980 David Haye, English boxer
1980 Scott Parker, English footballer
1980 Ashanti, American singer and actress
1981 Kele Okereke, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bloc Party)
1982 Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer
1982 Kevin Clifton, English professional dancer
1982 Denis Buntic, Croatian handball player
1984 Misono, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
1984 Frank Simek, American basketball player
1986 Gabriel Agbonlahor, English footballer
1986 Sergio Perez Moya, Mexican footballer
1987 Ashley Newbrough, American actress
1988 Scott Jamieson, Australian footballer
1988 Enrique Perez, Mexican footballer
1988 Susan Thorsgaard, Danish handball player
1989 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, American politician and activist
1990 Pooja Hegde, Indian model and actress
1990 Himesh Patel, English actor
1992 Aaron Dismuke, American voice actor
1993 Kaito Ishikawa, Japanese voice actor
1993 D-Pryde, Canadian rapper
1993 Tiffany Trump, daughter of Donald Trump
Deaths
Up to 1900
54 Claudius, Roman Emperor (b. 10 BC)
1093 Robert I, Count of Flanders
1282 Nichiren, Japanese monk (b. 1222)
1687 Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer (b. 1633)
1706 Iyasus the Great, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1682)
1715 Nicolas Malebranche, French philosopher (b. 1638)
1759 John Henley, English clergyman (b. 1692)
1812 Sir Isaac Brock, British general (killed in battle) (b. 1769)
1815 Joachim Murat, King of Naples, Marshal of France (b. 1767)
1822 Antonio Canova, Venetian sculptor (b. 1757)
1825 Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (b. 1756)
1852 John Lloyd Stephens, American explorer, writer and diplomat (b. 1805)
1869 Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French literary critic (b. 1804)
1882 Arthur Gobineau, French philosopher (b. 1816)
1890 Samuel Freeman Miller, U.S. Supreme Court justice (b. 1816)
1901 2000
1904 Pavlos Melas, Greek military officer (b. 1870)
1905 Henry Irving, British actor (b. 1838)
1909 Francisco Ferrer y Guardia, Spanish free-thinker (b. 1849)
1911 Sister Nivedita, Irish-Indian social worker, author and educator (b. 1867)
1917 Florence La Badie, pioneer actress (b. 1888)
1919 Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Danish writer (born 1857)
1926 Hans E. Kinck, Norwegian philologist and author (b. 1865)
1928 Dagmar of Denmark, Empress of Russia (b. 1847)
1931 Ernst Didring, Swedish writer (b. 1868)
1938 E.C. Segar, American cartoonist (b. 1892)
1945 Milton S. Hershey, American chocolate tycoon (b. 1857)
1955 Manuel Avila Camacho, President of Mexico (b. 1897)
1961 Prince Louis Rwagasore, Prime Minister of Burundi (b. 1932)
1966 Clifton Webb, actor (b. 1889)
1968 Bea Benaderet, actress (b. 1906)
1974 Ed Sullivan, American television personality (b. 1901)
1979 Antonio Berni, Argentine painter, illustrator and engraver (b. 1905)
1981 Rebecca Clarke, composer and violist (b. 1886)
1987 Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist (b. 1902)
1987 Kishore Kumar, Indian singer (b. 1929)
1989 Merab Kostava, Georgian political activist (b. 1939)
1990 Le Duc Tho, Vietnamese Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1911)
1993 Wade Flemons, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
1996 Beryl Reid, English actress (b. 1919)
1998 Dmitry Filippov, Russian politician (b. 1944)
2000 Gus Hall, American Communist politician (b. 1910)
From 2001
2001 Peter Doyle, Australian singer (b. 1949)
2002 Stephen Ambrose, American historian and biographer (b. 1936)
2003 Bertram Brockhouse, Nobel Prize-winning Canadian physicist (b. 1918)
2006 Dino Monduzzi, Italian cardinal (b. 1922)
2007 Bob Denard, French mercenary (b. 1929)
2008 Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1989)
2008 Guillaume Depardieu, French actor (b. 1971)
2009 Al Martino, American musician (b. 1927)
2010 Vernon Biever, American photographer (b. 1923)
2010 Mary Malcolm, British television personality (b. 1918)
2012 Gary Collins, American actor and television host (b. 1938)
2013 Olga Aroseva, Russian actress (b. 1926)
2013 Tommy Whittle, British jazz saxophonist (b. 1926)
2014 Antonio Cafiero, Argentine politician (b. 1922)
2014 Pontus Segerstrom, Swedish footballer (b. 1981)
2015 Sue Lloyd-Roberts, English journalist (b. 1950)
2016 Dario Fo, Italian writer, playwright, theatre director and actor (b. 1926)
2016 Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand (b. 1946)
2016 Jim Prentice, Canadian politician, 16th Premier of Alberta (b. 1956)
2017 Satish Chandra, Indian historian (b. 1922)
2017 Pierre Hanon, Belgian footballer (b. 1936)
2017 Bo Holmstrom, Swedish journalist (b. 1938)
2017 William Lombardy, American chess player (b. 1937)
2017 Albert Zafy, President of Madagascar (b. 1927)
2018 Fabien Eboussi Boulaga, Cameroonian philosopher (b. 1934)
2018 William Coors, American brewer (b. 1916)
2018 Nikolai Pankin, Russian swimmer (b. 1949)
2018 Jim Taylor, American football player (b. 1935)
2018 Robert W. Doran, New Zealand computer scientist (b. 1944)
2018 Edgar S. Harris Jr., American Air Force lieutenant general (b. 1925)
2018 Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, British politician (b. 1941)
2019 Scotty Bowers, American author (b. 1923)
2019 Richard Huckle, British sex offender (b. 1986)
2019 Charles Jencks, American architect and philanthropist (b. 1939)
2019 Vasim Mammadiyev, Azerbaijani theologian (b. 1942)
2019 Adolfo Mexiac, Mexican artist (b. 1927)
Observances
National Police Day (Thailand)
International Day for Disaster Reduction
Days of the year