December 13

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 Bethune, 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 Dobereiner, 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 Jurgens, 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 - Genevieve 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 - Jose 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 - Senah 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 Furchtegott 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
Days of the year