February 13

Events
Up to 1900
1322 - The central tower of Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire, England, falls.
1462 - The Treaty of Westminster is finalized between Edward IV of England and the Scottish Lord of the Isles.
1503 - Disfida di Barletta: A tournament between 13 Italian and 13 French knights takes place near Barletta.
1542 - Catherine Howard, fifth wife of King Henry VIII of England, is executed for adultery.
1575 - Henry III of France is crowned King.
1633 - Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the inquisition.
1660 - Charles XI of Sweden becomes King at the age of 4 years, meaning that a regent rules Sweden until 1672.
1668 - Spain recognizes Portugal as an independent country.
1689 - William III and Mary II are crowned King and Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland.
1692 - At least thirty members of the MacDonald Clan are massacred in Glencoe, Scotland.
1739 - Battle of Karnal: The army of Persian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of Mughal Emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.
1857 - British passenger steamer Tempest disappears in the North Atlantic Ocean after leaving New York City, with 150 people on board.
1858 - Searching for the source of the Nile, Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke become the first Europeans to reach Lake Tanganyika.
1861 - Francis II of the Two Sicilies surrenders at Gaeta to the army of Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy.
1880 - Thomas Edison observes the Edison effect.
1881 - The feminist newspaper La Citoyenne is first published in Paris by the activist Hubertine Auclert.
1901 2000
1918 - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes Guangdong province, China.
1931 - New Delhi becomes the capital city of India.
1934 - Soviet steamship Cheliuskin sinks in the Arctic Ocean.
1935 - Bruno Hauptmann is found guilty of kidnapping and murdering the infant son of Charles Lindbergh.
1944 - Norwegian passenger ship Irma is torpedoed near Kristiansund, killing 61 people. It is revealed after the Second World War that it was a torpedo from the Norwegian Navy that hit the ship.
1945 - The Royal Air Force bombs the German city of Dresden in World War II.
1945 - World War II: The Siege of Budapest ends with the unconditional surrender of the German and Hungarian armies to the Red Army.
1951 - Korean War: The Battle of Chipyong-ni begins.
1955 - Israel gains four of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
1960 - France becomes the fourth country to own nuclear weapons.
1961 - A 500,000-year-old rock is discovered near Olancha, California.
1971 - South Vietnamese troops invade Laos, with American support.
1978 - A bomb explodes outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing 2 refuse collectors and a police officer.
1980 - The 1980 Winter Olympics begin in Lake Placid, New York. The games became best known for the Miracle on Ice hockey game on February 22.
1981 - A series of sewer explosions destroys more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky.
1982 - The Rio Negro massacre occurs in Guatemala.
1983 - A cinema fire in Turin, Italy, kills 64 people.
1984 - Konstantin Chernenko becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1988 - The Winter Olympic Games open in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Like in 1976, Canada hosts the Olympics without winning a gold medal (They do, however, win a record 14 gold medals when they host the games in Vancouver in 2010).
1990 - Agreement is reached on a two-stage plan to re-unite Germany.
1991 - US bombers hit Baghdad in the Gulf War.
1996 - English pop music group Take That announces that it is splitting. The band re-forms in 2005.
2000 - The last Peanuts comic strip is printed in newspapers, a day after the death of Charles Schulz.
From 2001
2001 - A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits El Salvador, killing at least 400 people.
2004 - The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces the discovery of the Universe's largest-known diamond, white dwarf.
2007 - Taiwan's Opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigns as Chairman of the Kuomintang Party.
2008 - Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd makes a historic apology to Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.
2010 - A bomb attack in Pune, Maharashtra, India, kills 17 people.
2011 - After the removal of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the army suspends the constitution, and announces that it will remain in power until elections later in the year.
2012 - The European Space Agency's Vega rocket is launched from French Guiana.
2014 - Prime Minister of Italy Enrico Letta announces his intention to resign, less than ten months into the job, after instabilities in his coalition government.
2014 - Belgium's parliament votes to extend its euthanasia law to terminally-ill children, becoming the first country to allow euthanasia for people of all ages.
2017 - Kim Jong-nam (older half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un) is murdered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.
Births
Up to 1900
1457 - Mary of Burgundy, Holy Roman Empress (d. 1482)
1480 - Girolamo Aleandro, Italian cardinal (d. 1542)
1539 - Elisabeth of Hesse, Electress Palatine (d. 1582)
1599 - Pope Alexander VII (d. 1667)
1683 - Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Italian painter (d. 1754)
1721 - John Reid, Scottish general (d. 1807)
1728 - John Hunter, Scottish anatomist (d. 1793)
1734 - Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Tremarec, French explorer and naval officer (d. 1797)
1766 - Thomas Balthus, English economist (d. 1834)
1768 - Edouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, Marshal of France (d. 1835)
1769 - Ivan Krylov, Russian writer (d. 1844)
1805 - Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician (d. 1859)
1831 - John Aaron Rawlins, 29th United States Secretary of War (d. 1869)
1834 - Heinrich Caro, German chemist (d. 1910)
1835 - Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Islamic religious leader (d. 1908)
1837 - Valentin Zubiaurre, Spanish composer (d. 1914)
1849 - Lord Randolph Churchill, British politician, father of Winston Churchill (d. 1895)
1849 - Friedrich Wilhelm Voigt, German impostor, Captain of Kopenick (d. 1922)
1855 - Paul Deschanel, President of France (d. 1922)
1866 - Lev Shestov, Russian philosopher (d. 1938)
1867 - Harold Mahony, Scottish-Irish tennis player (d. 1903)
1870 - Leopold Godowsky, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1938)
1873 - Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (d. 1938)
1876 - Fritz Buelow, German-American baseball player (d. 1933)
1879 - Sarojini Naidu, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1949)
1880 - Dimitrie Gusti, Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian and philosopher (d. 1955)
1883 - Hal Chase, American baseball player (d. 1947)
1884 - Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American athlete, inventor and businessman (d. 1961)
1885 - George Fitzmaurice, American-French director (d. 1940)
1885 - Bess Truman, First Lady of the United States (d. 1982)
1888 - Georgios Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)
1891 - Grant Wood, American painter (d. 1942)
1892 - Robert H. Jackson, 57th United States Attorney General (d. 1954)
1901 1950
1901 - Paul Lazarsfeld, Austrian-American sociologist (d. 1976)
1901 - Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Scottish writer (d. 1935)
1902 - Harold Lasswell, American political scientist (d. 1978)
1903 - Georgy Beriev, Russian aircraft designer (d. 1979)
1903 - Georges Simenon, Belgian writer (d. 1989)
1906 - Agostinho da Silva, Portuguese philosopher (d. 1994)
1909 - Mario Casariego y Acevedo, Guatemalan cardinal (d. 1983)
1910 - William Shockley, British-American physicist (d. 1989)
1911 - Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Pakistani Urdu poet (d. 1984)
1911 - Jean Muir, American actress (d. 1996)
1913 - Khalid bin Abdul-Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia (d. 1982)
1915 - Aung San, Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, general, and politician (d. 1947)
1915 - lyle Bettger, American actor (d. 2003)
1916 - John Reed, British singer of Gilbert and Sullivan (d. 2010)
1918 - Patty Berg, American golfer (d. 2006)
1919 - Tennessee Ernie Ford, American musician (d. 1991)
1919 - Eddie Robinson, American football coach (d. 2007)
1921 - Jeanne Demessieux, French organist, pianist and composer (d. 1968)
1922 - Francis Pym, British politician
1922 - Gordon Tullock, American economist and academic (d. 2014)
1923 - Chuck Yeager, American pilot
1923 - Michael Anthony Bilandic, 49th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2002)
1923 - James Abdnor, American politician (d. 2012)
1925 - Stuart Wagstaff, English-Australian entertainer (d. 2015)
1928 - Gerald Regan, 19th Premier of Nova Scotia
1929 - Omar Torrijos, President of Panama (d. 1981)
1930 - Ernst Fuchs, Austrian painter, sculptor and illustrator (d. 2015)
1930 - Israel Kirzner, English-American economist, author and academic
1932 - Barbara Shelley, English actress
1932 - Sarah Oliver, American actress (d. 1990)
1933 - Paul Biya, President of Cameroon
1933 - Kim Novak, American actress
1933 - Peter L. Pond, American activist and philanthropist (d. 2000)
1933 - Emanuel Ungaro, French fashion designer
1934 - George Segal, American actor
1937 - Rupiah Banda, former President of Zambia
1937 - Sigmund Jaehn, German cosmonaut
1938 - Oliver Reed, English actor (d. 1999)
1939 - Valery Rozhdestvensky, Soviet-Russian cosmonaut (d. 2011)
1939 - Beate Klarsfeld, German activist
1940 - Bram Peper, Dutch sociologist and politician, former Mayor of Rotterdam
1941 - Sigmar Polke, German painter (d. 2010)
1941 - Bo Svenson, Swedish-American actor
1942 - Katsuaki Watanabe, CEO of Toyota
1942 - Peter Tork, American musician (Member of The Monkees)
1942 - Carol Lynley, American actress
1944 - Jerry Springer, American television host
1944 - Stockard Channing, American actress
1944 - Bo Svenson, American actor
1945 - Wallis Grahn, Swedish actress (d. 2018)
1945 - King Floyd, American musician (d. 2006)
1945 - Simon Schama, British historian
1945 - Marian Dawkins, British biologist
1946 - Artur Jorge, Portuguese football coach
1947 - Mike Krzyzewski, American basketball coach
1947 - Kevin Bloody Wilson, Australian comedian, singer-songwriter and guitarist
1948 - Kitten Natividad, Mexican-American actress and dancer
1949 - Peter Kern, Austrian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer (d. 2015)
1950 - Peter Gabriel, English musician
1950 - Bob Daisley, Australian musician
1951 1975
1952 - Freddy Maertens, Belgian cyclist
1956 - Liam Brady, Irish footballer
1956 - Peter Hook, English musician
1956 - Princess Alia bint Al Hussein of Jordan
1958 - Pernilla August, Swedish actress
1958 - Tip Tipping, English actor and stuntman (d. 1993)
1959 - Gaston Gingras, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 - Pierluigi Collina, Italian football referee
1960 - Pia Sundhage, Swedish soccer player and coach
1960 - Artur Yusupov, Russian-German chess player
1961 - Marc Crawford, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1961 - Henry Rollins, American singer, actor and writer
1961 - Richard Tyson, American actor
1962 - Anibal Acevedo Vila, former Governor of Puerto Rico
1962 - Hugh Dennis, English actor and comedian
1964 - Stephen Bowen, American engineer, captain and astronaut
1964 - Ylva Johansson, Swedish politician
1965 - Peter O'Neill, 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
1967 - Stanimir Stoilov, Bulgarian footballer
1967 - Johnny Tapia, American boxer (d. 2012)
1968 - Daisuke Ikeda, Japanese professional wrestler
1968 - Niamh Kavanagh, Irish singer
1969 - Joyce DiDonato, American mezzo-soprano
1970 - Elmer Bennett, American basketball player
1970 - Karoline Kruger, Norwegian singer-songwriter and pianist
1971 - Mats Sundin, Swedish ice hockey player
1971 - Todd Williams, American baseball player
1974 - Robbie Williams, English singer
1974 - Ana Patricia Rojo, Mexican actress
1975 - Ben Collins, English racing driver
1975 - Tony Dalton, American-born actor
From 1976
1976 - Suzanne Maddock, British actress
1978 - Philippe Jaroussky, French tenor
1979 - Rafael Marquez, Mexican footballer
1979 - Rachel Reeves, English politician
1979 - Mena Suvari, American actress
1979 - Anders Behring Breivik, Norwegian mass murderer (2011 Norway attacks)
1980 - Sebastian Kehl, German footballer
1981 - Sam Burley, American athlete
1981 - Liam Miller, Irish footballer (d. 2018)
1983 - Anna Watkins, British rower
1984 - Eveli Saue, Estonian orienteer and athlete
1985 - Hedwiges Maduro, Dutch footballer
1985 - Alexandros Tziolis, Greek footballer
1986 - Jamie Murray, Scottish tennis player
1987 - Eljero Elia, Dutch footballer
1988 - Aston Merrygold, British singer (JLS)
1989 - Carly McKillip, Canadian singer and actress
1989 - Rodrigo Possebon, Brazilian footballer
1990 - Gyaincain Norbu, 11th Panchen Lama
1990 - Mamadou Sakho, French footballer
1993 - Alex Sawyer, British actor, director and singer
1994 - Memphis Depay, Dutch footballer
1995 - Ayame Koike, Japanese actress
Deaths
Up to 1900
721 - Chilperic II (b. 672)
858 - Kenneth I of Scotland
1130 - Pope Honorius II
1141 - Bela II of Hungary (b. 1110)
1199 - Stefan Nemanja, Serbian Grand Prince (b. 1113)
1219 - Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shogun (b. 1192)
1332 - Andronik II Palaiologus, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire (b. 1250)
1539 - Isabella d'Este, Italian Renaissance figure (b. 1474)
1542 - Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII of England (b. 1521)
1571 - Benvenuto Cellini, Italian artist (b. 1500)
1592 - Jacopo Bassano, Italian painter (b. 1510)
1600 - Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (b. 1538)
1608 - Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski, Lithuanian Prince (b. 1526)
1660 - Charles X, King of Sweden (b. 1622)
1662 - Elizabeth of Bohemia (b. 1596)
1693 - Johann Kaspar Kerli, German organist and composer (b. 1627)
1728 - Cotton Mather, American Puritan minister (b. 1663)
1741 - Johann Joseph Fux, Austrian composer (b. 1660)
1787 - Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French statesman and diplomat (b. 1717)
1787 - Roger Joseph Boscovich, Croat-Italian physicist (b. 1711)
1813 - Samuel Ashe, Governor of North Carolina (b. 1725)
1837 - Mariano Jose de Larra, Spanish journalist and writer (b. 1809)
1883 - Richard Wagner, German composer (b. 1813)
1888 - Jean-Baptiste Lamy, French-American archbishop (b. 1814)
1889 - Joao Mauricio Wanderley, Brazilian magistrate and politician (b. 1815)
1901 2000
1905 - Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter (b. 1844)
1906 - Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (b. 1866)
1909 - Hugo Egmont Horring, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1842)
1916 - Carlos Antonio Mendoza, 3rd President of Panama (b. 1856)
1934 - Jozsef Pusztai, Slovenian-Hungarian writer (b. 1864)
1942 - Epitacio Pessoa, President of Brazil (b. 1865)
1943 - Neyyire Neyir, Turkish actress (b. 1902)
1954 - Agnes MacPhail, Canadian politician (b. 1890)
1956 - Jan Lukasiewicz, Polish mathematician (b. 1878)
1958 - Dame Christabel Pankhurst, British suffragette (b. 1880)
1958 - Georges Rouault, French painter (b. 1871)
1964 - Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist (b. 1902)
1968 - Mae Marsh, American actress (b. 1895)
1974 - Ustad Amir Khan, Indian classical singer (b. 1912)
1975 - Andre Beaufre, French general (b. 1902)
1976 - Murtala Mohammed, Nigerian military leader (b. 1938)
1976 - Lily Pons, French-American soprano and actress (b. 1904)
1980 - Marian Rejewski, Polish mathematician (b. 1905)
1982 - Zeng Jinlian, tallest woman ever (b. 1964)
1988 - John Curulewski, American guitarist (Styx) (b. 1950)
1991 - Arno Breker, German sculptor (b. 1900)
1992 - Nikolay Bogolyubov, Russian mathematician (b. 1909)
1993 - Willoughby Gray, British actor (b. 1916)
From 2001
2002 - Waylon Jennings, American musician (b. 1937)
2004 - Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, Chechen politician (b. 1952)
2005 - Maurice Trintignant, French racing driver (b. 1917)
2006 - Peter Frederick Strawson, British philosopher (b. 1919)
2007 - Johanna Sallstrom, Swedish actress (b. 1974)
2008 - Kon Ichikawa, Japanese movie director and producer (b. 1915)
2008 - Henri Salvador, French singer and guitarist (b. 1917)
2010 - John Reed, British singer of Gilbert and Sullivan (b. 1916)
2011 - Inese Jaunzeme, Latvian javelin thrower (b. 1932)
2013 - Pieter Kooijmans, Dutch politician (b. 1933)
2014 - Balu Mahendra, Indian moviemaker and screenwriter (b. 1939)
2014 - Richard Moller Nielsen, Danish footballer and coach (b. 1937)
2014 - Piero D'Inzeo, Italian equestrian show jumper (b. 1923)
2014 - Ralph Waite, American actor (b. 1928)
2015 - Kesava Reddy, Indian writer (b. 1946)
2015 - Stan Chambers, American journalist (b. 1923)
2016 - Antonin Scalia, United States Supreme Court Justice (b. 1936)
2016 - O. N. V. Kurup, Indian poet, lyricist and politician (b. 1931)
2016 - Trifon Ivanov, Bulgarian footballer (b. 1965)
2016 - Christopher Zeeman, British mathematician (b. 1925)
2017 - Sara Coward, British actress (b. 1948)
2017 - Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of Kim Jong-un (b. 1971)
2017 - Jan Grabowski, Polish speedway rider (b. 1950)
2017 - Lucky Pulpit, American-trained racehorse (b. 2001)
2017 - E-dubble, American rapper (b. 1982)
2017 - Harold Denton, American public servant (b. 1936)
2017 - Bruce Lansbury, English-American television producer (b. 1930)
2017 - Seijun Suzuki, Japanese director, screenwriter and actor (b. 1923)
2018 - Joseph Bonnel, French footballer (b. 1939)
2018 - Dobri Dobrev, Bulgarian ascetic and philanthropist (b. 1914)
2018 - Tito Francona, American baseball player (b. 1933)
2018 - Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark (b. 1934)
2018 - Josefina Samper, Spanish communist and feminist (b. 1927)
Observances
World Radio Day
Days of the year