October 13

Events

• 54 - Roman Empire emperor Claudius I dies after being poisoned by Agrippina, his wife.
• 1307 - All Knights Templar in France are simultaneously arrested by agents of Phillip the Fair, to be later tortured into "admitting" heresy.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 United States Congress, will make Texas a U.S. state.
• 1943 - World War II: The new government of Italy sides with the Allies and declares war on Germany.
• 1946 - France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
• 1960 - 1960 World Series: Baseballer 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.
• 1972 - An Aeroflot Ilyushin-62 crashed outside Moscow killing 176
• 1976 - A Bolivian Boeing 707 cargo jet crashes in Santa Cruz, Bolivia killing 100 (97, mostly children killed on the ground)
• 1977 - Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction.
• 1999 - The United States Senate rejects ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
• 2003 - The Public Library of Science commences publication of an open-access scientific journal, PLoS Biology.

Births

• 1821 - Rudolf Virchow, German doctor, pathologist, biologist, and politician († 1902)
• 1853 - Lillie Langtry, actress
• 1876 - Rube Waddell, baseball star († 1914)
• 1909 - Art Tatum, jazz pianist (†1956)
• 1909 - Herbert Block ("Herblock"), editorial cartoonist (†2001)
• 1910 - Ernest McGann, author († 1991)
• 1911 - Ashok Kumar, actor, India († 2001)
• 1915 - Cornel Wilde, actor († 1989)
• 1917 - Burr Tillstrom, puppeteer
• 1918 - Robert Walker, actor († 1951)
• 1921 - Yves Montand, singer, actor († 1991)
• 1924 - Nipsey Russell, comedian, actor, television personality
• 1925 - Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1925 - Lenny Bruce, comedian († 1966)
• 1931 - Eddie Matthews, Baseball Hall of Fame
• 1938 - Hugo Young, 2003)/">journalist († 2003)
• 1940 - Pharoah Sanders, jazz saxophonist
• 1941 - Paul Simon, musician
• 1942 - Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys
• 1947 - Sammy Hagar, singer
• 1953 - Pat Day, jockey
• 1959 - Marie Osmond, singer, actress, television host
• 1962 - Jerry Rice, American football star
• 1969 - Nancy Kerrigan, figure skater
• 1980 - Ashanti, pop music artist, USA
• 1982 - Ian Thorpe, swimmer

Deaths

• 54 - Claudius, Roman emperor
• 1812 - General Sir Isaac Brock, killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights
• 1917 - Florence La Badie, pioneer actress
• 1966 - Clifton Webb, actor
• 1968 - Bea Benaderet, actress
• 1974 - Ed Sullivan, television host
• 1990 - Le Duc Tho, Nobel Peace Prize recipient (born 1911)
• 2002 - Stephen Ambrose, historian and Dwight Eisenhower biographer.

Holidays

• Roman Empire - festival dedicated to Fontus

October 12 - October 14 - September 13 - November 13 - more historical anniversaries

Referenced By