April 13 Events

1055 - Victor II is consecrated pope
1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor
1180 - Frederick Barbarossa issues the Gelnhausen Charter
1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople
1598 - Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots
1742 - The world premiere of George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah in Dublin, Ireland
1829 - The British Parliament grants freedom of religion to Roman Catholics
1849 - Hungary becomes a republic
1861 - American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders
1873 - Colfax Massacre
1883 - Alferd Packer is convicted of murder
1902 - James C. Penney opens his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming
1919 - The Establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
1919 - Amritsar massacre: British and Gurkha troops massacre at least 379 unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar, India
1921 - Foundation of the Spanish Communist Workers' Party.
1939 - In India, the Hindustani Lal Sena (Indian Red Army) is formed and vows to engage in armed struggle against the British.
1941 - Pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed
1943 - World War II: The discovery of a mass grave of Polish prisoners-of-war executed by Soviet forces in the Katyn´ Forest Massacre was announced in Germany, driving a wedge between the Western Allies, the Polish government-in-exile in London, and the Soviet Union.
1943 - The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, DC, on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth.
1945 - German troops massacre more than 1000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen Germany. The atrocity is discovered two days later by American forces.
1970 - The oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew into deadly peril. The explosion occurred on April 14th in several time zones.
1972 - The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.
1974 - Western Union (in cooperation with NASA and Hughes Aircraft) launches the USA's first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1.
1975 - An attack by Phalangists on a Palestinian bus in Ain El Remmeneh, Lebanon marks the beginning of a 15 year civil war.
1983 - Harold Washington is elected as the first African-American mayor in Chicago's history
1984 - Pete Rose becomes the first player in National League history to collect 4,000 hits
1985 - Enver Hoxha is succeeded by Ramiz Alia as the leader of Albania
1986 - Jack Nicklaus wins his sixth Masters Tournament
1987 - Portugal and China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to China in 1999
1990 - The Soviet Union admits to committing the Katyn Massacre
1993 - Baseball: Lee Smith passes Jeff Reardon for first on the all-time saves list with his 358th save in a 9-7 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers
1997 - Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win golf's Masters Tournament
2002 - The Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002 ends. President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela returns.
2003 - Mike Weir becomes first Canadian and first leftie to win the golf Masters

April 13 Births

1506 - Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (d. 1546)
1519 - Catherine de Medici, wife of Henry II of France (d. 1589)
1570 - Guy Fawkes, English conspirator (d. 1606)
1584 - Albert VI of Bavaria (d. 1666)
1593 - Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English statesman (d. 1641)
1618 - Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French writer (d. 1693)
1648 - Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French (d. 1717)
1713 - Frederick (Lord) North, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
1715 - John Hanson, President of the United States in Congress Assembled (d. 1783)
1729 - Thomas Percy, Bishop of Dromore and magazine editor (d. 1811)
1735 - Isaac Low, New York delegate to the Continental Congress (d. 1791)
1743 - Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
1747 - Louis Philip II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1793)
1764 - Laurent, Marquis de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French marshal (d. 1830)
1769 - Thomas Lawrence, English painter (d. 1830)
1771 - Richard Trevithick, English engineer and inventor (d. 1833)
1780 - Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer (d. 1868)
1784 - Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877)
1787 - John Robertson, U.S. congressman (d. 1873)
1802 - Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist (d. 1884)
1808 - Antonio Meucci, Italian inventor (d. 1896)
1825 - Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868)
1828 - Joseph Barber Lightfoot, English theologian and Bishop of Durham (d. 1889)
1832 - Juan Montalvo, Ecuadoran author (d. 1889)
1841 - Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor (d. 1905)
1850 - Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, British astronomer (d. 1917)
1852 - F.W. Woolworth, American businessman (d. 1919)
1860 - James Ensor, Belgian painter (d. 1949)
1866 - Butch Cassidy, American outlaw (d. 1908)
1872 - Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian writer (d. 1945)
1873 - John W. Davis, American politician (d. 1955)
1875 - Ray Lyman Wilbur, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (d. 1949)
1880 - Charles Christie, Canadian film studio owner (d. 1955)
1881 - Ludwig Binswanger, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1966)
1885 - Georg Lukács, Hungarian-born philosopher and literary critic (d. 1971)
1887 - Gordon S. Fahrni, Canadian physician and President of the Canadian Medical Association (d. 1995)
1889 - Herbert Osborne Yardley, American cryptographer (d. 1958)
1890 - Frank Murphy, American public servant (d. 1949)
1891 - Nella Larsen, African-American novelist (d. 1964)
1892 - Arthur Travers 'Bomber' Harris, British Air Force commander in World War II (d. 1984)
1892 - Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1973)
1894 - Arthur Fadden, thirteenth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973)
1897 - Werner Voss, German World War I pilot (d. 1917)
1900 - Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976)
1901 - Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst and semanticist (d. 1981)
1902 - Philippe de Rothschild, French race car driver and wine grower (d. 1988)
1904 - Sir David Robinson, British philanthropist and entrepreneur (d. 1987)
1906 - Samuel Beckett, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
1907 - Harold Stassen, American Presidential candidate (d. 2001)
1909 - Stanislaw Marcin Ulam, Polish mathematician (d. 1984)
1909 - Eudora Welty, American writer (d. 2001)
1911 - Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer (d.1946)
1919 - Roland Gaucher, French journalist
1919 - Howard Keel, American actor, singer, and president of the Screen Actors Guild (d. 2004)
1919 - Madalyn Murray O'Hair, American atheist (disappeared 1995)
1920 - Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982)
1920 - Claude Cheysson, French politician
1920 - Liam Cosgrave, fifth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland
1920 - John LaPorta, American musician (d. 2004)
1922 - John Braine, British novelist (d. 1986)
1922 - Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician (d. 1999)
1923 - Don Adams, American actor and comedian (d. 2005)
1924 - Jack Chick, American evangelist
1924 - Stanley Donen, American film director
1926 - John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough
1928 - Alan Clark, English politician (d. 1999)
1931 - Dan Gurney, American race car driver
1932 - Orlando Letelier, Chilean politician (d. 1976)
1933 - Ben Nighthorse Campbell, U.S. Senator
1935 - Lyle Waggoner, American actor
1937 - Edward Fox, English actor
1937 - Lanford Wilson, American playwright
1939 - Seamus Heaney, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate
1939 - Paul Sorvino, American actor
1941 - Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1943 - Bill Conti, American musician
1944 - Jack Casady, American musician (Jefferson Airplane)
1944 - Susan Davis, American politician
1945 - Tony Dow, American actor
1945 - Bob Kalsu, American football player (d. 1970)
1946 - Al Green, American singer and pastor
1948 - Sue Doughty, British politician
1949 - Frank Doran, Scottish politician
1949 - Christopher Hitchens, English-born journalist, critic, and author
1950 - Terry Lester, American actor (d. 2003)
1950 - Ron Perlman, American actor
1950 - William Sadler, American actor
1951 - Peabo Bryson, American singer
1951 - Peter Davison, English actor
1951 - Max Weinberg, American drummer
1952 - Ron Dittemore, American space administrator
1952 - David Drew, British politician
1953 - Stephen Byers, British politician
1954 - Niels Olsen, Danish singer and Eurovision Song Contest winner
1955 - Ole von Beust, Mayor of Hamburg
1955 - Lupe Pintor, Mexican boxer
1956 - Peter 'Possum' Bourne, Australian race car driver (d. 2003)
1956 - Alison Wheeler, British activist
1957 - Saundra Santiago, American actress
1960 - Rudi Völler, German football coach
1962 - Hillel Slovak, Israeli-born guitarist (Red Hot Chili Peppers) (d. 1988)
1962 - Jennifer Rubin, American actress
1963 - Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player
1964 - Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress
1970 - Rebecca Cummings, American porn star
1970 - Rick Schroder, American actor
1970 - Gerry Creaney, Scottish footballer
1971 - Bo Outlaw, American basketball player
1972 - Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish hockey player
1972 - Aaron Lewis, American singer
1974 - Sergei Gonchar, Russian hockey player
1975 - Lou Bega, German-born musician and artist
1976 - Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003)
1976 - Patrick Elias, Czech hockey player
1978 - Arron Asham, Canadian hockey player
1979 - Baron Davis, American basketball player
1980 - Jana Cova, Czech pornographic actress
1980 - Quentin Richardson, American basketball player
1983 - Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
1997 - Sloane Momsen, American child actress

April 13 Deaths

799 - Paul the Deacon, Italian monk and chronicler
814 - Krum, khan of Bulgaria
1093 - Prince Vsevolod I of Kiev (b. 1093)
1279 - Boleslaus the Pious, Polish duke
1605 - Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia
1635 - Fahkr-al-Din II, Druze prince of Lebanon (executed)
1638 - Henri, duc de Rohan, French Huguenot leader (b. 1579)
1641 - Richard Montagu, English clergyman (b. 1577)
1695 - Jean de la Fontaine, French author (b. 1621)
1722 - Charles Leslie, Irish Anglican theologian (b. 1650)
1793 - Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, French revolutionary (b. 1763)
1794 - Nicolas Chamfort, French writer (b. 1741)
1826 - Franz Danzi, German composer (b. 1763)
1853 - Leopold Gmelin, German chemist (b. 1788)
1853 - James Iredell, Jr., Governor of North Carolina 1b. 1788)
1855 - Henry De la Beche, English geologist (b. 1796)
1868 - Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1818)
1880 - Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist (b. 1813)
1882 - Bruno Bauer, German theologian (b. 1809)
1909 - Whitley Stokes, British lawyer (b. 1830)
1910 - William Quiller Orchardson, British painter (b. 1835)
1911 - George Washington Glick, Governor of Kansas (b. 1827)
1911 - John McLane, Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1852)
1912 - Ishikawa Takuboku, Japanese author (b. 1886)
1925 - Elwood Haynes, American automobile pioneer
1938 - Grey Owl, proponent of nature conservation (b. 1888)
1941 - Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (b. 1863)
1944 - Cécile Chaminade, French composer and pianist (b. 1857)
1945 - Ernst Cassirer, German philosopher (b. 1874)
1962 - Culbert Olson, Governor of California (b. 1876)
1966 - Abdul Salam Arif, President of Iraq (b. 1921)
1975 - Larry Parks, American actor (b. 1914)
1975 - François (Ngarta) Tombalbaye, first President of Chad (b. 1918)
1978 - Jack Chambers, Canadian artist and film maker (b. 1931)
1981 - Prince Asaka Yasuhiko of Japan (b. 1887)
1984 - Richard Hurndall. British actor (b. 1910)
1984 - Ralph Kirkpatrick, American musician (b. 1911)
1993 - Wallace Stegner, American writer (car accident) (b. 1909)
1997 - Dorothy Frooks, American author, publisher, military figure, and actress (b. 1896)
1999 - Ortvin Sarapu, New Zealand chess player "Mr NZ Chess" (b. 1924)
1999 - Willi Stoph, German politician (b. 1914)
2000 - Giorgio Bassani, Italian writer (b. 1916)
2001 - Robert Moon, Postal Inspector and "Father" of the ZIP Code (b. 1917)
2002 - Desmond Titterington, Northern Irish racecar driver (b. 1928)
2004 - Lou Berberet, baseball player (b. 1929)
2004 - Caron Keating, British television presenter (b. 1962)
2005 - Johnnie Johnson, American musician (b. 1924)

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