13 July

Events

• 1558 - Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Thermes at Gravelines.
• 1643 - English Civil War: Battle of Roundway Down - In England, Lord Henry Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, commanding the Royalist forces, wins a crushing victory over the Parliamentarian Sir William Waller.
• 1787 - The United States Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance establishing governing rules for the Northwest Territory. It also establishes procedures for the admition of new states and limits the expansion of slavery.
• 1863 - American Civil War: In New York City, draft opponents begin three days of rioting which will be later regarded as the worst in United States history.
• 1854 - In the battle of Guaymas, Mexico, General Jose Maria Yanez stops the French invassion led by Count Gaston de Raousset Boulbon.
• 1878 - The Treaty of Berlin makes Serbia completely independent.
• 1900 - Boxer Rebellion: In China, Tientsin is retaken by European Allies from the rebelling Boxers.
• 1908 - Women compete in modern Olympics for the first time.
• 1909 - Gold discovered near Cochrane, Ontario.
• 1930 - The first FIFA World Cup begins in Uruguay.
• 1942 - World War II: German U-Boats sink three more merchant ships in Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• 1977 - An electrical blackout hits the City of New York, lasting for 25 hours and resulting in looting and other disorder.
• 1982 - Montreal hosts the first baseball All-Star Game outside the United States.
• 1985 - The Live Aid benefit concert takes place in London and Philadelphia.
• 1996 - A Garuda Indonesia Airways DC-10 crashes on take-off from Fukuoka Airport, Japan, killing 3 passengers.
• 2002 - A lighting strike sets off the Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which had burned 499,570 acres when finally contained on September 5.

Births

• 100 BC - Julius Caesar (or July 12), statesman and military leader (+ 44 BC)
• 40 - Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Roman governor of Britain
• 1527 - John Dee, scientific advisor to Elizabeth I
• 1816 - Gustav Freitag, writer (+ 1895)
• 1821 - Nathan Bedford Forrest, Confederate general and postwar leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
• 1841 - Otto Wagner, architect (+ 1918)
• 1864 - John Jacob Astor, entrepreneur (+ 1912)
• 1913 - Dave Garroway, television host) (+ 1982)
• 1918 - Alberto Ascari, motor racing driver (+ 1955)
• 1927 - Simone Veil, politician
• 1928 - Bob Crane, actor, (+ 1978)
• 1928 - Mace Neufeld, film producer
• 1933 - David Malcolm Storey, writer
• 1934 - Wole Soyinka, writer
• 1934 - Aleksei Yeliseyev, cosmonaut
• 1940 - Patrick Stewart, actor
• 1941 - Robert Forster, actor
• 1942 - Harrison Ford, actor
• 1942 - Roger McGuinn, musician
• 1946 - Cheech Marin, actor, comedian
• 1953 - Johnny Clegg, composer, musician
• 1957 - Cameron Crowe, film director, writer

Deaths

• 1705 - Titus Oates, Protestant plotter
• 1793 - Jean Paul Marat, French revolutionary (murdered by Charlotte Corday)
• 1896 - Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz, organic chemist
• 1946 - Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer
• 1951 - Arnold Schoenberg, composer
• 1954 - Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter
• 1967 - Tom Simpson, professional cyclist
• 1970 - Arthur Miller, writer
• 1983 - Gabrielle Roy, author
• 1993 - Davey Allison, NASCAR driver
• 2003 - Compay Segundo, Cuban folk musicician

Holidays and observances

• Kiribati - Independence Day, 2nd day (not a holiday)
• Mongolia - Naadam Holiday, 3rd day
• Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Kálimát (Words) - First day of the seventh month of the Bahá'í Calendar

July 12 - July 14 - June 13 - August 13 - more listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Referenced By