1360 On April 13, 1360, a severe hail storm struck a group of English soldiers who were camped outside Chartres, France during the Hundred Years War. The storm was so intense that it killed an estimated 1,000 soldiers and injured many more, making it one of the deadliest single events of the entire conflict. The storm became known as "Black Monday" due to the tragic loss of life,
1519 Catherine de' Medici was born in Florence, Republic of Florence, as Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de' Medici on April 13, 1519. Catherine's mother died 15 days after her daughter's birth of puerperal fever or plague and her father, Duke of Urbino, died from syphilis just six days later. Catherine was raised by her aunt, Clarice Strozzi. At the age of 14, Catherine de' Medici married Henry duc d'Orléans, the son of the French King Francis I.
1570 Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up the British Parliament, was born in Stonegate, York on April 13, 1570. He was the only son of Edward Fawkes of York, a proctor and an advocate of the consistory court at York and his wife Edith née Blake. Guy was surrounded by many Catholics during his school days, including the Wright brothers, who were later to be involved in the Gunpowder Plot.
1741 The Royal Military Academy was founded at Woolwich, London, on April 13, 1741. Its purpose was to train gentlemen cadets who were entering the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. Over time, the academy expanded to include other military disciplines, and it played a key role in shaping the British Army's officer corps. The academy was eventually merged with the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in 1947.
1742 "The Messiah" was first performed at Fishamble Street, Dublin on April 13, 1742, as part of a charity series of concerts that George Frideric Handel was invited to give by the Lord Lieutenant. The Anglo German composer led the concert from the harpsichord. So great was the demand for the first performance that men were asked to attend without their swords and women without the hoops in their skirts so more people could be fitted in.
1743 The third of ten children, most of whom died early in life, Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 at the family home, a one and a half story farmhouse in Shadwell, Albermarle County, Virginia. Jefferson's father, Colonel Peter Jefferson, was a land surveyor who was one of the surveyors who laid out the virginal North Carolina border. Young Thomas liked to hunt deer and turkeys along the Rivanna River with his father or go for long walks in the mountains.
1796 “Old Bet” the first elephant ever seen in America arrived from Bengal zoo on April 13, 1796 and was exhibited in New York. She was known for her ability to draw corks from bottles using only her trunk. Her popularity led to the importation of more elephants to America for public display, and she is considered to be the first of many exotic animals to be exhibited in American zoos and circuses.
1816 On April 13, 1816 , African-born slave Bussa led a rebellion from British-ruled slavery on the island of Barbados. Although the rebellion was eventually defeated by British forces, Bussa is still recognized as a national hero of Barbados for his role in the struggle for freedom and human rights.
1866 American criminal Robert "Butch Cassidy" Parker was born on Friday the 13th April 1866 in Beaver, Utah. Parker left home during his early teens, and while working at a dairy farm, looked up to, and was mentored by Mike Cassidy a cattle rustler at the time. During a brief stint as a butcher in Rock Springs, Wyoming, he acquired the nickname "Butch", to which he soon appended the surname Cassidy in honor of his old friend and mentor.
1890 On April 13, 1890 at a by-election caused by the death of the former Conservative member, Welsh solicitor David Lloyd George entered Parliament as MP for Carnarvon Boroughs in Wales. He won the election with a majority of 18 votes. Lloyd George soon impressed with his oratory gifts and 25 years later he became the UK Prime Minister.
1899 The architect Alfred Mosher Butts was born on April 13, 1899. While unemployed during the depression, Butts created a board game in 1930 called Lexiko. Eight years later Butts came up with Criss Cross Words, a variation on Lexiko. The new game added the 15×15 gameboard and the crossword-style game play. The game went unnoticed until 1948 when entrepreneur James Brunot saw commercial possibilities. He bought the rights to the game and changed its name to "Scrabble."
1906 Irish novelist, poet, and playwright Samuel Beckett (1906 - 1989) was born on Good Friday, April 13, 1906 to civic engineer William Frank Beckett, and May Barclay. A natural athlete, Beckett played two first-class cricket matches for his university, Trinity College Dublin, against Northamptonshire in the Twenties. Beckett is the only Nobel laureate to have an entry in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, the bible of cricket.
1908 Calvin Coolidge's second son Calvin Jr. was born April 13, 1908. Calvin Jr. died at 16 as a result of playing tennis at the White House. He had developed a blister on his toe while playing and, due to a fashion trend at the time, was wearing shoes without socks. The blister became infected and led to sepsis, which ultimately caused his death.
1922 African politician Julius Nyerere was born on April 13, 1922. He became the first president of the new United Republic of Tanzania in 1964 and dominated the nation's politics for the next 20 years Known throughout Tanzania by the Swahili honorific Mwalimu ("teacher"), he is described as the "Father of the Nation".
1946 French woman Marthe Richard was a teenage prostitute before marrying rich industrialist Henry Richer after meeting him in 1907. After World War II, Richard began a campaign to end prostitution throughout her country. A law named after her outlawed prostitution in France and on April 13, 1946, the prostitution registry was destroyed and 1,400 brothels were closed, including 180 in Paris.
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| Catherine de' Medici, as Queen consort of France, 1550s. Portrait at the Uffizi Gallery |
1570 Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up the British Parliament, was born in Stonegate, York on April 13, 1570. He was the only son of Edward Fawkes of York, a proctor and an advocate of the consistory court at York and his wife Edith née Blake. Guy was surrounded by many Catholics during his school days, including the Wright brothers, who were later to be involved in the Gunpowder Plot.
1741 The Royal Military Academy was founded at Woolwich, London, on April 13, 1741. Its purpose was to train gentlemen cadets who were entering the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. Over time, the academy expanded to include other military disciplines, and it played a key role in shaping the British Army's officer corps. The academy was eventually merged with the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in 1947.
1742 "The Messiah" was first performed at Fishamble Street, Dublin on April 13, 1742, as part of a charity series of concerts that George Frideric Handel was invited to give by the Lord Lieutenant. The Anglo German composer led the concert from the harpsichord. So great was the demand for the first performance that men were asked to attend without their swords and women without the hoops in their skirts so more people could be fitted in.
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| The Great Music Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin, where Messiah was first performed |
1743 The third of ten children, most of whom died early in life, Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 at the family home, a one and a half story farmhouse in Shadwell, Albermarle County, Virginia. Jefferson's father, Colonel Peter Jefferson, was a land surveyor who was one of the surveyors who laid out the virginal North Carolina border. Young Thomas liked to hunt deer and turkeys along the Rivanna River with his father or go for long walks in the mountains.
1796 “Old Bet” the first elephant ever seen in America arrived from Bengal zoo on April 13, 1796 and was exhibited in New York. She was known for her ability to draw corks from bottles using only her trunk. Her popularity led to the importation of more elephants to America for public display, and she is considered to be the first of many exotic animals to be exhibited in American zoos and circuses.
1816 On April 13, 1816 , African-born slave Bussa led a rebellion from British-ruled slavery on the island of Barbados. Although the rebellion was eventually defeated by British forces, Bussa is still recognized as a national hero of Barbados for his role in the struggle for freedom and human rights.
1866 American criminal Robert "Butch Cassidy" Parker was born on Friday the 13th April 1866 in Beaver, Utah. Parker left home during his early teens, and while working at a dairy farm, looked up to, and was mentored by Mike Cassidy a cattle rustler at the time. During a brief stint as a butcher in Rock Springs, Wyoming, he acquired the nickname "Butch", to which he soon appended the surname Cassidy in honor of his old friend and mentor.
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| Butch Cassidy |
1890 On April 13, 1890 at a by-election caused by the death of the former Conservative member, Welsh solicitor David Lloyd George entered Parliament as MP for Carnarvon Boroughs in Wales. He won the election with a majority of 18 votes. Lloyd George soon impressed with his oratory gifts and 25 years later he became the UK Prime Minister.
1899 The architect Alfred Mosher Butts was born on April 13, 1899. While unemployed during the depression, Butts created a board game in 1930 called Lexiko. Eight years later Butts came up with Criss Cross Words, a variation on Lexiko. The new game added the 15×15 gameboard and the crossword-style game play. The game went unnoticed until 1948 when entrepreneur James Brunot saw commercial possibilities. He bought the rights to the game and changed its name to "Scrabble."
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| Alfred Mosher Butts |
1906 Irish novelist, poet, and playwright Samuel Beckett (1906 - 1989) was born on Good Friday, April 13, 1906 to civic engineer William Frank Beckett, and May Barclay. A natural athlete, Beckett played two first-class cricket matches for his university, Trinity College Dublin, against Northamptonshire in the Twenties. Beckett is the only Nobel laureate to have an entry in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, the bible of cricket.
1908 Calvin Coolidge's second son Calvin Jr. was born April 13, 1908. Calvin Jr. died at 16 as a result of playing tennis at the White House. He had developed a blister on his toe while playing and, due to a fashion trend at the time, was wearing shoes without socks. The blister became infected and led to sepsis, which ultimately caused his death.
1922 African politician Julius Nyerere was born on April 13, 1922. He became the first president of the new United Republic of Tanzania in 1964 and dominated the nation's politics for the next 20 years Known throughout Tanzania by the Swahili honorific Mwalimu ("teacher"), he is described as the "Father of the Nation".
1946 French woman Marthe Richard was a teenage prostitute before marrying rich industrialist Henry Richer after meeting him in 1907. After World War II, Richard began a campaign to end prostitution throughout her country. A law named after her outlawed prostitution in France and on April 13, 1946, the prostitution registry was destroyed and 1,400 brothels were closed, including 180 in Paris.
1953 Casino Royale, Ian Fleming's debut novel featuring the iconic British spy James Bond, was first published in the United Kingdom on April 13, 1953, by Jonathan Cape. The idea for "Casino Royale" came to Fleming while he was on a holiday in the French Riviera in 1951. He began writing the novel at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica later that year. Ian Fleming went on to write a total of 12 James Bond novels and two short story collections before his death in 1964.
1964 Sidney Poitier became on April 13, 1964 the first African-American male to win the Best Actor Academy Award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field. His win was seen as a major milestone for African-American actors in Hollywood, who had long been marginalized and excluded from many leading roles.
1984 The Siachen glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 13, 1984. Both countries claim sovereignty over the entire Siachen region and maintain permanent military presence in the Siachen glacier locality at a height of over 20,000 feet.
1997 21-year-old Tiger Woods won his first golf major, The Masters, by a record margin of 12 strokes on April 13, 1997. His score of 18-under-par 270 broke Jack Nicklaus' 32-year-old Masters record of 17-under-par 271. He also was the youngest Masters winner and the first winner of African or Asian descent. Never before had so many spectators come to Augusta National, and never before had so many people watched it on television.
2008 Prince Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company. Harry completed his officer training eleven months later and was commissioned as a Cornet (second lieutenant) in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army. He was given the service number 564673. On April 13, 2008, when he reached two years' seniority, Harry was promoted to lieutenant.
2016 Basketball legend Kobe Bryant retired from professional basketball on April 13, 2016, after a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. In his final game, which took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, he scored 60 points to lead the Lakers to a 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz. The performance was considered a fitting end to Bryant's career.
1964 Sidney Poitier became on April 13, 1964 the first African-American male to win the Best Actor Academy Award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field. His win was seen as a major milestone for African-American actors in Hollywood, who had long been marginalized and excluded from many leading roles.
1984 The Siachen glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 13, 1984. Both countries claim sovereignty over the entire Siachen region and maintain permanent military presence in the Siachen glacier locality at a height of over 20,000 feet.
1997 21-year-old Tiger Woods won his first golf major, The Masters, by a record margin of 12 strokes on April 13, 1997. His score of 18-under-par 270 broke Jack Nicklaus' 32-year-old Masters record of 17-under-par 271. He also was the youngest Masters winner and the first winner of African or Asian descent. Never before had so many spectators come to Augusta National, and never before had so many people watched it on television.
2008 Prince Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company. Harry completed his officer training eleven months later and was commissioned as a Cornet (second lieutenant) in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army. He was given the service number 564673. On April 13, 2008, when he reached two years' seniority, Harry was promoted to lieutenant.
2016 Basketball legend Kobe Bryant retired from professional basketball on April 13, 2016, after a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. In his final game, which took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, he scored 60 points to lead the Lakers to a 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz. The performance was considered a fitting end to Bryant's career.
2017 The most powerful conventional bomb ever deployed in combat is the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), also nicknamed the "Mother of All Bombs" by the US military. It was developed in the early 2000s and first used in combat on April 13, 2017 when the United States military dropped the MOAB bomb on an ISIS-Khorasan target in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.
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