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On this day: April 13

April 13 is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years), with 262 days left until the end of the year.

 

Events on April 13

  • 1175 Saladin routs his Muslim opponents, the Zengids, in the battle of the Horns of Hama, consolidating his control over Syria except for Aleppo. Wikipedia
  • 1204 Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire. Wikipedia
  • 1742 The first performance of the oratorio Messiah by George Frideric Handel took place in Dublin. Wikipedia
  • 1742 George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah makes its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland. Wikipedia
  • 1777 American Revolutionary War: American forces are ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey. Wikipedia
  • 1861 American Civil War: Union forces surrender Fort Sumter to Confederate forces. Wikipedia
  • 1924 A.E.K., a major Greek multi-sport club, is established in Athens by Greek refugees from Constantinople. Wikipedia
  • 1941 A pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed. Wikipedia
  • 1943 World War II: German news announced the discovery of a mass grave of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in Katyn, Russia, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile and the Soviet Union. Wikipedia
  • 1943 World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility. Wikipedia
  • 1943 The Neoclassical Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., was formally dedicated on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth. Wikipedia
  • 1943 The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson's birth. Wikipedia
  • 1945 World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna. Wikipedia
  • 1945 World War II: German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany. Wikipedia
  • 1946 Nakam, a Jewish organization seeking revenge for the Holocaust, attempted to poison thousands of SS prisoners at Langwasser internment camp, but did not kill anyone. Wikipedia
  • 1953 The CIA began Project MKUltra, an illegal, covert human research program into mind control. Wikipedia
  • 1953 CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra. Wikipedia
  • 1958 In the midst of the Cold War, American pianist Van Cliburn won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Wikipedia
  • 1970 At 10:08 PM EST an oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed "Odyssey") while en route to the Moon. Wikipedia
  • 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. Wikipedia
  • 1972 Vietnam War: The Battle of An Lộc begins. Wikipedia
  • 1976 Forty workers die in the Lapua Cartridge Factory explosion, the deadliest industrial accident in modern Finnish history. Wikipedia
  • 1976 The United States Treasury Department reintroduces the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson's 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration. Wikipedia
  • 1997 Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament. Wikipedia
  • 2006 The United Front for Democratic Change's attack on the Chadian capital of N'Djamena is repelled by the Chadian army Wikipedia
  • 2024 Six people and the perpetrator are killed and twelve others injured in a mass stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney, Australia. Wikipedia

Born on April 13

  • 1506 Peter Faber, French priest and theologian, co-founded the Society of Jesus (died 1546) Wikipedia
  • 1519 Catherine de' Medici, Italian-French wife of Henry II of France (died 1589) Wikipedia
  • 1570 Guy Fawkes, English soldier, member of the Gunpowder Plot (probable; died 1606) Wikipedia
  • 1732 Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (died 1792) Wikipedia
  • 1743 Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (died 1826) Wikipedia
  • 1828 Josephine Butler, English feminist and social reformer (died 1906) Wikipedia
  • 1860 James Ensor, English-Belgian painter, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism (died 1949) Wikipedia
  • 1885 György Lukács, Hungarian philosopher and critic (died 1971) Wikipedia
  • 1892 Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented Radar (died 1973) Wikipedia
  • 1894 Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (died 1973) Wikipedia
  • 1899 Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and game designer, created Scrabble (died 1993) Wikipedia
  • 1901 Jacques Lacan, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (died 1981) Wikipedia
  • 1906 Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1989) Wikipedia
  • 1920 Liam Cosgrave, Irish lawyer and politician, 6th Taoiseach of Ireland (died 2017) Wikipedia
  • 1922 Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician and teacher, 1st President of Tanzania (died 1999) Wikipedia
  • 1939 Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013) Wikipedia
  • 1940 J. M. G. Le Clézio, Breton French-Mauritian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
  • 1940 Max Mosley, English racing driver and engineer, co-founded March Engineering, former president of the FIA (died 2021) Wikipedia
  • 1941 Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
  • 1949 Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (died 2011) Wikipedia
  • 1963 Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player and author Wikipedia
  • 1978 Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer Wikipedia

Died on April 13

  • 585 Hermenegild, Visigothic prince and saint Wikipedia
  • 814 Krum, khan of the Bulgarian Khanate Wikipedia
  • 862 Donald I, king of the Picts (born 812) Wikipedia
  • 1113 Ida of Lorraine, saint and noblewoman (born c. 1040) Wikipedia
  • 1605 Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (born 1551) Wikipedia
  • 1695 Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (born 1621) Wikipedia
  • 1794 Nicolas Chamfort, French playwright and poet (born 1741) Wikipedia
  • 1941 Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer and academic (born 1863) Wikipedia
  • 1945 Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (born 1874) Wikipedia
  • 1956 Emil Nolde, Danish-German painter and educator (born 1867) Wikipedia
  • 2008 John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and academic (born 1911) Wikipedia
  • 2015 Günter Grass, German novelist, poet, playwright, and illustrator, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1927) Wikipedia
  • 2015 Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and author (born 1940) Wikipedia
  • 2025 Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian novelist and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1936) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “April 13” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.