# 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.

## April 13 in one line

Headline entries for April 13, from Wikipedia: in 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; born 1743: Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (died 1826); died 1695: Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (born 1621). In 2026 it is a Monday, in 2027 a Tuesday.

## Events on April 13

- 1055 Election of Pope Victor II following the death of Pope Leo IX in the previous year. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Victor_II)
- 1204 Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Constantinople)
- 1742 The first performance of the oratorio Messiah by George Frideric Handel took place in Dublin. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_(Handel))
- 1777 American Revolutionary War: British and Hessian forces conducted a surprise attack against a Continental Army outpost at Bound Brook, New Jersey. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bound_Brook)
- 1829 The Roman Catholic Relief Act received royal assent, removing the most substantial restrictions on Catholics in the United Kingdom. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Relief_Act_1829)
- 1870 The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art)
- 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British Indian Army troops led by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer kill approximately 379–1,000 unarmed demonstrators including men and women in Amritsar, India. Approximately 1,500 are injured. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre)
- 1930 C. Rajagopalachari led the non-violent Vedaranyam March from Trichinopoly towards Vedaranyam. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedaranyam_March)
- 1942 Austrian soldier Anton Schmid was executed for rescuing Jews from the Ponary massacre in Vilnius. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Schmid)
- 1943 The Neoclassical Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., was formally dedicated on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Memorial)
- 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacre)
- 1945 World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_offensive)
- 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakam)
- 1953 Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale was published as the first work to feature the British spy character James Bond. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_Royale_(novel))
- 1953 The CIA began Project MKUltra, an illegal, covert human research program into mind control. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKUltra)
- 1956 The Vietnamese National Army captured Ba Cụt, a military commander of the religious sect Hòa Hảo, which ran a de facto state in South Vietnam in opposition to Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_C%E1%BB%A5t)
- 1958 In the midst of the Cold War, American pianist Van Cliburn won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Cliburn)
- 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Postal_Union)
- 1973 Catch a Fire, the landmark reggae album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, was released. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_a_Fire)
- 1976 Forty people died in an explosion at an ammunition factory in Lapua, Finland. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapua_Cartridge_Factory_explosion)
- 1996 An Israel Defense Forces helicopter fired rockets at an ambulance, killing two women and four children in Mansouri, Lebanon. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansouri_attack)
- 1997 In golf, 21-year-old Tiger Woods became the youngest player to win the Masters Tournament, breaking the record for the lowest four-round score. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Woods)
- 2009 Twenty-three people died in a fire at a homeless hostel in Kamień Pomorski; it was Poland's deadliest fire since 1980. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamie%C5%84_Pomorski_homeless_hostel_fire)
- 2009 Andrew Hussie's webcomic Homestuck debuted, and later concluded on the same day in 2016. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestuck)
- 2011 The board of Rosendale, New York, voted 3–2 to approve the purchase of Joppenbergh Mountain. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joppenbergh_Mountain)
- 2017 War in Afghanistan: In an airstrike in Nangarhar Province, the U.S. military dropped the most powerful conventional bomb used in combat. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Nangarhar_airstrike)

## Born on April 13

- 1519 Catherine de' Medici, Italian-French wife of Henry II of France (died 1589) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de'_Medici)
- 1570 Guy Fawkes, English soldier, member of the Gunpowder Plot (probable; died 1606) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes)
- 1743 Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (died 1826) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson)
- 1771 Richard Trevithick, Cornish-English engineer and explorer (died 1833) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Trevithick)
- 1808 Antonio Meucci, Italian-American engineer (died 1889) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Meucci)
- 1860 James Ensor, English-Belgian painter, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism (died 1949) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ensor)
- 1885 György Lukács, Hungarian philosopher and critic (died 1971) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gy%C3%B6rgy_Luk%C3%A1cs)
- 1901 Jacques Lacan, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (died 1981) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Lacan)
- 1906 Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1989) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Beckett)
- 1922 Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician and teacher, 1st President of Tanzania (died 1999) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Nyerere)
- 1924 Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer (died 2019) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Donen)
- 1939 Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamus_Heaney)
- 1940 J. M. G. Le Clézio, Breton French-Mauritian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._G._Le_Cl%C3%A9zio)
- 1941 Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Stuart_Brown)
- 1949 Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (died 2011) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens)
- 1950 Ron Perlman, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Perlman)
- 1960 Rudi Völler, German footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudi_V%C3%B6ller)
- 1963 Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player and author [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Kasparov)
- 1978 Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carles_Puyol)
- 1983 Claudio Bravo, Chilean footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Bravo)
- 1984 Anders Lindegaard, Danish footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Lindegaard)
- 1988 Anderson, Brazilian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderson_(footballer%2C_born_1988))

## Died on April 13

- 1605 Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (born 1551) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Godunov)
- 1695 Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (born 1621) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_La_Fontaine)
- 1794 Nicolas Chamfort, French playwright and poet (born 1741) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Chamfort)
- 1882 Bruno Bauer, German historian and philosopher (born 1809) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Bauer)
- 1918 Lavr Kornilov, Russian general (born 1870) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavr_Kornilov)
- 1941 Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer and academic (born 1863) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Jump_Cannon)
- 1945 Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (born 1874) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Cassirer)
- 1956 Emil Nolde, Danish-German painter and educator (born 1867) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Nolde)
- 1966 Georges Duhamel, French soldier and author (born 1884) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Duhamel_(author))
- 2006 Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist, poet, and critic (born 1918) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muriel_Spark)
- 2008 John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and academic (born 1911) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Archibald_Wheeler)
- 2015 Günter Grass, German novelist, poet, playwright, and illustrator, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1927) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnter_Grass)
- 2015 Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and author (born 1940) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Galeano)
- 2025 Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian novelist and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1936) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Vargas_Llosa)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Caradoc [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Caradoc)
- Christian feast day: Ida of Louvain [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_of_Louvain)
- Christian feast day: Pope Martin I [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Martin_I)
- Christian feast day: Margaret of Castello [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_Castello)
- Christian feast day: Sabás Reyes Salazar [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sab%C3%A1s_Reyes_Salazar)
- April 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_13_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Songkran Songkran (Thailand) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songkran_(Thailand))
- Songkran Water-Sprinkling Festival [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water-Sprinkling_Festival)
- Vaisakhi (between 1902 and 2011) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaisakhi)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “April 13”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_13) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/April 13”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/April_13) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“April 13”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_13) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_13?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for April 13 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## April 13 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Monday | 2026-W16 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2027 | Tuesday | 2027-W15 | 🌓 First Quarter |
| 2028 | Thursday | 2028-W15 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2029 | Friday | 2029-W15 | 🌑 New Moon |
| 2030 | Saturday | 2030-W15 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on April 13

None of the 28 countries we track has a public holiday on April 13 in 2026 or 2027.

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← April 12](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/april-12/) · [April 14 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/april-14/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/april-13/