Day of the year
May 13 is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 232 days remain until the end of the year.
- 1612 – Sword duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro on the shores of Ganryū Island. Kojiro dies at the end.[5][6]
- 1619 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after being convicted of treason.
- 1654 – A Venetian fleet under Admiral Cort Adeler breaks through a line of galleys and defeats the Turkish navy.[7]
- 1779 – War of the Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from it (the Innviertel).
- 1780 – The Cumberland Compact is signed by leaders of the settlers in the Cumberland River area of what would become the U.S. state of Tennessee, providing for democratic government and a formal system of justice.[8]
- 1804 – Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derna from the Americans attack the city.
- 1830 – Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia.
- 1846 – Mexican–American War: The United States declares war on the Federal Republic of Mexico following a dispute over the American annexation of the Republic of Texas and a Mexican military incursion.[9]
- 1861 – American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality" which recognizes the Confederacy as having belligerent rights.
- 1861 – The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
- 1861 – Pakistan's (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri.
- 1862 – The USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through Confederate lines and is passed to the Union, by a southern slave, Robert Smalls, who later was officially appointed as captain, becoming the first black man to command a United States ship.
- 1888 – With the passage of the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law"), the Empire of Brazil abolishes slavery.
- 1909 – The first edition of the Giro d'Italia, a long-distance multiple-stage bicycle race, began in Milan; the Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna was the eventual winner.[10]
- 1912 – The Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.
- 1917 – Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal.
- 1940 – World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins, as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons.
- 1943 – World War II: Operations Vulcan and Strike force the surrender of the last Axis troops in Tunisia.
- 1945 – World War II: Yevgeny Khaldei's photograph Raising a Flag over the Reichstag is published in Ogonyok magazine.[11]
- 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre occurs, a day prior to the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
- 1950 – The inaugural Formula One World Championship race takes place at Silverstone Circuit. The race was won by Giuseppe Farina, who would go on to become the inaugural champion that year.[12]
- 1951 – The 400th anniversary of the founding of the National University of San Marcos is commemorated by the opening of the first large-capacity stadium in Peru.
- 1952 – The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.
- 1954 – The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place.
- 1958 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, the US Vice President Richard Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
- 1958 – May 1958 crisis: A group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.
- 1958 – Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.
- 1960 – Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
- 1967 – Dr. Zakir Husain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, 1969.
- 1969 – In the aftermath of the 1969 Malaysian general election, Sino-Malay sectarian violence erupted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[13]
- 1972 – A fire occurs in the Sennichi Department Store in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators result in 118 fatalities (many victims leaping to their deaths).
- 1972 – The Troubles: A car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army. Seven people are killed and over 66 injured.
- 1980 – An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.
- 1981 – Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.
- 1985 – Police bombed MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia, killing six adults and five children, and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.
- 1989 – Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
- 1990 – The Dinamo–Red Star riot took place at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia between the Bad Blue Boys (fans of Dinamo Zagreb) and the Delije (fans of Red Star Belgrade).
- 1992 – Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People's Republic of China.
- 1995 – Alison Hargreaves, a 33-year-old British mother, becomes the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.
- 1996 – Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
- 1998 – Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped.
- 1998 – India carries out two nuclear weapon tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
- 2000 – A fireworks storage depot explodes in a residential neighborhood in Enschede, Netherlands, killing 23 people and injuring 950 others.[14]
- 2005 – Andijan uprising, Uzbekistan; Troops open fire on crowds of protestors after a prison break; at least 187 people were killed according to official estimates.
- 2006 – São Paulo violence: Rebellions occur in several prisons in Brazil.
- 2011 – Two bombs explode in the Charsadda District of Pakistan killing 98 people and wounding 140 others.
- 2012 – Forty-nine dismembered bodies are discovered by Mexican authorities on Mexican Federal Highway 40.
- 2013 – American physician Kermit Gosnell is found guilty in Pennsylvania of murdering three infants born alive during attempted abortions, involuntary manslaughter of a woman during an abortion procedure, and other charges.[15]
- 2014 – An explosion at an underground coal mine in southwest Turkey kills 301 miners.[16]
- 1638 – Richard Simon, French priest and scholar (d. 1712)
- 1699 – Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1782)
- 1712 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician and diplomat (d. 1772)
- 1713 – Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1765)
- 1717 – Maria Theresa, Archduchess, Queen, and Empress; Austrian wife of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1780)[18]
- 1730 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (d. 1782)[19]
- 1735 – Horace Coignet, French violinist and composer (d. 1821)
- 1742 – Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (d. 1798)
- 1753 – Lazare Carnot, French general, mathematician, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1823)
- 1792 – Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)
- 1794 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (d. 1835)
- 1795 – Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist and chronologist (d. 1875)
- 1804 – Per Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad, Swedo-Finnish treasurer of Tavastia province, manor host, and paternal grandfather of President P. E. Svinhufvud (d. 1866)[20][21]
- 1811 – Juan Bautista Ceballos, President of Mexico (1853) (d. 1859)[22]
- 1822 – Francis, Duke of Cádiz (d. 1902)
- 1830 – Zebulon Baird Vance, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1894)
- 1832 – Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and author (d. 1864)
- 1840 – Alphonse Daudet, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1897)
- 1842 – Arthur Sullivan, English composer (d. 1900)
- 1856 – Tom O'Rourke, American boxer and manager (d. 1938)
- 1857 – Ronald Ross, Indian-English physician and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
- 1868 – Sumner Paine, American target shooter (d. 1904)
- 1869 – Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Turkish writer (d. 1944)
- 1877 – Robert Hamilton, Scottish international footballer (d. 1948)[23]
- 1881 – Lima Barreto, Brazilian journalist and author (d. 1922)
- 1881 – Joe Forshaw, American runner (d. 1964)
- 1882 – Georges Braque, French painter and sculptor (d. 1963)[24]
- 1883 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the pap smear (d. 1962)
- 1884 – Oskar Rosenfeld, Jewish-Austrian writer and Holocaust victim (d. 1944)
- 1885 – Mikiel Gonzi, Maltese archbishop (d. 1984)
- 1887 – Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator and educational psychologist (d. 1951)
- 1888 – Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (d. 1993)
- 1894 – Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Icelandic politician, 2nd President of Iceland (d. 1972)[25]
- 1895 – Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist, parapsychologist, and author (d. 1964)
- 1905 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th President of India (d. 1977)
- 1907 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (d. 1989)[26]
- 1909 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (d. 1992)
- 1911 – Maxine Sullivan, American singer and actress (d. 1987)
- 1912 – Gil Evans, Canadian-American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1988)
- 1913 – Robert Dorning, English actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1989)
- 1913 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (d. 1980)
- 1914 – Joe Louis, American boxer (d. 1981)[27]
- 1914 – Johnnie Wright, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
- 1922 – Otl Aicher, German graphic designer and typographer (d. 1991)
- 1922 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (d. 2009)[28]
- 1924 – Harry Schwarz, South African anti-apartheid leader, lawyer, and Ambassador (d. 2010)
- 1928 – Enrique Bolaños, Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua (d. 2021)
- 1930 – Mike Gravel, American politician (d. 2021)
- 1931 – Jim Jones, American cult leader, founder of the Peoples Temple (d. 1978)[29]
- 1933 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002)
- 1934 – Ehud Netzer, Israeli archaeologist, architect, and academic (d. 2010)
- 1937 – Zohra Lampert, American actress
- 1937 – Roger Zelazny, American author and poet (d. 1995)[30]
- 1938 – Giuliano Amato, Italian academic and politician, 48th Prime Minister of Italy
- 1939 – Harvey Keitel, American actor
- 1940 – Bruce Chatwin, English author (d. 1989)
- 1941 – Senta Berger, Austrian actress
- 1941 – Jody Conradt, American basketball player and coach
- 1941 – Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1959)
- 1943 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
- 1944 – Armistead Maupin, American author, screenwriter, and actor
- 1945 – Lasse Berghagen, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2023)
- 1945 – Lou Marini, American saxophonist and composer
- 1946 – Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor and author (d. 2017)
- 1946 – Marv Wolfman, American author
- 1949 – Zoë Wanamaker, American-British actress
- 1950 – Danny Kirwan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
- 1950 – Bobby Valentine, American baseball player and manager
- 1950 – Stevie Wonder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1952 – John Kasich, American politician, 69th Governor of Ohio
- 1952 – Mary Walsh, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Londa Schiebinger, American academic and author
- 1954 – Johnny Logan, Australian-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 – Richard Madeley, English journalist and author
- 1957 – Mar Roxas, Filipino economist and politician, 24th Secretary of the Interior and Local Government
- 1961 – Siobhan Fallon Hogan, American actress
- 1961 – Dennis Rodman, American basketball player, wrestler, and actor
- 1963 – Andrea Leadsom, English politician
- 1964 – Stephen Colbert, American comedian and talk show host
- 1965 – José Rijo, Dominican baseball player
- 1965 – Lari White, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (d. 2018)
- 1966 – Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1966 – Darius Rucker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Chuck Schuldiner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1967 – Melanie Thornton, American-German singer (d. 2001)
- 1968 – Scott Morrison, Australian politician, 30th Prime Minister of Australia[31]
- 1969 – Buckethead, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1972 – Darryl Sydor, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1973 – Reinhold Einwallner, Austrian politician[32]
- 1976 – Trajan Langdon, American basketball player and executive
- 1977 – Tom Cotton, American politician[33]
- 1977 – Ilse DeLange, Dutch singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Samantha Morton, English actress and director
- 1977 – Pusha T, American rapper
- 1978 – Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach
- 1978 – Barry Zito, American baseball player
- 1979 – Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland[34]
- 1979 – Steve Mildenhall, English footballer
- 1981 – Luciana Berger, English politician
- 1981 – Andrey Polukeyev, Russian sprinter[35]
- 1982 – Larry Fonacier, Filipino basketball player
- 1982 – Oguchi Onyewu, American footballer
- 1983 – Natalie Cassidy, English actress and singer
- 1983 – Anita Görbicz, Hungarian handball player
- 1983 – Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer
- 1984 – Dawn Harper, American hurdler
- 1985 – Jaroslav Halák, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1985 – Iwan Rheon, Welsh actor and singer
- 1985 – Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Lena Dunham, American actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1986 – Robert Pattinson, English actor
- 1986 – Alexander Rybak, Belarusian-Norwegian singer-songwriter, violinist, and actor
- 1986 – Kris Versteeg, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Candice King, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclist
- 1988 – Paulo Avelino, Filipino actor and singer
- 1988 – Casey Donovan, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Lydia Williams, Australian footballer[36]
- 1989 – P. K. Subban, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Mychal Givens, American baseball player
- 1991 – Jen Beattie, Scottish footballer[37]
- 1991 – Francis Coquelin, French footballer[38]
- 1992 – Willson Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1992 – Tyrann Mathieu, American football player[39]
- 1992 – Josh Papalii, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Mark Stone, Canadian hockey player[40]
- 1993 – Abby Dahlkemper, American footballer[41]
- 1993 – Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer
- 1993 – Debby Ryan, American actress and singer[42]
- 1993 – Morgan Wallen, American singer-songwriter[43]
- 1997 – Nico Hoerner, American baseball player[44]
- 2003 – Jabari Smith Jr., American basketball player[45]
- 1612 – Sasaki Kojirō, Japanese master swordsman (b. 1575)[5][6]
- 1619 – Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch politician (b. 1547)
- 1704 – Louis Bourdaloue, French preacher and author (b. 1632)[46]
- 1726 – Francesco Antonio Pistocchi, Italian singer (b. 1659)
- 1782 – Daniel Solander, Swedish-English botanist and phycologist (b. 1736)
- 1807 – Eliphalet Dyer, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1721)
- 1809 – Beilby Porteus, English bishop (b. 1731)
- 1832 – Georges Cuvier, French zoologist and academic (b. 1769)
- 1835 – John Nash, English architect, designed the Royal Pavilion (b. 1752)
- 1836 – John Littlejohn, American sheriff and Methodist preacher (b. 1756)[47]
- 1866 – Nikolai Brashman, Czech-Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1796)
- 1878 – Joseph Henry, American physicist and academic (b. 1797)
- 1884 – Cyrus McCormick, American businessman, co-founded the International Harvester Company (b. 1809)
- 1885 – Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician, pathologist, and anatomist (b. 1809)
- 1903 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (b. 1864)
- 1916 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (b. 1859)
- 1921 – Jean Aicard, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1848)
- 1926 – Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian-American bishop (b. 1857)
- 1929 – Arthur Scherbius, German electrical engineer, invented the Enigma machine (b. 1878)[48]
- 1930 – Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian scientist, explorer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
- 1938 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
- 1941 – Frederick Christian, English cricketer (b. 1877)
- 1941 – Ōnishiki Uichirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 26th Yokozuna (b. 1891)
- 1945 – Tubby Hall, American drummer (b. 1895)
- 1946 – Zara DuPont, American suffragist (b. 1869)[49]
- 1947 – Sukanta Bhattacharya, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1926)
- 1948 – Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (b. 1920)
- 1957 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (b. 1886)
- 1961 – Gary Cooper, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1962 – Henry Trendley Dean, American dentist (b. 1893)
- 1962 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (b. 1910)
- 1963 – Alois Hudal, Austrian-Italian bishop (b. 1885)
- 1972 – Dan Blocker, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1974 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican poet and diplomat (b. 1902)
- 1974 – Arthur J. Burks, American colonel and author (b. 1898)
- 1975 – Marguerite Perey, French physicist (b. 1909)[50]
- 1975 – Bob Wills, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1905)
- 1977 – Mickey Spillane, American mobster (b. 1934)
- 1985 – Leatrice Joy, American actress (b. 1893)
- 1985 – Richard Ellmann, American literary critic and biographer (b. 1918)
- 1988 – Chet Baker, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1929)
- 1992 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor (b. 1909)
- 1994 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver (b. 1920)
- 1994 – John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (b. 1925)
- 1995 – Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (b. 1921)
- 1999 – Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Saudi Arabian scholar and academic (b. 1910)
- 1999 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer and journalist (b. 1902)
- 2000 – Paul Bartel, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
- 2000 – Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese wrestler (b. 1951)
- 2001 – Jason Miller, American actor and playwright (b. 1939)
- 2002 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
- 2005 – Eddie Barclay, French record producer, founded Barclay Records (b. 1921)
- 2005 – George Dantzig, American mathematician and academic (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian and scholar (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (b. 1949)
- 2008 – Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1930)
- 2008 – Ron Stone, American journalist and author (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Frank Aletter, American actor (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Meir Brandsdorfer, Belgian rabbi (b. 1934)
- 2009 – Achille Compagnoni, Italian skier and mountaineer (b. 1914)
- 2011 – Derek Boogaard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1982)
- 2011 – Stephen De Staebler, American sculptor and educator (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, co-founded McCain Foods (b. 1930)
- 2011 – Bruce Ricker, American director and producer (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Arsala Rahmani Daulat, Afghan politician (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Donald "Duck" Dunn, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Cuban-American theologian, author, and academic (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Lee Richardson, English speedway rider (b. 1979)
- 2012 – Don Ritchie, Australian humanitarian (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Nguyễn Văn Thiện, Vietnamese bishop (b. 1906)
- 2013 – Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, author, and actress (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Otto Herrigel, Namibian lawyer and politician (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Jagdish Mali, Indian photographer (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (b. 1953)
- 2013 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (b. 1973)
- 2013 – Lynne Woolstencroft, Canadian politician (b. 1943)
- 2014 – David Malet Armstrong, Australian philosopher and author (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish director and producer (b. 1977)
- 2014 – J. F. Coleman, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Ron Stevens, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
- 2014 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Earl Averill, Jr., American baseball player (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Robert Drasnin, American clarinet player and composer (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (b. 1928)
- 2015 – David Sackett, American-Canadian physician and academic (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Gainan Saidkhuzhin, Russian cyclist (b. 1937)
- 2016 – Murray A. Straus, American sociologist and academic (b. 1926)[51]
- 2019 – Doris Day, American singer and actress (b. 1922)[52]
- 2019 – Unita Blackwell, American civil rights activist and politician (b. 1933)[53]
- 2022 – Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2nd President of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1948)[54]
- 2024 – Alice Munro, Canadian short story writer (b. 1931)[55]
- 2024 – Cyril Wecht, American forensic pathologist (b. 1931)[56]
- 2024 – Samm-Art Williams, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1946)[57]
Holidays and observances
[edit]
