What Happened on August 13th in History

William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut is granted United States Patent Number 408,709 for "Coin-controlled apparatus for telephones."

Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 at the 2020 census and was estimated at 124,006 in 2025. Hartford is...

Spanish–American War: Spanish and American forces engage in a mock battle for Manila, after which the Spanish commander surrendered in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.

The Spanish–American War was fought between Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the U.S. acquiring sovereignty...

Carl Gustav Witt discovers 433 Eros, the first near-Earth asteroid to be found.

Carl Gustav Witt was a German astronomer and discoverer of two asteroids who worked at the Berlin Urania Observatory, a popular observatory of the Urania astronomical association of Berlin.

The steamer Deutschland of Hamburg America Lines set a new record for the eastward passage when it docked on Plymouth, England, five days, 11 hours and 45 minutes after sailing from New York, breaking by three hours, six minutes its previous mark in its maiden voyage in July.

SS Deutschland was a passenger liner built in Stettin and launched on 10 January 1900 for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) of Germany. She was officially the second ocean liner to have four funnels...

Norwegians vote to end the union with Sweden.

A referendum on dissolving the union with Sweden was held in Norway on 13 August 1905. Dissolving the union, which had been in place since 1814, was approved by almost 100% of voters, with just 184...

The all black infantrymen of the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Regiment are accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer in Brownsville, Texas, despite exculpatory evidence; all are later dishonorably discharged. (Their records were later restored to reflect honorable discharges but there were no financial settlements.)

The 25th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army activated in 1866 and deactivated in 1957. One of the "Buffalo Soldier" units, the racially segregated regiment saw...

First production in the UK of stainless steel by Harry Brearley.

Stainless steel is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Alternatively, it is known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), Nirosta or rustless...

Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha May Johnson is the first woman to enlist.

The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the naval infantry service branch of the United States Armed Forces. The service is...

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) is established as a public company in Germany.

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft, trading as BMW Group, is a German multinational conglomerate manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Germany. The...

Polish–Soviet War: The Battle of Warsaw begins and will last till August 25. The Red Army is defeated.

The Polish–Soviet War was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution.

Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Shanghai begins.

The Second Sino-Japanese War, known in China as the War of Resistance Against Japan, was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan and its puppet states between 1937 and 1945,...

World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches an air operation, codenamed Adlertag, during the Battle of Britain in an attempt to destroy the British Royal Air Force.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major...

Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project.

Eugene Reybold was distinguished as the World War II Chief of Engineers who directed the largest United States Army Corps of Engineers in the nation's history.

World War II: German troops begin the pillage and razing of Anogeia in Crete that would continue until September 5.

The Razing of Anogeia or the Holocaust of Anogeia refers to the complete destruction of the village of Anogeia in central Crete (Greece) and the murder of about 25 of its inhabitants on 13 August...

Radio Pakistan broadcasts the "Qaumī Tarāna", the national anthem of Pakistan for the first time.

The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation ; also known as Radio Pakistan, serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the...

The Central African Republic declares independence from France.

The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country located in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the east, the Democratic Republic of...

Cold War: East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West, and construction of the Berlin Wall is started. The day is known as Barbed Wire Sunday.

The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist...

Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans are hanged for the murder of John Alan West becoming the last people executed in the United Kingdom.

The murder of John Alan West on 7 April 1964 was the crime which led to the last death sentences being carried out in the United Kingdom. West, a 53-year-old van driver for a laundry company, was...

Two young women became the first fatal victims of grizzly bear attacks in the 57-year history of Montana's Glacier National Park in separate incidents.

Night of the Grizzlies (1969) is a book by Jack Olsen which details events surrounding the night of August 13, 1967, when two young women were separately attacked and killed in Glacier National...

Alexandros Panagoulis attempts to assassinate the Greek dictator Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos in Varkiza, Athens.

Alexandros Panagoulis was a Greek politician and poet. He took an active role in the fight against the Regime of the Colonels (1967–1974) in Greece. He became famous for his attempt to assassinate...

The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker-tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.

Apollo 11 was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon, and the fifth crewed mission of NASA's Apollo program. The mission was crewed by Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module...

Aviaco Flight 118 crashes on approach to A Coruña Airport in A Coruña, Spain, killing all 85 people on the plane and one other one the ground.

Aviaco Flight 118 was a Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle operated by Aviaco that crashed in the village of Montrove, Spain, on 13 August 1973, while attempting to land at Alvedro Airport in heavy fog....

Members of the British National Front (NF) clash with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, London, resulting in 214 arrests and at least 111 injuries.

The National Front (NF) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently led by Tony Martin. A minor party, it has never had its representatives elected to the British...

One hundred fifty Palestinians in Beirut are killed in a terrorist attack during the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War.

Palestinians are an Arab national group native to the region of Palestine, descended from those who have inhabited the area over the millennia. They represent a highly homogenized community who...

A mainland Chinese fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5202 is hit by a Taiwanese naval vessel and sinks in a repatriation operation of mainland Chinese immigrants, resulting in 21 deaths. This is the second tragedy less than a month after Min Ping Yu No. 5540 incident.

Min Ping Yu No. 5202 was a 50-foot (15 m) mainland Chinese fishing boat from Baiqing Township, Pingtan County, Fujian Province that sank on August 13, 1990, drowning 21 people, after being hit by...

One hundred fifty-six Congolese Tutsi refugees are massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo or less often Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is the...

Russo-Georgian War: Russian units occupy the Georgian city of Gori.

The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia, was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the Russian-backed separatist regions of South...

A Cessna Citation Excel crashes in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil killing all seven people aboard, including Brazilian Socialist Party presidential candidate Eduardo Campos.

The Cessna Citation Excel is an American midsize business jet in the Cessna Citation family. Announced in October 1994, the Model 560XL first flew on February 29, 1996, certification was granted in...

At least 76 people are killed and 212 others are wounded in a truck bombing in Baghdad, Iraq.

On 13 August 2015, a truck bombing attack was launched targeting a Baghdad food market in Sadr City, a predominantly Shi'ite neighborhood.

Israel–United Arab Emirates relations are formally established.

Diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates trace their origins to the early days of the Oslo Accords, where Israeli and Emirati diplomats had contact with each other in the...