On This Day in History — June 13

Highlights of June 13

• 2013 — Some of the closest advisors and collaborators of Czech prime minister Petr Nečas were arrested for corruption. Read more
• 2011 — A 6.0 Mw earthquake (aftermath pictured) caused up to NZ$6 billion of additional damage to Christchurch, New Zealand, which was still recovering from an earthquake four months earlier. Read more
• 2007 — Insurgents carried out a second bombing at the al-Askari Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. Read more
• 1983 — Pioneer 10 passed the orbit of Neptune, becoming the first man-made object to leave the proximity of the major planets of the Solar System. Read more
• 1981 — English teenager Marcus Sarjeant fired six blanks at Queen Elizabeth II as she rode down The Mall to the Trooping the Colour ceremony. Read more
• 1971 — The New York Times published the first excerpts from the Pentagon Papers, a 7,000-page classified Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in the Vietnam War. Read more
• 1970 — "The Long and Winding Road" became the Beatles' twentieth and final number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Read more
• 1969 — Preston Smith, Governor of Texas, signed a law converting a research arm of Texas Instruments into the University of Texas at Dallas. Read more
• 1952 — Soviet aircraft shot down a Swedish military plane carrying out signals-intelligence gathering operations, followed three days later by the shootdown of a second plane searching for the first one. Read more
• 1944 — Second World War: At the Battle of Villers-Bocage, German tank commander Michael Wittmann destroyed around 30 Allied vehicles in less than 15 minutes. Read more
• 1935 — In one of the biggest upsets in championship boxing, the underdog James J. Braddock defeated Max Baer to become the heavyweight champion of the world. Read more
• 1916 — World War I: The Battle of Mont Sorrel in the Ypres Salient came to an end as a Canadian assault led German forces to withdraw to their original lines. Read more
• 1907 — The Workers' Federation of Chile declares a general strike in solidarity with an ongoing rail workers' strike. Read more
• 1881 — The Jeannette expedition to reach the North Pole from the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait came to an end when the USS Jeannette (pictured), after having been trapped in ice for almost two years, was crushed and sank. Read more
• 1850 — The American League of Colored Laborers, one of the first labor unions for African Americans, was established in New York City. Read more
• 1805 — Lewis and Clark Expedition: Meriwether Lewis became the first white American to sight the Great Falls of the Missouri River. Read more
• 1525 — Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, beginning the practice of clerical marriage in Protestantism. Read more
• 1514 — Henry Grace à Dieu, the largest warship ever built at the time, was launched from Woolwich Dockyard, England. Read more

Events

• 2025 — Israel initiates air strikes against Iran, initiating the Twelve Day War. Read more
• 2023 — At least 100 people are killed when a wedding boat capsizes on the Niger River in Kwara State, Nigeria. Read more
• 2023 — Three people are killed and another three injured in an early morning stabbing and van ramming attack in Nottingham, England. Read more
• 2021 — A gas explosion in Zhangwan district of Shiyan city, in Hubei province of China, kills at least 12 people and wounds over 138 others. Read more
• 2018 — Volkswagen is fined one billion euros over the emissions scandal. Read more
• 2012 — A series of bombings across Iraq, including Baghdad, Hillah and Kirkuk, kills at least 93 people and wounds over 300 others. Read more
• 2010 — A capsule of the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa, containing particles of the asteroid 25143 Itokawa, returns to Earth by landing in the Australian Outback. Read more
• 2007 — The Al Askari Mosque is bombed for a second time. Read more
• 2005 — The jury acquits pop singer Michael Jackson of all charges for allegedly sexually abusing a child in 2003. Read more
• 2002 — The United States withdraws from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Read more
• 2000 — President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea meets Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea, for the beginning of the first ever inter-Korea summit, in the northern capital of Pyongyang. Read more
• 2000 — Italy pardons Mehmet Ali Ağca, the Turkish gunman who tried to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981. Read more
• 1999 — BMW win 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans. Read more
• 1997 — A jury sentences Timothy McVeigh to death for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Read more
• 1997 — The Uphaar Cinema Fire takes place at Green Park, Delhi, resulting in the deaths of 59 people and seriously injuring 103 others. Read more
• 1996 — The Montana Freemen surrender after an 81-day standoff with FBI agents. Read more
• 1996 — Garuda Indonesia flight 865 crashes during takeoff from Fukuoka Airport, killing three people and injuring 170. Read more
• 1994 — A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, blames recklessness by Exxon and Captain Joseph Hazelwood for the Exxon Valdez disaster, allowing victims of the oil spill to seek $15 billion in damages. Read more
• 1990 — First day of the June 1990 Mineriad in Romania. At least 240 strikers and students are arrested or killed in the chaos ensuing from the first post-Ceaușescu elections. Read more
• 1983 — Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to leave the central Solar System when it passes beyond the orbit of Neptune. Read more
• 1982 — Fahd becomes King of Saudi Arabia upon the death of his brother, Khalid. Read more
• 1982 — Battles of Tumbledown and Wireless Ridge, during the Falklands War. Read more
• 1981 — At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, a teenager, Marcus Sarjeant, fires six blank shots at Queen Elizabeth II. Read more
• 1977 — Convicted Martin Luther King Jr. assassin James Earl Ray is recaptured after escaping from prison three days before. Read more
• 1973 — In a game versus the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium, Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Ron Cey and Bill Russell play together as an infield for the first time, going on to set the Major League Baseball record of staying together for 8+1⁄2 years. Read more
• 1971 — Vietnam War: The New York Times begins publication of the Pentagon Papers. Read more
• 1967 — U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson nominates Solicitor-General Thurgood Marshall to become the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more
• 1966 — The United States Supreme Court rules in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their Fifth Amendment rights before questioning them (colloquially known as "Mirandizing"). Read more
• 1956 — Spanish football club Real Madrid CF wins the inaugural European Cup, UEFA's premier club competition, by winning 4–3 against French club Stade de Reims in the final. Read more
• 1952 — Catalina affair: A Swedish Douglas DC-3 is shot down by a Soviet MiG-15 fighter. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: The Battle of Villers-Bocage: German tank ace Michael Wittmann ambushes elements of the British 7th Armoured Division, destroying up to fourteen tanks, fifteen personnel carriers and two anti-tank guns in a Tiger I tank. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: German combat elements, reinforced by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, launch a counterattack on American forces near Carentan. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: Germany launches the first V1 Flying Bomb attack on England. Only four of the eleven bombs strike their targets. Read more
• 1927 — Aviator Charles Lindbergh receives a ticker tape parade up 5th Avenue in New York City. Read more
• 1917 — World War I: The deadliest German air raid on London of the war is carried out by Gotha G.IV bombers and results in 162 deaths, including 46 children, and 432 injuries. Read more
• 1907 — The Workers' Federation of Chile declares a general strike in solidarity with a rail workers' strike. Read more
• 1898 — Yukon Territory is formed, with Dawson chosen as its capital. Read more
• 1895 — Émile Levassor wins the world's first real automobile race. Levassor completed the 732-mile course, from Paris to Bordeaux and back, in just under 49 hours, at a then-impressive speed of about fifteen miles per hour (24 km/h). Read more
• 1893 — Grover Cleveland notices a rough spot in his mouth and on July 1 undergoes secret, successful surgery to remove a large, cancerous portion of his jaw; the operation was not revealed to the public until 1917, nine years after the president's death. Read more
• 1886 — A fire devastates much of Vancouver, British Columbia. Read more
• 1881 — The USS Jeannette is crushed in an Arctic Ocean ice pack. Read more
• 1878 — Start of the Congress of Berlin in which the major powers of Europe revise the Treaty of San Stefano, signed on March 3 the same year, that Russia had imposed on a defeated Ottoman Empire. Read more
• 1855 — Twentieth opera of Giuseppe Verdi, Les vêpres siciliennes ("The Sicilian Vespers"), is premiered in Paris. Read more
• 1850 — The American League of Colored Laborers, the first African American labor union in the United States, is established in New York City. Read more
• 1805 — Lewis and Clark Expedition: Scouting ahead of the expedition, Meriwether Lewis and four companions sight the Great Falls of the Missouri River. Read more
• 1777 — American Revolutionary War: Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette lands near Charleston, South Carolina, in order to help the Continental Congress to train its army. Read more
• 1774 — Rhode Island becomes the first of Britain's North American colonies to ban the importation of slaves. Read more
• 1740 — Georgia provincial governor James Oglethorpe begins an unsuccessful attempt to take Spanish Florida during the Siege of St. Augustine. Read more
• 1625 — King Charles I of England marries Catholic princess Henrietta Maria of France and Navarre, at Canterbury. Read more
• 1525 — Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for priests and nuns. Read more
• 1514 — Henry Grace à Dieu, at over 1,000 tons the largest warship in the world at this time, built at the new Woolwich Dockyard in England, is dedicated. Read more
• 1381 — In England, the Peasants' Revolt, led by Wat Tyler, comes to a head, as rebels set fire to the Savoy Palace. Read more
• 1325 — Ibn Battuta begins his travels, leaving his home in Tangiers to travel to Mecca (gone 24 years). Read more
• 313 — The decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, are published in Nicomedia. Read more

Born on June 13

• 2006 — Macklin Celebrini, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 2006 — Pablo García, Spanish footballer Read more
• 2001 — Bowen Byram, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 2001 — Sung Han-bin, South Korean singer Read more
• 2000 — Penny Oleksiak, Canadian swimmer Read more
• 1995 — Emily Fanning, New Zealand tennis player Read more
• 1995 — Laura Ucrós, Colombian tennis player Read more
• 1994 — Deepika Kumari, Indian archer Read more
• 1994 — Atsuhiro Inukai, Japanese actor Read more
• 1993 — Cansin Köktürk, German politician Read more
• 1993 — Simona Senoner, Italian ski jumper (died 2011) Read more
• 1993 — Denis Ten, Kazakhstani figure skater (died 2018) Read more
• 1992 — Semi Radradra, Fijian rugby league player Read more
• 1991 — Will Claye, American jumper Read more
• 1991 — Ryan Mason, English footballer Read more
• 1991 — Kang Si-ra, South Korean singer Read more
• 1990 — James McCann, American baseball player Read more
• 1990 — Nicole Riner, Swiss tennis player Read more
• 1990 — Aaron Taylor-Johnson, English actor Read more
• 1989 — Ben Barba, Australian rugby league player Read more
• 1989 — James Calado, English racing driver Read more
• 1989 — Ryan McDonagh, American ice hockey player Read more
• 1989 — Daniel Mortimer, Australian rugby league player Read more
• 1989 — Andreas Samaris, Greek footballer Read more
• 1989 — Tommy Searle, English motocross racer Read more
• 1989 — Hassan Whiteside, American basketball player Read more
• 1989 — Erica Wiebe, Canadian wrestler Read more
• 1988 — Gabe Carimi, American football player Read more
• 1988 — Kerttu Niskanen, Finnish cross-country skier Read more
• 1988 — Reece Noi, British actor Read more
• 1988 — Cody Walker, American actor Read more
• 1987 — Marko Grgić, Croatian footballer Read more
• 1986 — Kat Dennings, American actress and comedian Read more
• 1986 — Keisuke Honda, Japanese footballer Read more
• 1986 — Jonathan Lucroy, American baseball catcher Read more
• 1986 — Ashley Olsen, American child actress, fashion designer and businesswoman Read more
• 1986 — Mary-Kate Olsen, American child actress, fashion designer and businesswoman Read more
• 1986 — DJ Snake, French DJ and record producer Read more
• 1986 — Lea Verou, Greek computer scientist and author Read more
• 1986 — Måns Zelmerlöw, Swedish singer Read more

Died on June 13

• 2026 — Roger Cook, New Zealand-born British investigative journalist (born 1943) Read more
• 2024 — Angela Bofill, American R&B singer (born 1954) Read more
• 2024 — Benji Gregory, American child actor (born 1978) Read more
• 2023 — Cormac McCarthy, American author (born 1933) Read more
• 2021 — Ned Beatty, American actor (born 1937) Read more
• 2015 — Buddy Boudreaux, American saxophonist and clarinet player (born 1917) Read more
• 2015 — Sergio Renán, Argentinian actor, director and screenwriter (born 1933) Read more
• 2015 — Mike Shrimpton, New Zealand cricketer and coach (born 1940) Read more
• 2014 — Mahdi Elmandjra, Moroccan economist and sociologist (born 1933) Read more
• 2014 — Gyula Grosics, Hungarian footballer and manager (born 1926) Read more
• 2014 — Jim Keays, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1946) Read more
• 2014 — Chuck Noll, American football player and coach (born 1932) Read more
• 2014 — Robert Peters, American poet, playwright and critic (born 1924) Read more
• 2013 — David Deutsch, American businessman, founded Deutsch Inc. (born 1929) Read more
• 2013 — Sam Most, American flute player and saxophonist (born 1930) Read more
• 2013 — Albert White Hat, American educator and activist (born 1938) Read more
• 2012 — Sam Beddingfield, American pilot and engineer (born 1933) Read more
• 2012 — Graeme Bell, Australian pianist, composer and bandleader (born 1914) Read more
• 2012 — Roger Garaudy, French philosopher and author (born 1913) Read more
• 2012 — Jože Humer, Slovenian composer and translator (born 1934) Read more
• 2012 — Mehdi Hassan, Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood (born 1927) Read more
• 2010 — Jimmy Dean, American singer and businessman, founded Jimmy Dean Foods (born 1928) Read more
• 2009 — Mitsuharu Misawa, Japanese professional wrestler (born 1962) Read more
• 2009 — Fathi Yakan, Lebanese scholar and politician (born 1933) Read more
• 2008 — Tim Russert, American journalist and lawyer (born 1950) Read more
• 2007 — Walid Eido, Lebanese judge and politician (born 1942) Read more
• 2006 — Charles Haughey, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th Taoiseach of Ireland (born 1925) Read more
• 2005 — Álvaro Cunhal, Portuguese academic and politician (born 1913) Read more
• 2005 — David Diamond, American pianist and composer (born 1915) Read more
• 2004 — Ralph Wiley, American journalist and author (born 1952) Read more
• 2003 — Malik Meraj Khalid, Pakistani lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Pakistan (born 1916) Read more
• 2002 — John Hope, American navigator and meteorologist (born 1919) Read more
• 2002 — Maia Wojciechowska, Polish-American author (born 1927) Read more
• 1998 — Alfred Gerrard, English sculptor and academic (born 1899) Read more
• 1998 — Birger Ruud, Norwegian ski jumper (born 1911) Read more
• 1998 — Reg Smythe, English cartoonist (born 1917) Read more
• 1997 — Nguyen Manh Tuong, Vietnamese lawyer and academic (born 1909) Read more
• 1994 — Nadia Gray, Romanian-French actress (born 1923) Read more
• 1993 — Gérard Côté, Canadian runner (born 1913) Read more
• 1993 — Deke Slayton, American soldier, pilot and astronaut (born 1924) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church; Christian feast day: Aquilina; Christian feast day: Cetteus (Peregrinus); Christian feast day: Eulogius of Alexandria; Christian feast day: Felicula; Christian feast day: G. K. Chesterton (Episcopal Church (USA)); Christian feast day: Gerard of Clairvaux; Christian feast day: Blessed Marianna Biernacka; Christian feast day: Psalmodius; Christian feast day: Ragnebert (Rambert); Christian feast day: Blessed Thomas Woodhouse; Christian feast day: Triphyllius; Christian feast day: June 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Inventors' Day (Hungary); Suleimaniah City Fallen and Martyrs Day (Iraqi Kurdistan); International Albinism Awareness Day (international)

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