December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in Leap Year s) in the Gregorian Calendar . There are 18 days remaining.
- 1294 - Saint Celestine V Abdicates the Papacy after only five months; Celestine hoped to return to his previous life as an Ascetic Hermit .
- 1545 - Council Of Trent begins.
- 1577 - Sir Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth , England , on his round-the-world voyage.
- 1636 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three Militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians . This organization is recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard .
- 1642 - Abel Janszoon Tasman reaches New Zealand .
- takes place in Hampshire .
- 1769 - Dartmouth College founded by the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock , with a Royal Charter from King George III , on land donated by Royal Governor John Wentworth .
- , Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats the Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside .
- - Nanjing , defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi , falls to the Japanese .
- build the Neuengamme Concentration Camp near Hamburg .
- - Captain Hans Langsdorff of the German Pocket Battleship '' Admiral Graf Spee '' engages with Royal Navy cruisers '' HMS Exeter '', '' HMS Ajax '' and '' HMNZS Achilles ''.
- and Romania declare war on the United States .
- 1949 - The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel to Jerusalem .
- 1959 - Archbishop Makarios becomes the first President of Cyprus .
- 1973 - Rael , leader of the Raelian Movement claims to meet an ET he says is named Yahweh , during an alleged UFO encounter in Puy de Lassolas, France.
- 1974 - Malta becomes a republic.
- 1977 - A United States government aircraft DC-3 crashes near Evansville Regional Airport , killing 29, including the University Of Evansville basketball team.
- 1978 - The first Susan B. Anthony Dollar enters circulation.
- 1979 - The Canadian Government of Prime Minister Joe Clark is defeated in the House Of Commons , prompting the 1980 Canadian Election .
- 1981 - General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares Martial Law in Poland to prevent dismantling of the communist system by '' Solidarity ''.
- 1989 - The last issue of ''Gnistan'' (The Spark), the organ of the Solidaritetspartiet , is published in Sweden .
- 1996 - Kofi Annan is elected as Secretary-General Of The United Nations .
- 2000 - The " Texas 7 " escape from the John Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas and go on a robbery spree, during which police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot and killed.
- 2000 - American Vice President Al Gore delivers his concession speech ending his hopes of becoming the 43rd President Of The United States .
- 2001 - the Indian Parliament Sansad is attacked by Terrorists, killing 15 people, including all the terrorists. Tensions escalate in South Asia , with nuclear war likelihoods.
- announces that Cyprus , the Czech Republic , Estonia , Hungary , Latvia , Lithuania , Malta , Poland , Slovakia , and Slovenia will become members from May 1 , 2004 .
- 2003 - Former Iraq i President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit (see Operation Red Dawn ).
- 2003 - In the most-attended Basketball game in history, 78,129 watch Michigan State University lose 79-74 to the University Of Kentucky at Ford Field .
- 2004 - Former Chilean Dictator , General Augusto Pinochet is put under house arrest, after being sued under accusations over 9 kidnapping actions and manslaughter. The house arrest is lifted the same day on appeal.
- 1521 - Pope Sixtus V (d. 1590 )
- 1533 - King Eric XIV Of Sweden (d. 1577 )
- 1553 - King Henry IV Of France (d. 1610 )
- 1585 - William Drummond Of Hawthornden , Scottish poet (d. 1649 )
- 1640 - Robert Plot , English naturalist (d. 1696 )
- 1662 - Francesco Bianchini , Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1729 )
- 1678 - Yongzheng Emperor of China (d. 1735 )
- 1724 - Franz Aepinus , German scientist (d. 1802 )
- 1784 - Archduke Louis Of Austria (d. 1864)
- 1797 - Heinrich Heine , German poet (d. 1856 )
- 1804 - Joseph Howe , Canadian politician (d. 1873 )
- 1813 - David Spangler Kaufman , American politician (d. 1851 )
- 1816 - Ernst Werner Von Siemens , German engineer, inventor, and industrialist (d. 1892 )
- 1818 - Mary Todd Lincoln , First Lady Of The United States (d. 1882 )
- 1836 - Franz Von Lenbach , German painter (d. 1904 )
- 1854 - Thomas Watson , American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934 )
- 1856 - Svetozar Boroević , Austro-Hungarian field marshal (d. 1920 )
- 1864 - Emil Seidel , Mayor of Milwaukee (d. 1947 )
- 1867 - Kristian Birkeland , Norwegian explorer and scientist (d. 1917 )
- 1874 - Josef Lhévinne , Russian-born pianist (d. 1944 )
- 1883 - Belle Da Costa Greene , American librarian, bibliographer and archivist (d. 1950 )
- 1887 - George Polya , Hungarian-born mathematician (d. 1985 )
- 1887 - Alvin York , American soldier (d. 1964 )
- 1897 - Drew Pearson , American journalist (d. 1969 )
- 1903 - Carlos Montoya , Spanish guitarist (d. 1993 )
- 1906 - Princess Marina, Duchess Of Kent (d. 1968 )
- 1906 - Sir Laurens Van Der Post , Afrikaner-born South African author (d. 1996 )
- 1910 - Van Heflin , American actor (d. 1971 )
- 1911 - Trygve Haavelmo , Norwegian economist and Bank Of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1999 )
- 1911 - Kenneth Patchen , American poet and painter (d. 1972 )
- 1913 - Archie Moore , American boxer and World Light-Heavyweight Champion (d. 1998 )
- 1913 - Arnold Brown , the 11th General of The Salvation Army (d. 2002 )
- 1915 - Curd Jürgens , German actor (d. 1982 )
- 1915 - Ross Macdonald , American-born author (d. 1983 )
- 1923 - Philip Warren Anderson , American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
- 1923 - Larry Doby , American baseball player (d. 2003 )
- 1925 - Dick Van Dyke , American actor and comedian
- 1926 - George Rhoden , Jamaican athlete and Olympic gold medalist
- 1927 - Christopher Plummer , Canadian actor
- 1934 - Richard D. Zanuck , American film producer
- 1936 - His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan (Prince Karim El Husseni)
- 1939 - Eric Flynn , British actor and singer (d. 2002 )
- 1942 - Anna Eshoo , American politican
- 1943 - Ferguson Jenkins , Canadian baseball player
- 1948 - Ted Nugent , American guitarist
- 1948 - Jeff Baxter , American guitarist ( Steely Dan , The Doobie Brothers )
- 1948 - Brian Wilson , British politician
- 1950 - Tom Vilsack , Governor of Iowa
- 1953 - Ben Bernanke , American economist
- 1953 - Bob Gainey , Canadian hockey player
- 1954 - John Anderson , American country musician
- 1957 - Steve Buscemi , American actor
- 1957 - Morris Day , American singer ( The Time )
- 1957 - Jean-Marie Messier , French businessman
- 1958 - Lynn-Holly Johnson , American figure skater and actress
- 1959 - Nadia Russ , Soviet-born artist
- 1961 - Harry Gregson-Williams , British composer
- 1963 - Jake White , South African rugby union coach
- 1964 - Hide , Japanese musician ( X Japan ) (d. 1998 )
- 1965 - Marko Mäetamm , Estonian artist
- 1967 - Jamie Foxx , American actor
- 1969 - Sergei Fedorov , Russian hockey player
- 1973 - Christie Clark , American actress
- 1974 - Nicholas McCarthy , British-born guitarist ( Franz Ferdinand )
- 1974 - Sara Cox , TV and Radio presenter
- 1975 - Tom Delonge , American guitarist ( Blink-182 )
- 1976 - Josh Fogg , American baseball player
- 1981 - Amy Lee , American singer ( Evanescence )
- 1983 - Otylia Jędrzejczak , Polish swimmer, FINA World Champion and Olympic gold medalist
- 1048 - Al-Biruni , Persian mathematician (b. 973 )
- 1124 - Pope Callixtus II
- 1204 - Maimonides , Spanish rabbi and philosopher (b. 1135 )
- 1250 - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1194 )
- 1404 - Albert, Count Of Holland (b. 1336 )
- 1466 - Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi), Florentine artist and sculptor (b. 1386 )
- 1516 - Johannes Trithemius , German cryptographer (b. 1462 )
- 1521 - King Manuel I Of Portugal (b. 1469 )
- 1557 - Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia , Italian mathematician
- 1565 - Conrad Gessner , Swiss naturalist (b. 1516 )
- 1603 - François Viète , French mathematician (b. 1540 )
- 1621 - Katarina Stenbock , Queen of Gustav I Of Sweden (b. 1535 )
- 1716 - Charles De La Fosse , French painter (b. 1640 )
- 1721 - Alexander Selkirk , Scottish sailor and castaway (b. 1676 )
- 1729 - Anthony Collins , English philosopher (b. 1676 )
- 1754 - Mahmud I , Ottoman Sultan (b. 1696 )
- 1769 - Christian Fürchtegott Gellert , German poet (b. 1715 )
- 1783 - Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin , Swedish astronomer (b. 1717 )
- 1784 - Samuel Johnson , British writer and lexicographer (b. 1709 )
- 1814 - Charles Joseph, Prince De Ligne , Belgian-born Austrian field marshal (b. 1735 )
- 1837 - Herman Of Alaska , Russian Orthodox hermit (b. 1756 )
- 1863 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel , German writer (b. 1813 )
- 1868 - Carl Friedrich Philipp Von Martius , German botanist (b. 1794 )
- 1881 - August Senoa , Croatian writer (b. 1838 )
- 1883 - Victor De Laprade , French poet and critic (b. 1812 )
- 1895 - Anyos Jedlik , Hungarian physicist (b. 1800 )
- 1919 - Woldemar Voigt , German physicist (b. 1850 )
- 1930 - Fritz Pregl , Austrian chemist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869 )
- 1931 - Gustave Le Bon , French psychologist (b. 1840 )
- 1935 - Victor Grignard , French chemist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871 )
- 1940 - Jacques-Arsène D'Arsonval , French physicist (b. 1851 )
- 1944 - Wassily Kandinsky , Russian-born French artist (b. 1866 )
- 1947 - Nicholas Roerich , Russian-born painter (b. 1874 )
- 1955 - Egas Moniz , Portuguese physician and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874 )
- 1961 - Grandma Moses , American painter (b. 1860 )
- 1983 - Alexander Schmemann , Orthodox Christian priest and theologian (b. 1921 )
- 1983 - Nichita Stanescu , Romanian poet (b. 1933 )
- 1993 - Vanessa Duriès , French novelist (b. 1972 )
- 2001 - Chuck Schuldiner , American guitarist, singer and songwriter ( Death ) (b. 1967 )
- 2002 - Zal Yanofsky , American guitarist and singer ( The Lovin' Spoonful ) (b. 1945 )
- 2003 - William V. Roth, Jr. , U.S. Senator (b. 1921 )
- 2004 - Andre Rodgers , Bahamian baseball player (b. 1934 )
- 2004 - David Wheeler , British computer scientist (b. 1927 )
- 2005 - Stanley Williams (Stanley Tookie Williams III), Founder of the Crips street gang, convicted murderer and anti-gang activist (lethal injection) (b. 1953 )
December 12 - December 14 - November 13 - January 13 -- Listing Of All Days
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