December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 18 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
Up to 1900
1901 – 2000
1937 - Second Sino-Japanese War : Battle of Nanking - Nanjing , defended by the National Revolutionary Army under command of General Tang Shengzhi , falls to the Japanese . This is followed by the Nanking Massacre committed by Japanese forces against local civilians .
1939 - Holocaust : Neuengamme Concentration Camp opens.
1939 - World War II : The Battle of River Plate takes place between the German Navy and the British Royal Navy .
1941 - World War II : The Kingdoms of Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States .
1941 - A glacier breaks apart at Palcacocha Lake in the Peruvian Andes , resulting in a mud avalanche that kills around 6,000 people in the city of Huaraz.
1943 - World War II : Massacre of Kalavryta by German occupying forces in Greece .
1949 - Israel 's parliament , the Knesset , votes to make Jerusalem the capital city of Israel .
1959 - Archbishop Makarios III becomes the first President of Cyprus .
1960 - Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie is removed from power while on a visit abroad, in Brazil .
1962 - NASA launches Relay 1 , the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit .
1967 - The deposed King Constantine II of Greece attempts an unsuccessful coup against the Regime of the Colonels .
1967 - The Pioneer 8 space probe is launched.
1972 - Apollo 17 astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan become the last people to-date to have set foot on the Moon .
1974 - Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations .
1977 - A DC-3 aircraft chartered from Indianapolis -based National Jet crashes near Evansville Regional Airport in Indiana , killing 29 people, including the entire University of Evansville basketball team.
1979 - Joe Clark 's Canadian government is defeated in a vote of confidence. A new election in early 1980 brings Pierre Trudeau back as Prime Minister of Canada , less than a year after being voted out of the post.
1981 - General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares Martial Law in Poland .
1982 - The Arabian peninsula is struck by magnitude 6 earthquake , killing around 2,800 people.
1985 - Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador , killing all 256 people on board.
1989 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out an attack at the Derryard Checkpoint in Northern Ireland , killing 2 British soldiers .
1996 - Kofi Annan is chosen as UN Secretary-General. He succeeds Boutros Boutros-Ghali on January 1 , 1997 .
2000 - The "Texas Seven" escape from the John B. Connally Unit near Kennedy, Texas and go on a robbery spree.
From 2001
Births
Up to 1900
1272 - Frederick III of Sicily (d. 1337 )
1521 - Pope Sixtus V (d. 1590 )
1533 - King Eric XIV of Sweden (d. 1577 )
1553 – King Henry IV of France (d. 1610 )
1560 - Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully , French statesman (d. 1641 )
1640 - Robert Plot , English chemist and academic (d. 1696 )
1662 - Francesco Bianchini , Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1729 )
1678 - Yongzheng Emperor of China (d. 1735 )
1684 - Ludvig Holberg , Norwegian historian , philosopher and author (d. 1754 )
1720 - Carlo Gozzi , Italian dramatist (d. 1804 )
1780 - Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner , German chemist (d. 1849 )
1784 - Archduke Louis of Austria (d. 1864 )
1790 - Giuseppe Marco Fieschi , conspirator against Louis Philippe I of France (d. 1836 )
1797 - Heinrich Heine , German poet (d. 1856 )
1804 - Joseph Howe , 5th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 1873 )
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 )
1846 - Henri-Paul Motte , French painter (d. 1922 )
1854 - Herman Bavinck , Dutch theologian and churchman (d. 1921 )
1860 - Lucien Guitry , French actor (d. 1925 )
1864 - Emil Seidel , Mayor of Milwaukee (d. 1947 )
1867 - Kristian Birkeland , Norwegian explorer and scientist (d. 1917 )
1870 - Edward LeSaint , American actor and director (d. 1914 )
1871 - Emily Carr , Canadian artist (d. 1945 )
1874 - Josef Lhevinne , Russian pianist and professor (d. 1944 )
1883 - Belle da Costa Greene , American librarian , bibliographer and archivist (d. 1950 )
1887 - Alvin York , American soldier (d. 1964 )
1894 - Fernando de Fuentes , Mexican movie director (d. 1958 )
1897 - Albert Aalbers , Dutch architect (d. 1961 )
1900 - Jonel Perlea , Romanian conductor (d. 1970 )
1901 – 1950
1902 - Panagiotis Kanellopoulos , Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1986 )
1902 - Talcott Parsons , American sociologist (d. 1979 )
1903 - Ella Baker , American Civil Rights activist (d. 1986 )
1903 - Carlos Montoya , Spanish guitarist (d. 1993 )
1906 - Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (d. 1968 )
1906 - Laurens van der Post , South African writer (d. 1996 )
1911 - Trygve Haavelmo , Norwegian economist (d. 1999 )
1913 - Arnold Brown , 11th General of the Salvation Army (d. 2002 )
1913 - Archie Moore , American boxer (d. 1998 )
1915 - B. J. Vorster , Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1983 )
1915 - Curd Jürgens , German-Austrian actor (d. 1982 )
1916 - Archie Moore , American boxer (d. 1998 )
1918 - Kim Won-kwon , Korean athlete
1918 - Rosalia Lombardo , Italian pneumonia victim (d. 1920 )
1920 - George Shultz , 60th United States Secretary of State
1923 - Philip Warren Anderson , American physicist
1923 - Antoni Tapies , Catalan artist (d. 2012 )
1923 - Edward Clancy , Australian cardinal (d. 2014 )
1923 - Frankie Fraser , English gangster (d. 2014 )
1924 - Maria Riva , American actress
1925 - Dick Van Dyke , American actor
1926 - George Rhoden , Jamaican athlete
1927 - Geneviève Page , French actress
1928 - Nati Mistral , Spanish actress (d. 2017 )
1928 - Jack Tramiel , Polish-born American businessman (d. 2012 )
1929 - Christopher Plummer , Canadian actor
1933 - Doug Mohns , Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2014 )
1934 - Richard D. Zanuck , American movie producer (d. 2012 )
1936 - Shah Karim al-Husseini , Agha Khan IV
1937 - Robert Gernhardt , German poet (d. 2006 )
1938 - Heino , German folk singer
1941 - John Davidson , American actor and game show host
1942 - Howard Brenton , English playwright and screenwriter
1942 - Arne Treholt , Norwegian politician
1942 - Anna Eshoo , American politician
1942 - Ferguson Jenkins , Canadian baseball player
1943 - Nikhil Baran Sengupta , Indian art director , producer and designer (d. 2014 )
1945 - Herman Cain , American businessman and politician
1946 - Pierino Prati , Italian footballer
1947 - Luis Angelo Gonzalez Macchi , former President of Paraguay
1948 - Ted Nugent , American musician
1948 - Lillian Board , British athlete (d. 1970 )
1949 - Robert Lindsay , British actor
1949 - Manfred Bleskin , German journalist (d. 2014 )
1950 - Tom Vilsack , 40th Governor of Iowa
1951 – 1975
1952 - Sylvester Ritter , American professional wrestler (d. 1998 )
1953 - Ben Bernanke , American economist
1953 - Thomas Kurzhals , German keyboardist and songwriter (d. 2014 )
1953 - Bob Gainey , Canadian ice hockey player
1956 - Majida El Roumi , Lebanese soprano
1956 - Phil Hubbard , American basketball player
1957 - Steve Buscemi , American actor
1958 - Lynn-Holly Johnson , American figure skater
1959 - Johnny Whitaker , American actor and singer
1960 - José Eduardo Agualusa , Angolan writer
1961 - Harry Gregson-Williams , British movie score composer , music producer and conductor
1961 - Toru Yoshikawa , Japanese footballer
1962 - Roger Ilegems , Belgian cyclist
1964 - Hide , Japanese musician (d. 1998 )
1964 - Dieter Eilts , German footballer
1966 - Craig Brewster , Scottish footballer
1967 – Jamie Foxx , American actor and singer
1967 - Noel Fitzpatrick , Irish veterinarian
1969 - Sergei Fedorov , Russian ice hockey player
1970 - Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner , Austrian mountaineer
1971 - Leanne Wood , Welsh politician, leader of Plaid Cymru
1971 - Gloria Casarez , American activist (d. 2014 )
1973 - Christie Clark , American actress
1974 – Sara Cox , English television and radio presenter
1974 - Nicholas McCarthy , British musician for Franz Ferdinand
1975 - Tom DeLonge , American musician
From 1976
1976 - Radoslaw Sobolewski , Polish footballer
1977 - Sascha Kindred , German-born British Paralympic swimmer
1977 - Lauri Porra , Finnish musician
1977 - Peter Stringer , Irish rugby player
1978 - Kaspars Kambala , Latvian basketball player
1978 - Olav Bjortomt , British quiz player, crossword compiler
1980 - Satoshi Tsumabuki , Japanese actor
1980 - Agnieszka Wlodarczyk , Polish actress
1981 - Amy Lee , American singer-songwriter
1981 - Liam Lawrence , Irish footballer
1984 - Santi Cazorla , Spanish footballer
1984 - Michal Kadlec , Czech footballer
1985 - Michael Bumpus , American football player
1987 - James Holmes , American mass shooter
1988 - Rickie Fowler , American golfer
1989 – Taylor Swift , American country singer
1989 - Dasha Kapustina , Russian model
1989 - Katherine Schwarzenegger , American author
1991 - Sénah Mongo , Togolese footballer
1995 - Marvin Friedrich , German footballer
Deaths
Up to 1900
558 - Childebert I , King of Paris (b. 496 )
838 - Pepin I of Aquitaine (b. 797 )
1048 - Abu Rahman al-Biruni , Persian scholar and polymath (b. 973 )
1124 - Pope Callixtus II (b. 1065 )
1126 - Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1075 )
1204 - Maimonides , Spanish rabbi and philosopher (b. 1135 )
1250 - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1194 )
1404 - Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1336 )
1466 - Donatello , Florentine painter and sculptor (b. 1386 )
1516 - Johannes Trithemius , German cryptographer and historian (b. 1462 )
1521 - King Manuel I of Portugal (b. 1469 )
1557 - Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia , Italian mathematician and engineer (b. 1500 )
1565 - Conrad Gessner , Swiss botanist and physician (b. 1516 )
1621 - Catherine Stenbock , Queen Consort of Sweden (b. 1535 )
1721 - Alexander Selkirk , Scottish sailor and castaway, inspiration for Robinson Crusoe (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 , English poet and lexicographer (b. 1709 )
1837 - Herman of Alaska , Russian missionary and saint (b. 756 )
1863 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel , German poet and playwright (b. 1813 )
1868 - Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius , German botanist and explorer (b. 1794 )
1883 - Victor de Laprade , French poet and critic (b. 1812 )
1901 – 2000
1917 - Ebe W. Tunnell , Governor of Delaware (b. 1844 )
1922 - Hannes Hafstein , 1st Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1861 )
1924 - Samuel Gompers , English-American labor leader (b. 1850 )
1930 - Fritz Pregl , Slovenian -Austrian chemist (b. 1869 )
1931 - Gustave le Bon , French psychologist (b. 1841 )
1932 - Georgios Jakobides , Greek painter (b. 1853 )
1934 - Thomas A. Watson , assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (b. 1854 )
1935 - Victor Grignard , French chemist (b. 1871 )
1942 - Wlodimir Ledochowski , Austrian-Polish religious leader (b. 1866 )
1944 - Wassily Kandinsky , Russian painter (b. 1866 )
1944 - Lupe Velez , Mexican actress (b. 1908 )
1954 - John Raymond Hubbell , American director and composer (b. 1879 )
1955 - Egas Moniz , Portuguese psychiatrist and neurosurgeon (b. 1874 )
1961 - Grandma Moses , American painter (b. 1860 )
1962 - Harry Barris , American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1905 )
1969 - Spencer Williams , American actor and director (b. 1893 )
1972 - Gustav Schwarzenegger , Austrian police chief and inspector (b. 1907 )
1973 - Giuseppe Beltrami , Italian cardinal and Vatican City diplomat (b. 1889 )
1974 – Betty Van Patter , member of the Black Panther Party , murdered.
1981 - Pigmeat Markham , American actor , singer and dancer (b. 1904 )
1986 - Heather Angel , English actress (b. 1969 )
1986 - Ella Baker , American Civil Rights activist (b. 1903 )
1992 - Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney , American businessman (b. 1899 )
1994 - Antoine Pinay , Prime Minister of France (b. 1891 )
From 2001
2001 – Chuck Schuldiner , singer/guitarist of Death
2002 - Zal Yanovsky , Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944 )
2003 - William V. Roth, Jr. , American politician (b. 1921 )
2006 - Lamar Hunt , American businessman (b. 1932 )
2008 - Kathy Staff , English actress (b. 1928 )
2008 - Horst Tappert , German actor (b. 1923 )
2009 - Paul Samuelson , American economist (b. 1918 )
2010 - Richard Holbrooke , American diplomat (b. 1941 )
2011 - Klaus-Dieter Sieloff , German footballer (b. 1942 )
2012 - Maurice Herzog , French mountaineer (b. 1919 )
2014 - Ernst Albrecht , German politician , Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (b. 1930 )
2014 - Andreas Schockenhoff , German politician (b. 1957 )
2014 - Bill Bonds , American news presenter (b. 1932 )
2014 - Joan Barril , Spanish writer and journalist (b. 1952 )
2015 - Benedict Anderson , American academic and writer (b. 1936 )
2015 - John Bannon , Australian politician, Premier of South Australia (b. 1943 )
2016 - Thomas Schelling , American economist (b. 1921 )
2016 - Alan Thicke , Canadian actor (b. 1947 )
2017 - Warrel Dane , American heavy metal singer-songwriter (b. 1961 )
2017 - Simon Dickie , New Zealand rower (b. 1951 )
2017 - Bruce Gray , Puerto Rican-Canadian actor (b. 1936 )
2017 - Bill Hudson , American football player (b. 1935 )
2017 - Dan Johnson , American politician (b. 1960 )
2017 - Frank Lary , American baseball player (b. 1930 )
2017 - Gerald O'Brien , New Zealand politician (b. 1924 )
2021 - Tank , dog of Tristan Corso
Holidays