Historical Events on August 13
- 1532: The Duchy of Brittany is absorbed by the Kingdom of France.
- 1553: John Calvin arrests Michael Servetus in Geneva, Switzerland and charges him with being a heretic.
- 1624: Louis XIII appoints Cardinal Richelieu as Prime Minister.
- 1704: English and Imperial forces defeat French and Bavarian troops during the Battle of Blenheim – a battle which took place during the War of Spanish Succession.
- 1779: The Royal Navy defeats the Penobscot Expedition during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1792: King Louis XVI is arrested by the French National Tribunal and declared the people’s enemy.
- 1806: The Battle of Misar during the Serbian Revolution started on this day.
- 1898: American and Spanish forces engage in a mock battle for Manila.
- 1898: The first near-Earth asteroid, 433 Eros, is discovered by Carl Gustav Witt.
- 1905: Norwegians vote to dissolve the union between them and Sweden.
- 1906: The all-black soldiers of the United States Army’s 25th Infantry Regiment are accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer in Brownsville, Texas.
- 1913: It’s the first production of stainless steel by Harry Brearley in the UK.
- 1918: Opha May Johnson becomes the first female U.S marine as women are admitted into the United States Marine Corps for the first time.
- 1969: The Apollo 11 astronauts are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by United States President Richard Nixon.
- 1978: 150 Palestinians in Beirut are killed during a terrorist attack
- 2004: A Category 4 hurricane, Hurricane Charley, hits Punta Gorda, Florida causing widespread devastation.
Famous Birthdays on August 13
- American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg is born in 1951.
- American singer-songwriter Dave Carter is born in 1952.
- German philosopher and academic Thomas Pogge is born in 1953.
- American baseball player Tom Niedenfuer is born in 1959.
- Canadian race car driver Patrick Carpentier is born in 1971.
- American actor David Monahan is born in 1971.
- American baseball player Adam Housley is born in 1971.