March 13 facts for kids

March 13 is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 293 days remain until the end of the year.

March 13th is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history, from important battles and scientific discoveries to major cultural moments and changes in leadership. It's a day when new ideas were shared, and significant historical events unfolded across the globe.

Historical Events

Early History (Before 1600)

• In 624, the Battle of Badr took place. This was the first big battle between the early Muslims and the Quraysh tribe.
• The Battle of Oosterweel in 1567 is often seen as the start of the Eighty Years' War. This long war led to the independence of the Netherlands.
• In 1591, during the Battle of Tondibi in Mali, Moroccan forces won a big victory. They defeated the Songhai Empire, even though they were greatly outnumbered.

Later History (1601–1900)

• Harvard College, a famous university, was named after clergyman John Harvard in 1639.
• The last independent Maya kingdom, Nojpetén, fell to Spanish conquistadors in 1697. This completed the Spanish conquest of Guatemala.
• The Battle of Cartagena de Indias started in 1741. This was a major naval battle during the War of Jenkins' Ear.
• In 1781, astronomer William Herschel made an amazing discovery: the planet Uranus.
• Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden was removed from power in 1809 during the Coup of 1809.
• A British fleet defeated French and Italian ships in the Battle of Lissa in 1811. This happened in the Adriatic Sea during the Napoleonic Wars.
• Felix Mendelssohn's famous Violin Concerto was first performed in Leipzig in 1845.
• The German revolutions of 1848–1849 began in Vienna in 1848. These were protests for more freedom and rights.
• In 1862, the United States Congress passed a law called the Act Prohibiting the Return of Slaves. This law helped pave the way for the end of slavery.
• The Siege of Khartoum began in 1884. This was a long military blockade in Sudan.
• A huge tsunami was caused by the eruption of Ritter Island in 1888. It sadly killed many people on nearby islands.
• British forces took control of Bloemfontein in 1900 during the Second Boer War.

Modern History (1901–Present)

• In 1920, the Kapp Putsch briefly tried to overthrow the German government in Berlin.
• The discovery of the dwarf planet Pluto was announced by Lowell Observatory in 1930.
• The Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union officially ended in 1940 with a peace treaty.
• In 1943, during The Holocaust, German forces destroyed the Jewish ghetto in Kraków.
• The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ started in 1954. This battle led to the end of French rule in Vietnam.
• In 1969, the Apollo 9 spacecraft returned safely to Earth. Its mission was to test the Lunar Module for future moon landings.
• The Seikan Tunnel opened in 1988 in Japan. It was the longest tunnel in the world with an undersea part.
• A strong earthquake, the Erzincan earthquake, hit eastern Turkey in 1992.
• The 1993 Storm of the Century affected the eastern United States in 1993. It brought a lot of snow to many areas.
• The Dunblane massacre happened in 1996 in Scotland. This tragic event led to the deaths of many primary school children and a teacher.
• In 1997, the Missionaries of Charity chose Sister Nirmala to take over from Mother Teresa as their leader.
• Scientists identified 350,000-year-old human footprints in 2003. These footprints are known as the Ciampate del Diavolo.
• The Sierre coach crash in 2012 tragically killed 28 people, including 22 children.
• In 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis. He became the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church.
• The Ankara bombing in 2016 killed many people in Turkey.
• In 2020, President Donald Trump declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency in the United States.
• Also in 2020, Breonna Taylor was killed by police officers in Louisville, Kentucky. Her death led to many protests against racism and police brutality.

Famous Birthdays

Historical Figures (Before 1900)

• 1372 – Louis I, Duke of Orléans, a French duke.
• 1479 – Lazarus Spengler, a German hymnwriter.
• 1593 – Georges de La Tour, a famous French painter.
• 1615 – Innocent XII, who became a pope of the Catholic Church.
• 1741 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, an important ruler.
• 1764 – Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1781 – Karl Friedrich Schinkel, a German painter and architect.
• 1798 – Abigail Fillmore, the 14th First Lady of the United States.
• 1855 – Percival Lowell, an American astronomer and mathematician.
• 1860 – Hugo Wolf, a Slovene-Austrian composer.
• 1884 – Hugh Walpole, a New Zealand-English author.
• 1899 – John Hasbrouck Van Vleck, an American physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1900 – Giorgos Seferis, a Greek poet and Nobel Prize winner.

Notable People (1901–Present)

• 1908 – Walter Annenberg, an American publisher and diplomat.
• 1911 – L. Ron Hubbard, an American author and the founder of Scientology.
• 1921 – Al Jaffee, a well-known American cartoonist.
• 1925 – Roy Haynes, an American drummer and composer.
• 1939 – Neil Sedaka, an American singer-songwriter and pianist.
• 1942 – Mahmoud Darwish, a famous Palestinian poet.
• 1942 – Scatman John, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1950 – William H. Macy, a popular American actor.
• 1951 – Charo, a Spanish-American singer and actress.
• 1956 – Dana Delany, an American actress.
• 1960 – Adam Clayton, an English-Irish musician, known from U2.
• 1963 – Fito Páez, an Argentine musician and filmmaker.
• 1972 – Common, an American rapper and actor.
• 1973 – Edgar Davids, a Surinamese-Dutch footballer.
• 1973 – David Draiman, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1976 – Danny Masterson, an American actor.
• 1985 – Emile Hirsch, an American actor.
• 1987 – Marco Andretti, an American race car driver.
• 1989 – Holger Badstuber, a German footballer.
• 1992 – Lucy Fry, an Australian actress.
• 1992 – George MacKay, an English actor.
• 1992 – Ozuna, a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter.
• 1995 – Mikaela Shiffrin, a famous American skier.
• 1998 – Jack Harlow, an American rapper and singer-songwriter.
• 2004 – Coco Gauff, an American tennis player.

Notable Deaths

Historical Figures (Before 1900)

• 1202 – Mieszko III the Old, a king of Poland.
• 1447 – Shah Rukh, a powerful ruler of the Timurid Empire.
• 1619 – Richard Burbage, a famous English actor.
• 1711 – Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, a French poet and critic.
• 1808 – Christian VII of Denmark, a Danish king.
• 1842 – Henry Shrapnel, an English general who invented the shrapnel shell.
• 1881 – Alexander II of Russia, a Russian emperor.

Modern Figures (1901–Present)

• 1901 – Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President of the United States.
• 1906 – Susan B. Anthony, a very important American activist for women's rights.
• 1938 – Clarence Darrow, a well-known American lawyer.
• 1943 – Stephen Vincent Benét, an American poet and writer.
• 1975 – Ivo Andrić, a Yugoslav novelist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1996 – Krzysztof Kieślowski, a Polish director and screenwriter.
• 1998 – Hans von Ohain, a German-American physicist and engineer.
• 2006 – Robert C. Baker, an American businessman who invented the chicken nugget.
• 2006 – Maureen Stapleton, an American actress.
• 2016 – Hilary Putnam, an American philosopher and mathematician.
• 2021 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, a famous American professional boxer.
• 2022 – William Hurt, a well-known American actor.
• 2024 – Philippe de Gaulle, a French admiral and son of Charles de Gaulle.

Special Days and Celebrations

• Christian feast days:
  • Ansovinus
  • Gerald of Mayo
  • James Theodore Holly (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Nicephorus
  • Roderick
  • March 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Kasuga Matsuri (Kasuga Grand Shrine, Nara, Japan)
• National Elephant Day (Thailand)
• Africa Scout Day

See also

In Spanish: 13 de marzo para niños