October 13 facts for kids

October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 79 days remain until the end of the year.

October 13th is a day filled with many interesting historical events, from ancient times to the modern era. Throughout history, this date has seen important moments, including the founding of famous organizations, significant battles, and the births and deaths of notable people who shaped our world. Let's explore some of the key events that happened on this day.

Historic Events on October 13th

Ancient and Medieval Times (Before 1600)

• 54 – The Roman emperor Claudius passes away. His adopted son, Nero, becomes the new emperor.
• 409 – The Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees mountains and arrive in Hispania (modern-day Spain and Portugal).
• 1269 – The current Westminster Abbey church building in London is officially opened.
• 1307 – Hundreds of Knights Templar in France are taken into custody by King Philip the Fair.
• 1332 – Rinchinbal Khan becomes the leader of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. He rules for a very short time, only 53 days.
• 1399 – Henry IV of England is crowned King at Westminster Abbey.

Major Events from 1601 to 1900

• 1644 – A Swedish–Dutch fleet defeats the Danish fleet in a battle near Fehmarn and captures many prisoners.
• 1710 – British forces successfully capture Port Royal, which was the capital of French Acadia.
• 1775 – The Continental Congress creates the Continental Navy, which was the first version of the United States Navy.
• 1792 – In Washington, D.C., the first stone is laid for the building that would later become known as the White House.
• 1793 – During the French Revolutionary Wars, Austrian and Prussian forces win a battle against France at Wissembourg.
• 1812 – In the War of 1812, British and native forces led by Sir Isaac Brock stop an invasion of Canada by United States forces.
• 1821 – The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is publicly announced.
• 1843 – B'nai B'rith, the oldest Jewish service organization in the world, is founded in New York City.
• 1881 – The first known conversation in modern Hebrew takes place between Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and his friends.
• 1885 – The Georgia Institute of Technology is founded in Atlanta, Georgia.
• 1892 – Edward Emerson Barnard is the first person to discover a comet using a photograph.

Significant Moments from 1901 to Today

• 1903 – The Boston Red Sox win the first modern World Series in baseball, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• 1908 – Margaret Travers Symons becomes the first woman to speak in the UK parliament.
• 1911 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, becomes the first Governor General of Canada from a royal family.
• 1915 – During World War I, the Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt marks the end of the Battle of Loos.
• 1917 – The "Miracle of the Sun" is observed by many people in Portugal.
• 1921 – Soviet republics sign the Treaty of Kars to set the borders between Turkey and the South Caucasus states.
• 1923 – Ankara becomes the capital city of Turkey.
• 1943 – During World War II, Marshal Pietro Badoglio announces that Italy has officially declared war on Germany.
• 1944 – World War II: Soviet forces capture the city of Riga.
• 1946 – France adopts the constitution for its Fourth Republic.
• 1962 – The Pacific Northwest experiences a powerful storm, similar to a strong hurricane, with winds over 150 miles per hour.
• 1972 – Aeroflot Flight 217 crashes near Moscow, resulting in 174 fatalities.
• 1972 – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashes in the Andes mountains. Many survive the crash, but only 16 are rescued later.
• 1976 – The first electron micrograph (a very detailed picture) of an Ebola virus is taken by Dr. F. A. Murphy.
• 1977 – Lufthansa Flight 181 is hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
• 1983 – The first cellular network in the United States is launched in Chicago by Ameritech Mobile Communications.
• 1990 – Syrian forces attack parts of Lebanon, removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace.
• 1993 – A series of earthquakes in Papua New Guinea cause large landslides, leading to many deaths.
• 2010 – The mining accident in Copiapó, Chile ends successfully as all 33 trapped miners are brought to the surface after 69 days underground.
• 2013 – A crowd crush occurs in India during a Hindu festival, causing many deaths and injuries.
• 2016 – The Maldives announces its decision to leave the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 2019 – Kenyan runner Brigid Kosgei sets a new world record for women in the marathon at the 2019 Chicago Marathon.

Notable People Born on October 13th

Born Before 1900

• 1453 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, the son and heir of Henry VI of England.
• 1499 – Claude of France, Queen consort of France.
• 1566 – Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, an important Irish politician.
• 1713 – Allan Ramsay, a famous Scottish-English painter.
• 1821 – Rudolf Virchow, a German physician and biologist who made important discoveries.
• 1825 – Charles Frederick Worth, an English fashion designer who founded the House of Worth.
• 1853 – Lillie Langtry, a well-known English actress and singer.
• 1862 – Mary Kingsley, an English explorer and author.
• 1872 – Leon Leonwood Bean, an American businessman who founded the outdoor company L.L.Bean.
• 1876 – Rube Waddell, a famous American baseball player.
• 1887 – Jozef Tiso, a Slovak priest and politician who became President of Slovakia.
• 1891 – Irene Rich, an American actress.
• 1900 – Gerald Marks, an American composer.

Born After 1900

• 1902 – Arna Bontemps, an American librarian, author, and poet.
• 1909 – Art Tatum, a highly influential American jazz pianist.
• 1911 – Ashok Kumar, a legendary Indian film actor.
• 1921 – Yves Montand, a popular Italian-French actor and singer.
• 1925 – Lenny Bruce, an American comedian and actor.
• 1925 – Margaret Thatcher, an English chemist and politician who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1926 – Ray Brown, an American bassist and cellist.
• 1927 – Turgut Özal, a Turkish engineer and politician who became the 8th President of Turkey.
• 1931 – Eddie Mathews, an American baseball player and manager.
• 1934 – Nana Mouskouri, a famous Greek singer and politician.
• 1938 & Shirley Caesar, an American gospel singer-songwriter.
• 1941 – Paul Simon, an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer, known for Simon & Garfunkel.
• 1942 – Jerry Jones, an American businessman, owner of the Dallas Cowboys.
• 1945 – Dési Bouterse, a Surinamese general and politician, who became President of Suriname.
• 1947 – Sammy Hagar, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for his rock music.
• 1948 – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a renowned Pakistani musician.
• 1952 – Beverly Johnson, an American model, actress, and singer.
• 1956 – Chris Carter, an American director, producer, and screenwriter, creator of The X-Files.
• 1959 – Marie Osmond, an American singer, actress, and television personality.
• 1961 – Doc Rivers, an American basketball player and coach.
• 1962 – Kelly Preston, an American actress.
• 1962 – Jerry Rice, an American football player, considered one of the greatest wide receivers.
• 1964 – Nie Haisheng, a Chinese general, pilot, and astronaut.
• 1967 – Aleksander Čeferin, a Slovenian lawyer and football administrator, current president of UEFA.
• 1967 – Trevor Hoffman, an American baseball player.
• 1967 – Javier Sotomayor, a Cuban high jumper who holds the world record.
• 1967 – Kate Walsh, an American actress and producer.
• 1971 – Sacha Baron Cohen, an English comedian, actor, and screenwriter.
• 1971 – Pyrros Dimas, an Albanian-Greek weightlifter and politician.
• 1977 – Paul Pierce, an American basketball player.
• 1980 – Ashanti, an American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress.
• 1980 – David Haye, an English boxer.
• 1982 – Ian Thorpe, an Australian swimmer, one of the most successful in history.
• 1989 – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an American politician.
• 1995 – Jimin, a South Korean singer, member of the band BTS.
• 1996 – Joshua Wong, a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist.
• 2001 – Caleb McLaughlin, an American actor, known for Stranger Things.

Notable People Who Passed Away on October 13th

Deaths Before 1900

• 54 – Claudius, the Roman emperor.
• 1093 – Robert I, the count of Flanders.
• 1282 – Nichiren, an important Japanese Buddhist priest.
• 1415 – Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel, an English politician.
• 1562 – Claudin de Sermisy, a French composer.
• 1605 – Theodore Beza, a French theologian and scholar.
• 1694 – Samuel von Pufendorf, a German historian and jurist.
• 1715 – Nicolas Malebranche, a French priest and philosopher.
• 1812 – Isaac Brock, an English general and politician.
• 1815 – Joachim Murat, a French general.
• 1822 – Antonio Canova, a famous Italian sculptor.
• 1825 – Maximilian I Joseph, the king of Bavaria.

Deaths After 1900

• 1905 – Henry Irving, a famous English actor and manager.
• 1911 – Sister Nivedita, an Irish-Indian social worker and author.
• 1919 – Karl Adolph Gjellerup, a Danish author and poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1938 – E. C. Segar, an American cartoonist who created the character Popeye.
• 1945 – Milton S. Hershey, an American businessman who founded The Hershey Company.
• 1955 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, a Mexican general and politician who became President of Mexico.
• 1961 – Prince Louis Rwagasore, a Burundi politician and Prime Minister.
• 1966 – Clifton Webb, an American actor and dancer.
• 1974 – Ed Sullivan, a well-known American journalist and talk show host.
• 1979 – Rebecca Clarke, an English viola player and composer.
• 1987 – Walter Houser Brattain, an American physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1987 – Kishore Kumar, a popular Indian singer-songwriter and actor.
• 1990 – Lê Đức Thọ, a Vietnamese general and politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1992 – James Marshall, an American author and illustrator.
• 2000 – Jean Peters, an American actress.
• 2002 – Stephen Ambrose, an American historian and author.
• 2003 – Bertram Brockhouse, a Canadian physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 2006 – Wang Guangmei, a Chinese philanthropist and politician.
• 2013 – Takashi Yanase, a Japanese poet and illustrator who created Anpanman.
• 2016 – Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), the King of Thailand.
• 2016 – Dario Fo, an Italian playwright and actor who won a Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 2023 – Louise Glück, an American poet and essayist who won a Nobel Prize.

Holidays and Observances

• Azerbaijani Railway Day (Azerbaijan)
• Christian feast day:
  • Blessed Alexandrina of Balasar
  • Daniel and companions, of Ceuta
  • Edward the Confessor (translation)
  • Gerald of Aurillac
  • Blessed Maddalena Panattieri (OP)
  • Theophilus of Antioch
  • October 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Doi taikomatsuri October 13–15 (Shikokuchūō, Ehime, Japan)
• International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (international)
• Paramedics' Day (Poland)
• Rwagasore Day (Burundi)

Images for kids

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  A friendly robot, representing learning and discovery.