Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date
Thursday, August 13, 2026
Today is the 225th day of 2026. There are 140 days left in this year.
Notable Events
1521
Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured present-day Mexico City from the Aztec Indians.
1650
Colonel George Monck of the English Army forms Monck's Regiment of Foot, which will later become the Coldstream Guards.
1704
The Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces.
1889
William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut is granted United States Patent Number 408,709 for "Coin-controlled apparatus for telephones."
1898
Carl Gustav Witt discovers 433 Eros, the first near-Earth asteroid to be found.
1900
The steamer Deutschland of Hamburg America Lines set a new record for eastward passage when it docked on Plymouth, England, five days, 11 hours and 45 minutes after sailing from New York, breaking by three hours, six minutes its previous mark in its maiden voyage in July.
1913
First production in the UK of stainless steel by Harry Brearley.
1918
Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha May Johnson is the first woman to enlist.
1918
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) established as a public company in Germany.
1932
Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vice-chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out ''for all or nothing.''
1934
The satirical comic strip ''Li'l Abner,'' created by Al Capp, made its debut.
1942
Walt Disney's animated feature ''Bambi'' premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
1942
Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project.
1960
The first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1, a balloon satellite.
1960
The Central African Republic declares independence from France.
1961
East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West, and construction of the Berlin Wall is started. The day is known as Barbed Wire Sunday.
1964
Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans are hanged for the murder of John Alan West becoming the last people executed in the United Kingdom.
1967
Two young women became the first fatal victims of grizzly bear attacks in the 57-year history of Montana's Glacier National Park in separate incidents.
1968
Alexandros Panagoulis attempts to assassinate the Greek dictator Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos in Varkiza, Athens.
1969
The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.
1977
Members of the British National Front (NF) clash with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, London, resulting in 214 arrests and at least 111 injuries.
1978
One hundred fifty Palestinians in Beirut are killed in a terrorist attack during the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War.
1989
Searchers in Ethiopia found the wreckage of a plane which had disappeared almost a week earlier while carrying Texas Congressman Mickey Leland and 15 other people. There were no survivors.
2004
One hundred fifty-six Congolese Tutsi refugees are massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.
2015
At least 76 people are killed and 212 others are wounded in a truck bombing in Baghdad, Iraq.
2020
Israel and United Arab Emirates relations are formally established.
Notable Births
1567
Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer, navigator, cartographer, draftsman, soldier, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He made between 21 and 29 trips across the Atlantic Ocean, and founded Quebec, and New France. (d. 1635)
1818
Lucy Stone was an American orator, abolitionist and suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree. (d. 1893)
1842
Charles Wells was the British founder of Charles Wells Ltd, which became the largest privately owned brewery in the United Kingdom, and the progenitor of the Wells Baronets of Felmersham.(d. 1914)
1860
Annie Oakley was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West. (d. 1926)
1866
Giovanni Agnelli was an Italian businessman who founded the Fiat S.p.A. car manufacturing in 1899. (d. 1945)
1899
Alfred Hitchcock was an English film director and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades he directed over 50 feature films. (d. 1980)
1911
William Bernbach was an American advertising creative director. He was one of the three founders in 1949 of the international advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB). (d. 1982)
1912
Ben Hogan was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and his ball-striking ability. (d. 1997)
1919
Rex Humbard was an American television evangelist whose Cathedral of Tomorrow show was aired on over 600 stations at the peak of its popularity. (d. 2007)
1920
Neville Brand was an American soldier and actor. He was known for playing villainous or antagonistic character roles in Westerns, crime dramas, and films noir, and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for his performance in Riot in Cell Block 11 (d. 1992)
1921
Jimmy McCracklin was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. His style contained West Coast blues, Jump blues, and R&B. (d. 2012)
1926
Fidel Castro was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. (d. 2016)
1929
Pat Harrington was an American Emmy Award-winning stage and television actor, best known for his role as building superintendent Dwayne Schneider on the sitcom One Day at a Time. (d. 2016)
1930
Don Ho was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the album of the same name. (d. 2007)
1945
Howard Marks was a Welsh drug smuggler and author who achieved notoriety as an international cannabis smuggler through high-profile court cases. At his peak he claimed to have been smuggling consignments of the drug as large as 30 tons. (d. 2016)
1949
Philippe Petit is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his unauthorized high-wire walks.
1951
Dan Fogelberg was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is primarily known for his 1970s and 1980s hits, including "Longer"), "Same Old Lang Syne", and "Leader of the Band". (d. 2007)
1952
Hughie Thomasson was an American guitarist and singer best known as a founding member of Outlaws. He was also a replacement guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. (d. 2007)
1959
Danny Bonaduce is an American radio personality, actor, television personality, and professional wrestler. Bonaduce became famous as a child actor of the 1970s on the TV sitcom The Partridge Family.
1963
Valerie Plame is an American writer, spy novelist, and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As the subject of the 2003 Plame affair, also known as the CIA leak scandal.
1968
Tal Bachman is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1999 hit, "She's So High", a pop rock tune from his self-titled 1999 album that led to a BMI award.
1972
Kevin Audette Plank is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Plank is the founder and executive chairman of Under Armour, a manufacturer of sportswear, footwear and accessories, based in Baltimore, Maryland.
1982
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is an American politician serving as the 47th governor of Arkansas since 2023. She is the daughter of Mike Huckabee, who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007.
Notable Deaths
1910
Florence Nightingale was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. (b. 1820)
1946
H. G. Wells, was an English writer. Prolific in many genres, he wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. (b. 1866)
1971
W. O. Bentley, was an English engineer who founded Bentley Motors Limited in London. He was a motorcycle and car racer as a young man. (b. 1888)
1995
Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died at a Dallas hospital of rapidly spreading liver cancer at age 63. (b. 1931)
2003
Ed Townsend was an American singer, songwriter, producer and attorney. He performed and composed "For Your Love", a rhythm and blues doo wop classic, and co-wrote "Let's Get It On" with Marvin Gaye. (b. 1929)
2004
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her television programs. (b. 1912)
2007
Brooke Astor was an American philanthropist, socialite, and writer. She served as the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, who was a member of the Astor family. (b. 1902)
2010
Edwin Harold Newman was an American newscaster, journalist, and author. After beginning his career with the wire services and serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Newman worked in radio for CBS News. (b. 1919)
2012
Helen Gurley Brown was an American author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years. (b. 1922)
2012
Joan Roberts was an American actress, most famous for creating the role of Laurey in the original Broadway production of Oklahoma! in 1943. (b. 1917)
2015
Om Prakash Munjal was an Indian businessman, poet and philanthropist. He was the founder and chairman of Hero Cycles, the world's largest integrated bicycle manufacturing company by volume and Hero Motors, an Indian two-wheeler components manufacturer (b. 1928)
2016
Kenny Baker was an English actor, comedian and musician. He portrayed the character R2-D2 in the Star Wars franchise and also appeared in The Elephant Man, Time Bandits, Willow, Flash Gordon, Amadeus, and Labyrinth. (b. 1934)
2021
Nanci Griffith, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program Austin City Limits starting in 1985. In 1994 she won a Grammy Award for the album Other Voices, Other Rooms. (b. 1953)