March 13: On This Day
Events, births, deaths, holidays and observances for March 13.
Events 46
- 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
- 483 – Election of Pope Felix III following the death of Pope Simplicius earlier that month.
- 624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh.
- 1261 – The Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Genoa sign a permanent treaty against the Venetians at Nymphaeum.
- 1323 – Siege of Warangal: Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq sends an expeditionary army led by his son, Muhammad bin Tughluq, to the Kakatiya capital Warangal – after ruler Prataparudra has refused to make tribute payments. He besieges the city and finally, after a campaign of 8 months, Prataparudra surrenders on November 9.
- 1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.
- 1591 – At the Battle of Tondibi in Mali, Moroccan forces of the Saadi dynasty, led by Judar Pasha, defeat the Songhai Empire, despite being outnumbered by at least five to one.
- 1639 – Harvard College is named after clergyman John Harvard.
- 1697 – Nojpetén, capital of the last independent Maya kingdom, falls to Spanish conquistadors, the final step in the Spanish conquest of Guatemala.
- 1741 – The Battle of Cartagena de Indias (part of the War of Jenkins' Ear) begins.
- 1781 – William Herschel discovers Uranus.
- 1809 – Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden is deposed in the Coup of 1809.
- 1811 – A French and Italian fleet is defeated by a British squadron off the island of Vis in the Adriatic during the Napoleonic Wars.
- 1815 – Participants at the Congress of Vienna declare Napoleon an outlaw following his escape from Elba.
- 1825 – Pope Leo XII publishes the apostolic constitution Quo Graviora in which he renewed the prohibition on Catholics joining freemasonry.
- 1845 – Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto receives its première performance in Leipzig with Ferdinand David as soloist.
- 1848 – The German revolutions of 1848–1849 begin in Vienna.
- 1862 – The Act Prohibiting the Return of Slaves is passed by the United States Congress, effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation.
- 1884 – The Siege of Khartoum begins. It lasts until January 26, 1885.
- 1888 – The eruption of Ritter Island triggers tsunamis that kill up to 3,000 people on nearby islands.
- 1900 – British forces occupy Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, during the Second Boer War.
- 1920 – The Kapp Putsch briefly ousts the Weimar Republic government from Berlin.
- 1930 – The news of the discovery of Pluto is announced by Lowell Observatory.
- 1940 – The Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union officially ends after the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: German forces liquidate the Jewish ghetto in Kraków.
- 1954 – The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ begins with an artillery barrage by Viet Minh forces under Võ Nguyên Giáp; Viet Minh victory led to the end of the First Indochina War and French withdrawal from Vietnam.
- 1957 – Cuban student revolutionaries storm the presidential palace in Havana in a failed attempt on the life of President Fulgencio Batista.
- 1964 – Kitty Genovese is murdered in New York City, prompting research into the bystander effect due to the false story that neighbors witnessed the killing and did nothing to help her.
- 1969 – Apollo 9 returns safely to Earth after testing the Lunar Module.
- 1974 – Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight 802 crashes into the White Mountains near Bishop, California, killing 36.
- 1979 – The New Jewel Movement, headed by Maurice Bishop, ousts the Prime Minister of Grenada, Eric Gairy, in a coup d'état.
- 1988 – The Seikan Tunnel, the longest tunnel in the world with an undersea segment, opens between Aomori and Hakodate, Japan.
- 1989 – Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-29 carrying the TDRS-4 satellite.
- 1992 – The Mw 6.6 Erzincan earthquake strikes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe).
- 1993 – The 1993 Storm of the Century affects the eastern United States, dropping feet of snow in many areas.
- 1996 – The Dunblane massacre leads to the death of sixteen primary school children and one teacher in Dunblane, Scotland.
- 1997 – The Missionaries of Charity choose Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as their leader.
- 2003 – An article in Nature identifies the Ciampate del Diavolo as 350,000-year-old hominid footprints.
- 2012 – The Sierre coach crash kills 28 people, including 22 children.
- 2013 – The 2013 papal conclave elects Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio taking the name Pope Francis as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church.
- 2015 - Serbian Army Mi-17 helicopter crashes near Belgrade airport while transporting a 5-day-old baby with respiratory problems to hospital, killing all 7 on board.
- 2016 – The Ankara bombing kills at least 37 people.
- 2016 – Three gunmen attack two hotels in the Ivory Coast town of Grand-Bassam, killing at least 19 people.
- 2020 – President Donald Trump declares the COVID-19 pandemic to be a national emergency in the United States.
- 2020 – Breonna Taylor is killed by police officers who were forcibly entering her home in Louisville, Kentucky; her death sparked extensive protests against racism and police brutality.
- 2020 – Katerina Sakellaropoulou is sworn in as the first female President of Greece amid strict COVID-19 measures.
Births 175
- 1372 – Louis I, Duke of Orléans (died 1407)
- 1479 – Lazarus Spengler, German hymnwriter (died 1534)
- 1560 – William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, Dutch count (died 1620)
- 1593 – Georges de La Tour, French painter (probable; (died 1652)
- 1599 – John Berchmans, Belgian Jesuit scholastic and saint (died 1621)
- 1615 – Innocent XII, pope of the Catholic Church (died 1700)
- 1683 – Johann Wilhelm Weinmann, German botanist (died 1741)
- 1700 – Michel Blavet, French flute player and composer (died 1768)
- 1719 – John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (died 1797)
- 1720 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss historian and author (died 1793)
- 1741 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1790)
- 1763 – Guillaume Brune, French general and diplomat (died 1815)
- 1764 – Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1845)
- 1770 – Daniel Lambert, English animal breeder (died 1809)
- 1781 – Karl Friedrich Schinkel, German painter and architect, designed the Konzerthaus Berlin (died 1841)
- 1798 – Abigail Fillmore, American wife of Millard Fillmore, 14th First Lady of the United States (died 1853)
- 1800 – Mustafa Reşid Pasha, Ottoman politician, 212th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (died 1858)
- 1815 – James Curtis Hepburn, American physician, linguist, and missionary (died 1911)
- 1825 – Hans Gude, Norwegian-German painter and academic (died 1903)
- 1855 – Percival Lowell, American astronomer and mathematician (died 1916)
- 1857 – B. H. Roberts, English-American historian and politician (died 1933)
- 1860 – Hugo Wolf, Slovene-Austrian composer (died 1903)
- 1862 – Paul Prosper Henrys, French general (died 1943)
- 1864 – Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian-German painter (died 1941)
- 1870 – William Glackens, American painter and illustrator (died 1938)
- 1874 – Ellery Harding Clark, American jumper, coach, and lawyer (died 1949)
- 1880 – Josef Gočár, Czech architect (died 1945)
- 1883 – Enrico Toselli, Italian pianist and composer (died 1926)
- 1884 – Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-English author and educator (died 1941)
- 1886 – Home Run Baker, American baseball player and manager (died 1963)
- 1886 – Albert William Stevens, American captain and photographer (died 1949)
- 1888 – Paul Morand, French author and diplomat (died 1976)
- 1890 – Fritz Busch, German conductor and director (died 1951)
- 1892 – Janet Flanner, American journalist and author (died 1978)
- 1897 – Yeghishe Charents, Armenian poet and activist (died 1937)
- 1898 – Henry Hathaway, American director and producer (died 1985)
- 1899 – John Hasbrouck Van Vleck, American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1980)
- 1899 – Pancho Vladigerov, Bulgarian pianist and composer (died 1978)
- 1900 – Andrée Bosquet, Belgian painter (died 1980)
- 1900 – Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1971)
- 1902 – Hans Bellmer, German-French painter and sculptor (died 1975)
- 1904 – Clifford Roach, Trinidadian cricketer and footballer (died 1988)
- 1907 – Dorothy Tangney, Australian politician (died 1985)
- 1908 – Walter Annenberg, American publisher, philanthropist, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (died 2002)
- 1908 – Myrtle Bachelder, American chemist and Women's Army Corps officer (died 1997)
- 1910 – Sammy Kaye, American saxophonist, songwriter, and bandleader (died 1987)
- 1910 – Kemal Tahir, Turkish journalist and author (died 1973)
- 1911 – José Ardévol, Cuban composer and conductor (died 1981)
- 1911 – L. Ron Hubbard, American author, founder of Scientology (died 1986)
- 1913 – William J. Casey, American politician, 13th Director of Central Intelligence (died 1987)
- 1913 – Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian author and playwright (died 2009)
- 1914 – W. O. Mitchell, Canadian author and playwright (died 1998)
- 1914 – Edward O'Hare, American lieutenant and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1943)
- 1916 – Lindy Boggs, American educator and politician, 5th United States Ambassador to the Holy See (died 2013)
- 1916 – Jacque Fresco, American engineer and academic (died 2017)
- 1920 – Ralph J. Roberts, American businessman, co-founded Comcast (died 2015)
- 1921 – Al Jaffee, American cartoonist (died 2023)
- 1923 – Dimitrios Ioannidis, Greek general (died 2010)
- 1925 – Roy Haynes, American drummer and composer (died 2024)
- 1926 – Carlos Roberto Reina, Honduran lawyer and politician, President of Honduras (died 2003)
- 1929 – Zbigniew Messner, Polish economist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (died 2014)
- 1930 – Walter Jacob, American Reform rabbi (died 2024)
- 1933 – Diane Dillon, American illustrator
- 1933 – Mahdi Elmandjra, Moroccan economist and sociologist (died 2014)
- 1933 – Gero von Wilpert, German author and academic (died 2009)
- 1935 – David Nobbs, English author and screenwriter (died 2015)
- 1938 – Robert Gammage, American captain and politician (died 2012)
- 1939 – Neil Sedaka, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2026)
- 1941 – Donella Meadows, American environmentalist, author, and academic (died 2001)
- 1941 – Lee Moses, American R&B Soul Singer and Guitarist (died 1998)
- 1942 – Dave Cutler, American computer scientist and engineer
- 1942 – Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian poet and author (died 2008)
- 1942 – Scatman John, American singer-songwriter (died 1999)
- 1942 – George Negus, Australian journalist and television host (died 2024)
- 1944 – Terence Burns, Baron Burns, English economist and academic
- 1945 – Anatoly Fomenko, Russian mathematician and academic
- 1946 – Yonatan Netanyahu, American-Israeli colonel (died 1976)
- 1947 – Lesley Collier, English ballerina and educator
- 1947 – Beat Richner, Swiss pediatrician and cellist (died 2018)
- 1947 – Lyn St. James, American race car driver
- 1949 – Ze'ev Bielski, Israeli politician
- 1949 – Sian Elias, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 12th Chief Justice of New Zealand
- 1949 – Trevor Sorbie, Scottish hairdresser (died 2024)
- 1950 – Joe Bugner, Hungarian-British boxer and actor (died 2025)
- 1950 – Bernard Julien, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1950 – Charles Krauthammer, American physician, journalist, and author (died 2018)
- 1950 – William H. Macy, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Wolfgang Rihm, German composer and educator
- 1952 – Tim Sebastian, English journalist and author
- 1953 – Andy Bean, American golfer (died 2023)
- 1953 – Michael Curry, American bishop, 27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
- 1953 – Deborah Raffin, American actress (died 2012)
- 1954 – Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos, Guyanese-English politician and diplomat
- 1954 – Robin Duke, Canadian actress and screenwriter
- 1955 – Bruno Conti, Italian footballer and manager
- 1955 – Glenne Headly, American actress (died 2017)
- 1955 – Olga Rukavishnikova, Russian pentathlete
- 1956 – Dana Delany, American actress and producer
- 1956 – Jamie Dimon, North-American businessman and banker
- 1957 – John Hoeven, American banker and politician, 31st Governor of North Dakota
- 1957 – Moses Hogan, American composer and conductor (died 2003)
- 1958 – Mágico González, Salvadoran footballer
- 1958 – Rick Lazio, American lawyer and politician
- 1958 – Caryl Phillips, Caribbean-English author and playwright
- 1959 – Dirk Wellham, Australian cricketer
- 1960 – Adam Clayton, English-Irish musician and songwriter
- 1960 – Joe Ranft, American animator, screenwriter, and voice actor (died 2005)
- 1962 – Alfredo Maia, Portuguese politician
- 1963 – Mariano Duncan, Dominican baseball player and manager
- 1963 – Vance Johnson, American football player
- 1963 – Fito Páez, Argentine musician, songwriter and filmmaker
- 1964 – Will Clark, American baseball player
- 1964 – Craig Dimond, Australian rugby league player
- 1964 – Trevor Gillmeister, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1966 – Chico Science, Brazilian singer-songwriter (died 1997)
- 1967 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (died 1994)
- 1967 – Pieter Vink, Dutch footballer and referee
- 1969 – Darren Fritz, Australian rugby league player
- 1970 – Tim Story, American director and producer
- 1971 – Annabeth Gish, American actress
- 1971 – Allan Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Adina Porter, American actress
- 1972 – Common, American rapper and actor
- 1972 – Trent Dilfer, American football player, coach, and analyst
- 1973 – Edgar Davids, Surinamese-Dutch footballer and manager
- 1973 – David Draiman, American singer-songwriter
- 1973 – Bobby Jackson, American basketball player and coach
- 1974 – James Brinkley, Scottish cricketer
- 1974 – Thomas Enqvist, Swedish tennis player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Mark Clattenburg, English football referee
- 1976 – Troy Hudson, American basketball player and rapper
- 1976 – Danny Masterson, American actor and producer
- 1978 – Tom Danielson, American cyclist
- 1979 – Johan Santana, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1979 – Cédric Van Branteghem, Belgian sprinter
- 1980 – Caron Butler, American basketball player
- 1980 – Brad Watts, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Izi Castro Marques, Brazilian basketball player
- 1982 – Nicole Ohlde, American basketball player
- 1983 – Kaitlin Sandeno, American swimmer
- 1984 – Geeta Basra, Indian actress
- 1985 – Alcides, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Emile Hirsch, American actor
- 1985 – Aleksandra Kosiorek, Polish politician and jurist
- 1986 – Neil Wagner, South African-New Zealand cricketer
- 1987 – Marco Andretti, American race car driver
- 1987 – Andreas Beck, German footballer
- 1988 – Furdjel Narsingh, Dutch footballer
- 1989 – Holger Badstuber, German footballer
- 1989 – Peaches Geldof, English columnist, television personality, and model (died 2014)
- 1989 – Sandy León, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1989 – Marko Marin, German footballer
- 1989 – Robert Wickens, Canadian racing driver
- 1990 – Anicet Abel, Malagasy footballer
- 1990 – Marcell Dareus, American football player
- 1991 – Daniel Greig, Australian speed skater
- 1991 – Tristan Thompson, American basketball player
- 1992 – Lucy Fry, Australian actress
- 1992 – George MacKay, English actor
- 1992 – Ozuna, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and rapper
- 1992 – L, South Korean actor and singer
- 1993 – Tyrone Mings, English footballer
- 1994 – Gerard Deulofeu, Spanish footballer
- 1994 – Mohammed Siraj, Indian cricketer
- 1995 – Mikaela Shiffrin, American skier
- 1995 – Jang Su-jeong, South Korean tennis player
- 1996 – Brayden Point, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1997 – Pyper America, American model, actress, and musician
- 1997 – Landry Shamet, American basketball player
- 1998 – Jay-Roy Grot, Dutch footballer
- 1998 – Jack Harlow, American rapper, singer-songwriter, and actor
- 2001 – Beomgyu, South Korean singer-songwriter
- 2001 – Thomas Dearden, Australian rugby league player
- 2002 – Frank Gore Jr., American football player
- 2004 – Coco Gauff, American tennis player
Deaths 76
- 1202 – Mieszko III the Old, king of Poland (born c. 1121)
- 1271 – Henry of Almain, English knight (born 1235)
- 1415 – Minye Kyawswa, Crown Prince of Ava (born 1391)
- 1447 – Shah Rukh, Timurid ruler of Persia and Transoxania (born 1377)
- 1573 – Michel de l'Hôpital, French politician (born 1507)
- 1601 – Henry Cuffe, Politician (born 1563)
- 1619 – Richard Burbage, English actor (born 1567)
- 1711 – Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, French poet and critic (born 1636)
- 1719 – Johann Friedrich Böttger, German chemist and potter (born 1682)
- 1800 – Nana Fadnavis, Indian minister and politician (born 1742)
- 1808 – Christian VII of Denmark (born 1749)
- 1823 – John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, English admiral and politician (born 1735)
- 1833 – William Bradley, English lieutenant and cartographer (born 1757)
- 1842 – Henry Shrapnel, English general (born 1761)
- 1854 – Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, French politician, 6th Prime Minister of France (born 1773)
- 1873 – David Swinson Maynard, American physician, lawyer, and businessman (born 1808)
- 1879 – Adolf Anderssen, German mathematician and chess player (born 1818)
- 1881 – Alexander II of Russia (born 1818)
- 1884 – Leland Stanford Jr., American son of Leland Stanford (born 1868)
- 1885 – Giorgio Mitrovich, Maltese politician (born 1795)
- 1901 – Benjamin Harrison, American general and politician, 23rd President of the United States (born 1833)
- 1906 – Susan B. Anthony, American activist (born 1820)
- 1912 – Eugène-Étienne Taché, Canadian engineer and architect, designed the Parliament Building (born 1836)
- 1921 – Jenny Twitchell Kempton, American opera singer and educator (born 1835)
- 1923 – Josephine Leary, American real estate entrepreneur (born 1856)
- 1936 – Francis Bell, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of New Zealand (born 1851)
- 1938 – Clarence Darrow, American lawyer and author (born 1857)
- 1943 – Stephen Vincent Benét, American poet, short story writer, and novelist (born 1898)
- 1946 – Werner von Blomberg, German field marshal (born 1878)
- 1951 – Ants "the Terrible" Kaljurand, Estonian anti-communist, freedom fighter and forest brother (born 1917)
- 1953 – Johan Laidoner, Estonian general and statesman (born 1884)
- 1961 – Lise Lindbæk, Norwegian journalist and war correspondent (born 1905)
- 1962 – Anne Acheson, Irish sculptor (born 1882)
- 1965 – Vittorio Jano, Italian engineer (born 1891)
- 1965 – Fan Noli, Albanian-American bishop and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Albania (born 1882)
- 1971 – Rockwell Kent, American painter and illustrator (born 1882)
- 1972 – Tony Ray-Jones, English photographer (born 1941)
- 1975 – Ivo Andrić, Yugoslav novelist, poet, and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1892)
- 1976 – Ole Haugsrud, American sports executive (born 1900)
- 1983 – Paul Citroen, German-Dutch illustrator and educator (born 1896)
- 1990 – Bruno Bettelheim, Austrian-American psychologist and author (born 1903)
- 1995 – Odette Hallowes, French nurse and spy (born 1912)
- 1996 – Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director and screenwriter (born 1941)
- 1998 – Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (born 1945)
- 1998 – Hans von Ohain, German-American physicist and engineer (born 1911)
- 1999 – Lee Falk, American cartoonist, director, and producer (born 1911)
- 1999 – Garson Kanin, American director and screenwriter (born 1912)
- 2001 – John A. Alonzo, American actor and cinematographer (born 1934)
- 2001 – Encarnacion Alzona, Filipino historian and educator (born 1895)
- 2002 – Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher and scholar (born 1900)
- 2004 – Franz König, Austrian cardinal (born 1905)
- 2006 – Robert C. Baker, American businessman, invented the chicken nugget (born 1921)
- 2006 – Jimmy Johnstone, Scottish footballer (born 1944)
- 2006 – Maureen Stapleton, American actress (born 1925)
- 2006 – Peter Tomarken, American television personality, game show host (born 1942)
- 2007 – Arnold Skaaland, American wrestler and manager (born 1925)
- 2009 – Betsy Blair, American actress (born 1923)
- 2009 – Alan W. Livingston, American businessman (born 1917)
- 2010 – Jean Ferrat, French singer-songwriter (born 1930)
- 2011 – Rick Martin, Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1951)
- 2013 – Clive Burr, English drummer and songwriter (born 1957)
- 2014 – Reubin Askew, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of Florida (born 1928)
- 2014 – Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond, Irish businessman and politician (born 1944)
- 2014 – Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Sierra Leonean economist, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of Sierra Leone (born 1932)
- 2014 – Icchokas Meras, Lithuanian-Israeli author and screenwriter (born 1934)
- 2015 – Al Rosen, American baseball player and manager (born 1924)
- 2016 – Hilary Putnam, American philosopher, mathematician, and computer scientist (born 1926)
- 2017 – Amy Krouse Rosenthal, American author (born 1965)
- 2018 – Emily Nasrallah, Lebanese writer and women's rights activist. (born 1931)
- 2021 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American professional boxer (born 1954)
- 2021 – Murray Walker, English motorsport commentator and journalist (born 1923)
- 2022 – William Hurt, American actor (born 1950)
- 2024 – Philippe de Gaulle, French admiral (born 1921)
- 2025 – John Feinstein, American sportswriter and commentator (born 1956)
- 2025 – Raúl Grijalva, United States representative from Arizona (born 1948)
- 2025 – Sofia Gubaidulina, Russian-German pianist and composer (born 1931)
Holidays and observances 11
- Christian feast days: Ansovinus Christina of Persia Gerald of Mayo James Theodore Holly (Episcopal Church (USA)) Nicephorus Roderick March 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Ansovinus
- Christina of Persia
- 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