On this day in history

March 13

26 births · 16 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

Battle of Dien Bien Phu

72 years ago

Born this day

1830

Paul Heyse

Died aged 84

Photo (modified): Adolph von Menzel · Public domain

Oldest record

510th

Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary

death anniversary

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Famous births26

1593 · 433 yrs

Georges de La Tour

Georges de La Tour (French pronunciation:; 13 March 1593 – 30 January 1652) was a French Baroque painter, who spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine, which was temporarily absorbed into France between 1641 and 1648. He painted mostly religious chiaroscuro scenes lit by candlelight.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtDied aged 58

View profile Photo (modified): Georges de La Tour · Public domain

1615 · 411 yrs

Innocent XII

Pope Innocent XII (Latin: Innocentius XII; Italian: Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 until his death in September 1700.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionDied aged 85

View profile Photo (modified): Antonio Zanchi · Public domain

1733 · 293 yrs

Joseph Priestley

Joseph Priestley (24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, Unitarian, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator and classical liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted experiments in several areas of science.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 70

View profile Photo (modified): Ellen Sharples · Public domain

1741 · 285 yrs

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 48

View profile Photo (modified): Anton von Maron · Public domain

1764 · 262 yrs

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845) was a British Whig politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 81

View profile Photo (modified): After Thomas Lawrence · Public domain

1830 · 196 yrs

Paul Heyse

Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (German:; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the Tunnel über der Spree in Berlin and Die Krokodile in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry, 177 short stories, and about sixty dramas.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 84

View profile Photo (modified): Adolph von Menzel · Public domain

1855 · 171 yrs

Percival Lowell

Percival Lowell (March 13, 1855 – November 12, 1916) was an American businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, and furthered theories of a ninth planet within the Solar System.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 61

View profile Photo (modified): James E. Purdy / Adam Cuerden · Public domain

1888 · 138 yrs

Anton Makarenko

Anton Semyonovich Makarenko (Russian: Анто́н Семёнович Мака́ренко, Ukrainian: Антон Семенович Макаренко, romanized: Anton Semenovych Makarenko; 13 March 1888 – 1 April 1939), was a Soviet educator, social worker and writer.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 138

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1897 · 129 yrs

Yeghishe Charents

Yeghishe Charents (Armenian: Եղիշե Չարենց, romanized: Yeghishe Ch’arents’; 25 March, 1897 – November 27, 1937) was an Armenian poet, writer, and public activist. Charents's literary subject matter ranged from his experiences in the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and frequently Armenia and Armenians.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 129

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1899 · 127 yrs

John Hasbrouck Van Vleck

John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (March 13, 1899 – October 27, 1980) was an American physicist and mathematician who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977 for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of electronic magnetism in solids. He shared the Prize with Philip W. Anderson and Nevill Mott.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 127

View profile Photo (modified): JH_van_Vleck_and_HBG_Casimir,_1974.jpg : Unknown derivative work: Materialscientist · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl

1900 · 126 yrs

Giorgos Seferis

Giorgos or George Seferis (Greek: Γιώργος Σεφέρης), the pen name of Georgios Seferiadis (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 1900 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important Greek poets of the 20th century, and a Nobel laureate.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 126

View profile Photo (modified): Nobel Foundation · Public domain

1911 · 115 yrs

L. Ron Hubbard

Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author and the founder of Scientology.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 115

View profile Photo (modified): Adam Cuerden · CC BY 4.0

Showing 12 of 26

Famous deaths16

1516 · 510 yrs

Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary

Vladislaus II, also known as Vladislav, Władysław, or Wladislas (Hungarian: II. Ulászló; Czech: Vladislav Jagellonský; Croatian: Vladislav II. Jagelović; Slovak: Vladislav II. Jagelovský); (1 March 1456 – 13 March 1516), was King of Bohemia from 1471 to 1516 and King of Hungary and King of Croatia from 1490 to 1516.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 60

View profile Photo (modified): Master of Litoměřice Altarpiece · Public domain

1711 · 315 yrs

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (French:; 1 November 1636 – 13 March 1711), often known simply as Boileau (UK:, US: ), was a French poet and critic. He did much to reform the prevailing form of French poetry, in the same way that Blaise Pascal did to reform the prose.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 74

View profile Photo (modified): Jean-Baptiste Santerre · Public domain

1808 · 218 yrs

Christian VII of Denmark

Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. He was affected by mental illness and was only nominally king for most of his reign.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 59

View profile Photo (modified): Jens Juel · Public domain

1842 · 184 yrs

Luigi Cherubini

Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( KERR-uu-BEE-nee; Italian:; 8 or 14 September 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicDied aged 81

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1879 · 147 yrs

Adolf Anderssen

Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (6 July 1818 – 13 March 1879) was a German chess master. He won the great international tournaments of 1851 and 1862, but lost matches to Paul Morphy in 1858, and to Wilhelm Steinitz in 1866.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsDied aged 60

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1881 · 145 yrs

Alexander II of Russia

Alexander II (29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881. He is also known as Alexander the Liberator because of his historic Edict of Emancipation, which officially abolished Russian serfdom in 1861.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 62

View profile Photo (modified): Attributed to W. & D. Downey · Public domain

1901 · 125 yrs

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833 – March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison V, a Founding Father.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 67

View profile Photo (modified): Pach Brothers · Public domain

1906 · 120 yrs

Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to social equality, she collected anti-slavery petitions at the age of 17.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ActivismDied aged 86

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1918 · 108 yrs

César Cui

César Antonovich Cui (Russian: Цезарь Антонович Кюи, romanized: Tsezar Antonovich Kyui; IPA:; French: Cesarius Benjaminus Cui; 18 January 1835 – 26 March 1918) was a Russian composer and music critic, member of the Belyayev circle and The Five – a group of composers gathered by the idea of creating a specifically…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicDied aged 83

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1975 · 51 yrs

Ivo Andrić

Ivo Andrić (Serbian Cyrillic: Иво Андрић, pronounced; born Ivan Andrić; 9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975) was a Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. His writings dealt mainly with life in his native Bosnia under Ottoman rule.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 134

View profile Photo (modified): Stevan Kragujević · CC BY-SA 3.0 rs

1996 · 30 yrs

Krzysztof Kieślowski

Krzysztof Kieślowski (Polish:, 27 June 1941 – 14 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for Dekalog (1989), The Double Life of Veronique (1991), and the Three Colours trilogy (1993–1994).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 85

View profile Photo (modified): Alberto Terrile · CC BY-SA 3.0

2002 · 24 yrs100 Club

Hans-Georg Gadamer

Hans-Georg Gadamer (German:; 11 February 1900 – 13 March 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition best known for his work on hermeneutics, including Truth and Method (Wahrheit und Methode, 1960), which argues that understanding is shaped by history, language, and dialogue rather than by the…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyWould be 126

View profile Photo (modified): Oto Vega Ponce · CC BY-SA 3.0

Showing 12 of 16

Events5

1920 · 106 yrs

Kapp Putsch

The Kapp Putsch (German pronunciation: ), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (German pronunciation: ), was an abortive coup d'état against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1947 · 79 yrs

19th Academy Awards

The 19th Academy Awards were held on March 13, 1947, honoring the best in film of 1946. The top awards portion of the ceremony was hosted by Jack Benny.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Culture

1954 · 72 yrs

Battle of Dien Bien Phu

The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a defeat of the French Union forces by the Viet Minh forces in the First Indochina War. It took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

2008 · 18 yrs

2008 European Aquatics Championships

The 2008 LEN European Aquatics Championships were held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, from 13–24 March 2008. They were the European championships for swimming (50 m), diving and synchronised swimming for 2008.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

2016 · 10 yrs

March 2016 Ankara bombing

The March 2016 Ankara bombing killed at least 37 people and injured 125. Of the 125 individuals who suffered injuries, 19 were seriously harmed.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tragedy

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