951 – Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou.
962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum, recognizing John as ruler of Rome.
1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th.
1462 – The Treaty of Westminster is finalised between Edward IV of England and the Scottish Lord of the Isles.
1503 – Challenge of Barletta: Tournament between 13 Italian and 13 French knights near Barletta.
1542 – Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, is executed for adultery.
1633 – Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition.
1660 – With the accession of young Charles XI of Sweden, his regents begin negotiations to end the Second Northern War.
1689 – William and Mary are proclaimed co-rulers of England.
1692 – Massacre of Glencoe: Almost 80 Macdonalds at Glen Coe, Scotland are killed early in the morning for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new king, William of Orange.
1726 – Parliament of Negrete between Mapuche and Spanish authorities in Chile bring an end to the Mapuche uprising of 1723–26.
1755 – Treaty of Giyanti signed by VOC, Pakubuwono III and Prince Mangkubumi. The treaty divides the Javanese kingdom of Mataram into 2: Sunanate of Surakarta and Sultanate of Yogyakarta.
1849 – The delegation headed by Metropolitan bishop Andrei Șaguna hands out to the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria the General Petition of Romanian leaders in Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina, which demands that the Romanian nation be recognized.
1861 – Italian unification: The Siege of Gaeta ends with the capitulation of the defending fortress, effectively bringing an end of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
1867 – Work begins on the covering of the Senne, burying Brussels’s primary river and creating the modern central boulevards.
1880 – Thomas Edison observes Thermionic emission.
1913 – The 13th Dalai Lama proclaims Tibetan independence following a period of domination by Manchu Qing dynasty and initiated a period of almost four decades of independence.
1914 – Copyright: In New York City the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
1920 – The Negro National League is formed.
1931 – The British Raj completes its transfer from Calcutta to New Delhi.
1935 – A jury in Flemington, New Jersey finds Bruno Hauptmann guilty of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, the son of Charles Lindbergh.
1945 – World War II: The siege of Budapest concludes with the unconditional surrender of German and Hungarian forces to the Red Army.
1945 – World War II: Royal Air Force bombers are dispatched to Dresden, Germany to attack the city with a massive aerial bombardment.
1951 – Korean War: Battle of Chipyong-ni, which represented the “high-water mark” of the Chinese incursion into South Korea, commences.
1954 – Frank Selvy becomes the only NCAA Division I basketball player ever to score 100 points in a single game.
1955 – Israel obtains four of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
1960 – With the success of a nuclear test codenamed “Gerboise Bleue”, France becomes the fourth country to possess nuclear weapons.
1960 – Black college students stage the first of the Nashville sit-ins at three lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee.
1961 – An allegedly 500,000-year-old rock is discovered near Olancha, California, US, that appears to anachronistically encase a spark plug.
1967 – American researchers discover the Madrid Codices by Leonardo da Vinci in the National Library of Spain.
1975 – Fire at One World Trade Center (North Tower) of the World Trade Center in New York.
1978 – Hilton bombing: a bomb explodes in a refuse truck outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two refuse collectors and a policeman.
1979 – An intense windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a 1⁄2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.
1981 – A series of sewer explosions destroys more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky.
1983 – A cinema fire in Turin, Italy, kills 64 people.
1984 – Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1990 – German reunification: An agreement is reached on a two-stage plan to reunite Germany.
1991 – Gulf War: Two laser-guided “smart bombs” destroy the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad. Allied forces said the bunker was being used as a military communications outpost, but over 400 Iraqi civilians inside were killed.
1996 – The Nepalese Civil War is initiated in the Kingdom of Nepal by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre).
1999 – The last hockey game is played in Maple Leaf Gardens: the Toronto Maple Leafs lose 6–2 to the Chicago Blackhawks.
2001 – An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter magnitude scale hits El Salvador, killing at least 944.
2004 – The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces the discovery of the universe’s largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093. Astronomers named this star “Lucy” after The Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.
2007 – Taiwan opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigns as the chairman of the Kuomintang party after being indicted on charges of embezzlement during his tenure as the mayor of Taipei; Ma also announces his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.
2008 – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes a historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.
2010 – A bomb explodes in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India, killing 17 and injuring 60 more.
2011 – For the first time in more than 100 years the Umatilla, an American Indian tribe, are able to hunt and harvest a bison just outside Yellowstone National Park, restoring a centuries-old tradition guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1855.
2012 – The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted the first launch of the European Vega rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
2017 – Kim Jong-nam, brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, is assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Births on February 13
1440 – Hartmann Schedel, German physician (d. 1514)
1457 – Mary of Burgundy, Sovereign Duchess regnant of Burgundy, married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1482)
1469 – Elia Levita, Renaissance Hebrew grammarian (d. 1549)
1480 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian cardinal (d. 1542)
1523 – Valentin Naboth, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1593)
1539 – Elisabeth of Hesse, Electress Palatine (d. 1582)
1569 – Johann Reinhard I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1625)
1599 – Pope Alexander VII (d. 1667)
1602 – William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1637)
1672 – Étienne François Geoffroy, French physician and chemist (d. 1731)
1683 – Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Italian painter (d. 1754)
1719 – George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, English admiral and politician (d. 1792)
1721 – John Reid, Scottish general (d. 1807)
1728 – John Hunter, Scottish surgeon and anatomist (d. 1793)
1766 – Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist and scholar (d. 1834)
1768 – Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, French general and politician, 15th Prime Minister of France (d. 1835)
1769 – Ivan Krylov, Russian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1844)
1805 – Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician and academic (d. 1859)
1811 – François Achille Bazaine, French general (d. 1888)
1815 – Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American anthologist, editor, poet and critic (d. 1857)
1831 – John Aaron Rawlins, American general and politician, 29th United States Secretary of War (d. 1869)
1834 – Heinrich Caro, Sephardic Jewish Polish-German chemist and academic (d. 1910)
1835 – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Indian religious leader (d. 1908)
1849 – Lord Randolph Churchill, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1895)
1855 – Paul Deschanel, Belgian-French politician, 11th President of France (d. 1922)
1863 – Hugo Becker, German cellist and composer (d. 1941)
1867 – Harold Mahony, Scottish-Irish tennis player (d. 1905)
1870 – Leopold Godowsky, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1938)
1873 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (d. 1938)
1876 – Fritz Buelow, German-American baseball player and umpire (d. 1933)
1879 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian poet and activist (d. 1949)
1880 – Dimitrie Gusti, Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1955)
1881 – Eleanor Farjeon, Jewish-English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1965)
1883 – Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947)
1883 – Yevgeny Vakhtangov, Russian-Armenian actor and director (d. 1922)
1884 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and businessman, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company (d. 1961)
1885 – Bess Truman, American wife of Harry S. Truman, 35th First Lady of the United States (d. 1982)
1887 – Géza Csáth, Hungarian playwright and critic (d. 1919)
1888 – Georgios Papandreou, Greek lawyer, economist, and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)
1889 – Leontine Sagan, Austrian actress and director (d. 1974)
1891 – Kate Roberts, Welsh author and activist (d. 1985)
1891 – Grant Wood, American painter and academic (d. 1942)
1892 – Robert H. Jackson, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 57th United States Attorney General (d. 1954)
1898 – Hubert Ashton, English cricketer and politician (d. 1979)
1900 – Barbara von Annenkoff, Russian-born German film and stage actress (d. 1979)
1901 – Paul Lazarsfeld, Austrian-American sociologist and academic (d. 1976)
1902 – Harold Lasswell, American political scientist and theorist (d. 1978)
1903 – Georgy Beriev, Georgian-Russian engineer, founded the Beriev Aircraft Company (d. 1979)
1903 – Georges Simenon, Belgian-Swiss author (d. 1989)
1906 – Agostinho da Silva, Portuguese philosopher and author (d. 1994)
1907 – Katy de la Cruz, Filipino-American singer and actress (d. 2004)
1910 – William Shockley, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
1911 – Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Indian-Pakistani poet and journalist (d. 1984)
1911 – Jean Muir, American actress and educator (d. 1996)
1912 – Harald Riipalu, Russian-Estonian commander (d. 1961)
1912 – Margaretta Scott, English actress (d. 2005)
1913 – Khalid of Saudi Arabia (d. 1982)
1915 – Lyle Bettger, American actor (d. 2003)
1915 – Aung San, Burmese general and politician, 5th Premier of British Crown Colony of Burma (d. 1947)
1916 – Dorothy Bliss, American invertebrate zoologist (d. 1987)
1919 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (d. 1991)
1919 – Eddie Robinson, American football player and coach (d. 2007)
1920 – Boudleaux Bryant, American songwriter (d. 1987)
1920 – Eileen Farrell, American soprano and educator (d. 2002)
1921 – Jeanne Demessieux, French pianist and composer (d. 1968)
1921 – Aung Khin, Burmese painter (d. 1996)
1922 – Francis Pym, Baron Pym, Welsh soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2008)
1922 – Gordon Tullock, American economist and academic (d. 2014)
1923 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American soldier, judge, and politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2002)
1923 – Chuck Yeager, American general and pilot; first test pilot to break the sound barrier
1924 – Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French journalist and politician (d. 2006)
1926 – Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, American nuclear physicist (d. 2012)
1928 – Gerald Regan, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2019)
1929 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian commander and politician, Military Leader of Panama (d. 1981)
1930 – Ernst Fuchs, Austrian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2015)
1930 – Israel Kirzner, English-American economist, author, and academic
1932 – Susan Oliver, American actress (d. 1990)
1933 – Paul Biya, Cameroon politician, 2nd President of Cameroon
1933 – Kim Novak, American actress
1933 – Emanuel Ungaro, French fashion designer (d. 2019)
1934 – George Segal, American actor
1937 – Ali El-Maak, Sudanese author and academic (d. 1992)
1937 – Angelo Mosca, American-Canadian football player and wrestler
1938 – Oliver Reed, English actor (d. 1999)
1940 – Bram Peper, Dutch sociologist and politician, Mayor of Rotterdam
1941 – Sigmar Polke, German painter and photographer (d. 2010)
1941 – Bo Svenson, Swedish-American actor, director, and producer
1942 – Carol Lynley, American model and actress (d. 2019)
1942 – Peter Tork, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor (d. 2019)
1942 – Donald E. Williams, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2016)
1943 – Elaine Pagels, American theologian and academic
1944 – Stockard Channing, American actress
1944 – Jerry Springer, English-American television host, actor, and politician, 56th Mayor of Cincinnati
1945 – Marian Dawkins, English biologist and academic
1945 – King Floyd, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
1945 – Simon Schama, English historian and author
1945 – William Sleator, American author and composer (d. 2011)
1946 – Richard Blumenthal, American sergeant and politician, 23rd Attorney General of Connecticut
1946 – Janet Finch, English sociologist and academic
1946 – Colin Matthews, English composer and educator
1947 – Stephen Hadley, American soldier and diplomat, 21st United States National Security Advisor
1947 – Mike Krzyzewski, American basketball player and coach
1947 – Bogdan Tanjević, Montenegrin-Bosnian professional basketball coach
1947 – Kevin Bloody Wilson, Australian comedian, singer-songwriter, and guitarist
1949 – Peter Kern, Austrian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1950 – Vera Baird, English lawyer and politician
1950 – Peter Gabriel, English singer-songwriter and musician
1952 – Ed Gagliardi, American bass player (d. 2014)
1953 – Akio Sato, Japanese wrestler and manager
1954 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (d. 1989)
1955 – Joe Birkett, American lawyer, judge, and politician
1956 – Peter Hook, English singer, songwriter, bass player, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer
1957 – Denise Austin, American fitness trainer and author
1958 – Pernilla August, Swedish actress
1958 – Marc Emery, Canadian publisher and activist
1958 – Jean-François Lisée, Canadian journalist and politician
1958 – Derek Riggs, English painter and illustrator
1958 – Øivind Elgenes, Norwegian vocalist, guitarist and composer
1959 – Gaston Gingras, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 – Pierluigi Collina, Italian footballer and referee
1960 – John Healey, English journalist and politician
1960 – Gary Patterson, American football player and coach
1960 – Artur Yusupov, Russian-German chess player and author
1961 – Marc Crawford, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1961 – cEvin Key, Canadian singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboard player, and producer
1961 – Henry Rollins, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1962 – Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Puerto Rican lawyer and politician
1962 – Baby Doll, American wrestler and manager
1962 – Michele Greene, American actress
1964 – Stephen Bowen, American engineer, captain, and astronaut
1964 – Ylva Johansson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Employment
1965 – Peter O’Neill, Papua New Guinean accountant and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
1966 – Neal McDonough, American actor and producer
1966 – Jeff Waters, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1966 – Freedom Williams, American rapper and singer
1967 – Stanimir Stoilov, Bulgarian footballer and coach
1968 – Kelly Hu, American actress
1969 – Joyce DiDonato, American soprano and actress
1970 – Karoline Krüger, Norwegian singer-songwriter and pianist
