On this day in History - Dec. 13

• 0872 - Pope John VIII is elected. 108th Pope.
• 1048 - Al-Biruni dies (b. 0973). Persian mathematician.
• 1124 - Pope Callixtus II dies.
• 1204 - Maimonides dies (b. 1135). Spanish rabbi and philosopher. He was the foremost intellectual figure of medieval Judaism, whose works, written in Hebrew and Arabic, influenced both Jewish and non-Jewish scholars.
• 1250 - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor dies (b. 1194).
• 1404 - Albert, Count of Holland dies (b. 1336)
• 1466 - Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi) dies (b. 1386). Florentine artist and sculptor.
• 1516 - Johannes Trithemius dies (b. 1462). German cryptographer.
• 1521 - King Manuel I of Portugal dies (b. 1469)
• 1521 - Pope Sixtus V was born (d. 1590) . Religious leader.
• 1533 - King Eric XIV of Sweden was born (d. 1577)
• 1545 - Council of Trent begins
• 1550 - The city of Ferreñafe is founded in Perú
• 1553 - King Henry IV of France was born (d. 1610).
• 1557 - Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia dies. Italian mathematician
• 1565 - Conrad Gessner dies (b. 1516). Swiss naturalist.
• 1577 - Sir Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.
• 1585 - William Drummond of Hawthornden was born (d. 1649). Scottish poet.
• 1603 - D. Antonio de Meneses was born (d. 1675). Portuguese militar, 1st Marquis of Marialva and 3rd Count of Cantanhede.
• 1603 - François Viète dies (b. 1540). French mathematician.
• 1621 - Katarina Stenbock dies (b. 1535). Queen of Gustav I of Sweden
• 1640 - Robert Plot was born (d. 1696). English naturalist.
• 1642 - Abel Janszoon Tasman reaches New Zealand.
• 1643 - English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire.
• 1662 - Francesco Bianchini was born (d. 1729). Italian philosopher and scientist.
• 1678 - Yongzheng Emperor of China was born (d. 1735).
• 1716 - Charles de La Fosse dies (b. 1640). French painter.
• 1721 - Alexander Selkirk dies (b. 1676). Scottish sailor and castaway.
• 1724 - Franz Aepinus was born (d. 1802). German scientist.
• 1754 - Mahmud I dies (b. 1696). Ottoman Sultan.
• 1769 - Christian Fürchtegott Gellert dies (b. 1715). German poet.
• 1783 - Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin dies (b. 1717). Swedish astronomer.
• 1784 - Samuel Johnson dies in London (b. 1709). British writer and lexicographer, regarded as one of the greatest figures of 18th-century life and letters for his biographies and essays.
• 1784 - Archduke Louis of Austria was born (d. 1864)
• 1789 - The National Guard was created in France.
• 1797 - Heinrich Heine was born in Dusseldorf (d. 1856). German poet. "Onde livros são queimados, seres humanos estão destinados a ser queimados também".
• 1807 - Almirante Tamandaré (Joaquim Marques Lisboa) was born in Rio Grande-RS (d. 20 Mar 1897). Brazilian almirant.
• 1814 - Ana Nery was born in Cachoeira de Paraguaçu- Bahia (d. 20 May 1880). Brazilian nurse.
• 1814 - Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligne dies (b. 1735). Belgian-born Austrian field marshal
• 1816 - Ernst Werner von Siemens was born (d. 1892). German engineer, inventor and industrialist.
• 1818 - Mary Todd Lincoln was born (d. 1882). First Lady of the United States
• 1836 - Franz von Lenbach was born (d. 1904). German painter
• 1854 - Thomas Watson was born (d. 1934). American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell , telephone pioneer.
• 1856 - Svetozar Boroević was born (d. 1920). Austro-Hungarian field marshal.
• 1862 - American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats the Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside.
• 1863 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel dies (b. 1813). German writer.
• 1864 - Emil Seidel was born (d. 1947). Mayor of Milwaukee.
• 1867 - Kristian Birkeland was born (d. 1917). Norwegian explorer and scientist.
• 1868 - Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius dies (b. 1794). German botanist.
• 1874 - Josef Lhévinne was born (d. 1944). Russian-born pianist.
• 1881 - August Senoa dies (b. 1838). Austro-Hungarian writer.
• 1883 - Victor de Laprade dies (b. 1812). French poet and critic.
• 1883 - Belle da Costa Greene was born (d. 1950). American librarian, bibliographer and archivist.
• 1886 - Diego Rivera was born (d. 1957). Mexican painter and muralist (d. 1957)
• 1887 - George Polya was born (d. 1985). Hungarian-born mathematician.
• 1887 - Alvin York was born (d. 1964). American soldier.
• 1897 - Drew Pearson was born (d. 1969). American journalist.
• 1903 - Italo Marcioni patented the first ice-cream cone, in New Jersey, USA.
• 1903 - Ella Baker, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, civil rights activist; died December 13, 1986, in New York City.
• 1903 - Carlos Montoya was born (d. 1993). Spanish flamengo guitarist
• 1903 - John Piper was born. English writer and painter.
• 1906 - Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent was born (d. 1968)
• 1906 - Sir Laurens van der Post was born (d. 1996). Afrikaner-born South African author.
• 1910 - Van Heflin was born (d. 1971). American actor.
• 1911 - Trygve Haavelmo was born (d. 1999). Norwegian economist and Nobel Prize laureate
• 1911 - Kenneth Patchen was born (d. 1972). American poet and painter.
• 1912 - Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento was born. Brazilan musician and popular composer known as "rei do baião"
• 1913 - Lu Marival was born in São Paulo. Brazilian actress.
• 1913 - Archie Moore was born (d. 1998). American boxer and World Light-Heavyweight from 1952 to 1962.
• 1915 - Curd Jürgens was born (d. 1982). German actor.
• 1915 - Ross Macdonald was born (d. 1983). American-born author
• 1918 - President Wilson arrived in France, becoming the first U.S. president to visit Europe while in office.
• 1919 - Woldemar Voigt dies (b. 1850). German physicist.
• 1920 - League of nations established the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
• 1921 - The Four-Power Pact was signed during the Washington Conference by the United States, Great Britain, Japan, and France, stipulating that all the signatories would be consulted in the event of a controversy between two of them over “any Pacific question.”
• 1923 - Philip Warren Anderson was born. American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
• 1923 - Larry Doby was born (d. 2003). American baseball player.
• 1925 - Dick Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri. American actor and comedian whose film credits include 'Mary Poppins' (1964) and 'Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang' (1968).
• 1926 - George Rhoden was born. Jamaican athlete and Olympic gold medalist .
• 1926 - Simões de Almeida dies (b. 1884). Portuguese sculptor.
• 1927 - Christopher Plummer was born. Canadian actor (The Sound of Music' (1965) and 'The Man Who Would be King' (1975).
• 1928 - George Gershwin's musical work "An American in Paris" had its premiere, at Carnegie Hall in New York. The debut was performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Walter Damrosch.
• 1930 - Fritz Pregl dies (b. 1869). Austrian chemist and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1931 - Gustave le Bon dies (b. 1840). French psychologist.
• 1934 - British astronomer J.P.M. Prentice discovered Nova Herculis, one of the brightest novas of the 20th century.
• 1934 - Richard D. Zanuck was born. American film producer.
• 1935 - Adélia Prado was born. Brazilian writer.
• 1935 - Victor Grignard dies (b. 1871). French chemist and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1936 - His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan (Prince Karim El Husseni) was born. (49th) Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims since July 11, 1957.
• 1937 - Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanjing - Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese, leading to the Nanjing Massacre, in which up to 300,000 Chinese may have been killed.
• 1938 - Holocaust: 100 deportees from Sachsenhausen build the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg.
• 1939 - World War II: Battle of the River Plate - Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttles the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee after battle with Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles.
• 1941 - World War II: Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States.
• 1943 - Ferguson Jenkins was born. Canadian baseball player.
• 1944 - Wassily Kandinsky dies (b. 1866). Russian-born French artist.
• 1947 - Nicholas Roerich dies (b. 1874). Russian-born painter.
• 1948 - Ted Nugent was born. American guitarist
• 1948 - Brian Wilson was born. British politician
• 1949 - The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel to Jerusalem
• 1949 - Robert Lindsay was born. British actor, who became known for the title role in the television series 'Citizen Smith' (1973-7).
• 1950 - Tom Vilsack was born. Governor of Iowa
• 1953 - Ben Bernanke was born. American economist
• 1953 - Bob Gainey was born. Canadian hockey player
• 1955 - Sporting Cristal is founded. Peruvian football club.
• 1955 - Egas Moniz dies (b. 1874). Portuguese physician and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1957 - Steve Buscemi was born. American actor.
• 1957 - Morris Day was born. American singer (The Time)
• 1957 - Jean-Marie Messier was born. French businessman.
• 1958 - Lynn-Holly Johnson was born. American figure skater and actress.
• 1958 - The UN rejects a call for Algerian independence.
• 1959 - Archbishop Makarios becomes the first President of Cyprus
• 1959 - Nadia Russ was born. Soviet-born artist.
• 1961 - Harry Gregson-Williams was born. British composer.
• 1961 - Irene Saez Conde was born. Venezuelan, Miss Univers 1981 and politician.
• 1961 - Grandma Moses dies (b. 1860). American painter.
• 1964 - Matsumoto Hideto was born. Japanese musician.
• 1966 - Premiers bombardements américains sur la ville de Hanoï
• 1967 - Jamie Foxx was born. American actor.
• 1968 - O governo ditatorial brasileiro baixa o Ato Institucional número 5 (AI-5), instrumento de abuso e perseguição aos civis
• 1972 - A chartered Spanish airliner crashes on takeoff from the Canary Islands, killing 155
• 1973 - Rael, leader of the Raelian Movement claims to meet an ET he says is named Yahweh, during an alleged UFO encounter in Puy de Lassolas, France.
• 1974 - Malta becomes a republic.
• 1974 - Nicholas McCarthy was born. British-born guitarist (Franz Ferdinand)
• 1975 - Tom Delonge was born. American guitarist (Blink-182)
• 1977 - A United States government aircraft DC-3 crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 29, including the University of Evansville basketball team.
• 1978 -The U.S. Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony dollar, the first U.S. coin honoring a woman.
• 1979 - The Canadian Government of Prime Minister Joe Clark is defeated in the House of Commons, prompting the 1980 Canadian election.
• 1981 -The Polish government imposed martial law in an attempt to crush the Solidarity movement.
• 1981 - Amy Lee was born. American singer (Evanescence)
• 1982 - Um terramoto no Iêmen resulta em cerca de 3000 mortos e 2000 feridos
• 1983 - Otylia Jędrzejczak, Polish swimmer, FINA World Champion and Olympic gold medalist .
• 1983 - Nichita Stanescu dies (b. 1933). Romanian poet.
• 1983 - Mary Renault dies (b.1905 in Forest Gate, London). English novelist, whose books often deal with life in Ancient Greece.
• 1987 - FC Porto were World Champions winning in Tokyo, by the first time in their historial, the Intercontinental Cup (the second time was yesterday in Yokohama)
• 1988 - Agreement is reached between the US, South Africa, Angola and Cuba for Namibian independence and the withdrawal of Cuban forces from Angola.
• 1989 - The last issue of Gnistan (The Spark), the organ of the Solidaritetspartiet, is published in Sweden.
• 1991 - La Corée du Nord et la Corée du Sud signent un traité de non agression et de réconciliation après 46 ans de conflit.
• 1993 - Vanessa Duriès dies (b. 1972). French novelist.
• 1996 - Kofi Annan of Ghana chosen to become Secretary-General of The United Nations.
• 1998 - Puerto Rico voters rejected statehood by a vote of 50.2% to 46.5%. The winning option was none of the above, but interpreted as a decision to remain as commonwealth, a US territory with local autonomy.
• 1998 - Baron Lew Grade dies (b.1906 in Odessa, Ukraine). Theatrical impresario, who headed several large British film entertainment and communications companies.
• 2000 - The "Texas 7" escape from the John Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas and go on a robbery spree, during which police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot and killed.
• 2000 - George W. Bush accepted presidency 36 days after election; Al Gore, Jr., conceded.
• 2001 - Parliament of India attacked by armed militants. Attempt foiled.
• 2001 - In Belgium some 80,000 antiglobalization protesters rallied in Brussels against an EU summit set to start the next day.
• 2001 - Chuck Schuldiner dies (b. 1967). American guitarist, singer and songwriter (Death)
• 2002 - Zal Yanofsky dies (b. 1945). American guitarist and singer (The Lovin' Spoonful)
• 2002 - Enlargement of the European Union: The European Union announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia will become members from May 1, 2004.
• 2003 - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit.
• 2003 - In the most-attended basketball game in history, 78,129 watch Michigan State University lose 79-74 to the University of Kentucky at Ford Field.
• 2003 - William V. Roth, Jr. dies (b. 1921). U.S. Senator.
• 2004 - Andre Rodgers dies (b. 1934). Bahamian baseball player.
• 2004 - David Wheeler dies (b. 1927). British computer scientist.
• 2004 - A moderate 5.4 Richter Scale earthquake hits Portugal.
• 2004 - Former Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet is put under house arrest, after being sued under accusations over 9 kidnapping actions and manslaughter. The house arrest is lifted the same day on appeal.
• Republic Day in Malta (1974)
• Catholicism - Saint Lucy's day.
• In the Irish calendar the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following the Feast of Saint Lucy were observed as Quarter tense.
• St. Lucia Day in Sweden and in Póvoa de Varzim (Portugal) "Santa Luzia"