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On This Day · The 103rd day of the year

April 13

A look at April 13 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Thomas Jefferson and Guy Fawkes, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2009

    Kamień Pomorski homeless hostel fire

    A fire destroys a homeless hostel and kills at least 22 people in Kamień Pomorski, Poland.

    2009 fire in Kamień
  2. 1997

    Tiger Woods

    Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.

    American professional golfer (born
  3. 1976

    Lapua Cartridge Factory explosion

    Forty workers die in the Lapua Cartridge Factory explosion, the deadliest industrial accident in modern Finnish history.

    1976 explosion at a
  4. 1970

    Oxygen

    At 10:08 PM EST an oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed "Odyssey") while en route to the Moon.

    Chemical element with atomic
  5. 1953

    Central Intelligence Agency

    CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra.

    U.S. intelligence and covert
  6. 1945

    Nazi Germany

    World War II: German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany.

    German state from 1933
  7. 1943

    World War II

    World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.

    1939–1945 global conflict
  8. 1829

    Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829

    The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 gives Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in Parliament.

    Act of Parliament of
  9. 1777

    American Revolutionary War

    American Revolutionary War: American forces are ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey.

    1775–1783 conflict in North
  10. 1742

    George Frideric Handel

    George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah makes its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland.

    German-British composer (1685–1759)
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Famous birthday twins

Born on April 13

Thomas Jefferson

b. 1743

American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States

Guy Fawkes

b. 1570

English soldier, member of the Gunpowder Plot (probable; died 1606)

Carles Puyol

b. 1978

Spanish footballer

Arthur Fadden

b. 1894

Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia

Josh Gordon

b. 1991

American football player

Garry Kasparov

b. 1963

Russian chess player and author

Samuel Beckett

b. 1906

Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate

J. M. G. Le Clézio

b. 1940

Breton French-Mauritian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Deaths

  • 2025Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian novelist and writer, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 2015Günter Grass, German novelist, poet, playwright, and illustrator, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 2015Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and author
  • 1999Willi Stoph, German engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of East Germany
  • 1966Georges Duhamel (author), French soldier and author
  • 1695Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Caradoc
  • —Christian feast day: Ida of Louvain
  • —Christian feast day: Pope Martin I
  • —Christian feast day: Margaret of Castello
  • —Christian feast day: Sabás Reyes Salazar
  • —April 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • —Songkran Songkran (Thailand)
  • —Songkran Water-Sprinkling Festival

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