✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 72nd day of the year

March 13

A look at March 13 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Paul Morand and Myrtle Bachelder, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♓ZodiacPisces ◈BirthstoneAquamarine ❀Birth flowerDaffodil
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2013

    2013 conclave

    The 2013 papal conclave elects Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio taking the name Pope Francis as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church.

    History
  2. 1996

    Dunblane massacre

    The Dunblane massacre leads to the death of sixteen primary school children and one teacher in Dunblane, Scotland.

    1996 school shooting in
  3. 1988

    Seikan Tunnel

    The Seikan Tunnel, the longest tunnel in the world with an undersea segment, opens between Aomori and Hakodate, Japan.

    Undersea railway tunnel in
  4. 1964

    Murder of Kitty Genovese

    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.

    1964 murder in New
  5. 1943

    The Holocaust

    The Holocaust: German forces liquidate the Jewish ghetto in Kraków.

    Genocide of European Jews
  6. 1920

    Kapp Putsch

    The Kapp Putsch briefly ousts the Weimar Republic government from Berlin.

    1920 failed coup in
  7. 1845

    Felix Mendelssohn

    Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto receives its première performance in Leipzig with Ferdinand David as soloist.

    German composer (1809–1847)
  8. 1781

    William Herschel

    William Herschel discovers Uranus.

    German-British astronomer and composer
  9. 1697

    Nojpetén

    Nojpetén, capital of the last independent Maya kingdom, falls to Spanish conquistadors, the final step in the Spanish conquest of Guatemala.

    Capital city of the
  10. 1567

    Battle of Oosterweel

    The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.

    1567 battle of the
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Famous birthday twins

Born on March 13

Paul Morand

b. 1888

French author and diplomat

Myrtle Bachelder

b. 1908

American chemist and Women's Army Corps officer

David Draiman

b. 1973

American singer-songwriter

Johann Wilhelm Weinmann

b. 1683

German botanist

William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg

b. 1560

Dutch count

Rick Lazio

b. 1958

American lawyer and politician

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

b. 1741

Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790

Wolfgang Rihm

b. 1952

German composer and educator

Deaths

  • 2010Jean Ferrat, French singer-songwriter
  • 1996Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director and screenwriter
  • 1975Ivo Andrić, Yugoslav novelist, poet, and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1901Benjamin Harrison, American general and politician, 23rd President of the United States
  • 1879Adolf Anderssen, German mathematician and chess player
  • 1202Mieszko III of Poland, king of Poland (born c. 1121)

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast days: Ansovinus
  • —Christian feast days: Christina of Persia
  • —Christian feast days: Gerald of Mayo
  • —Christian feast days: James Theodore Holly (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • —Christian feast days: Nicephorus
  • —Christian feast days: Roderick
  • —Christian feast days: March 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • —Kasuga Matsuri (Kasuga Grand Shrine, Nara, Japan)

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