✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 133rd day of the year

May 13

A look at May 13 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Stevie Wonder and Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♉ZodiacTaurus ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2012

    Cadereyta Jiménez massacre

    Forty-nine dismembered bodies are discovered by Mexican authorities on Mexican Federal Highway 40.

    2012 mass killing by
  2. 2011

    2011 Charsadda bombing

    Two bombs explode in the Charsadda District of Pakistan killing 98 people and wounding 140 others.

    Suicide bombing by Islamist
  3. 2000

    Enschede fireworks disaster

    A fireworks storage depot explodes in a residential neighborhood in Enschede, Netherlands, killing 23 people and injuring 950 others.

    2000 explosion in the
  4. 1995

    Alison Hargreaves

    Alison Hargreaves, a 33-year-old British mother, becomes the first woman to ascend Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.

    20th-century British mountain climber
  5. 1992

    Li Hongzhi

    Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People's Republic of China.

    Chinese religious leader and
  6. 1972

    The Troubles

    The Troubles: A car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army. Seven people are killed and over 66 injured.

    1960s–1998 conflict in Northern
  7. 1967

    Zakir Husain

    Dr. Zakir Husain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, 1969.

    President of India from
  8. 1958

    Ben Carlin

    Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.

    Australian adventurer (1912–1981)
  9. 1909

    1909 Giro d'Italia

    The first edition of the Giro d'Italia, a long-distance multiple-stage bicycle race, begins in Milan; the Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna was the eventual winner.

    Cycling race
  10. 1110

    Baldwin I of Jerusalem

    Baldwin I of Jerusalem captures the city of Beirut from the Fatimid Caliphate with the help of a Genoese fleet.

    King of Jerusalem from
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Famous birthday twins

Born on May 13

Stevie Wonder

b. 1950

American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer

Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran

b. 1453

Scottish princess

Dawn Harper-Nelson

b. 1984

American hurdler

Marianne Vos

b. 1987

Dutch cyclist

P. K. Subban

b. 1989

Canadian ice hockey player

Alexis Clairaut

b. 1713

French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist

Robert Pattinson

b. 1986

English actor

Candice King

b. 1987

American singer-songwriter and actress

Deaths

  • 2025José Mujica, Uruguayan politician, 40th President of Uruguay
  • 1988Chet Baker, American singer and trumpet player
  • 1930Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian scientist, explorer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1929Arthur Scherbius, German electrical engineer, invented the Enigma machine
  • 1782Daniel Solander, Swedish-English botanist and phycologist
  • 189Emperor Ling of Han, Chinese emperor

Holidays & observances

  • —Abbotsbury Garland Day (Dorset, England)
  • —Christian feast day: André-Hubert Fournet
  • —Christian feast day: Our Lady of Fátima
  • —Christian feast day: Conchita Barrecheguren (Roman Catholic)
  • —Christian feast day: Gerard of Villamagna
  • —Christian feast day: Glyceria
  • —Christian feast day: John the Silent (Roman Catholic)
  • —Christian feast day: Julian of Norwich (Roman Catholic)

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