Today ON APRIL 13 In History.
What Happened This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
April 13
| 1598 | The Edict of Nantes grants political rights to French Huguenots. | |
| 1775 | Lord North extends the New England Restraining Act to South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. The act forbids trade with any country other than Britain and Ireland. | |
| 1861 | After 34 hours of bombardment, Union-held Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederates. | |
| 1865 | Union forces under Gen. Sherman begin their devastating march through Georgia. | |
| 1902 | J.C. Penny opens his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. | |
| 1919 | British forces kill hundreds of Indian nationalists in the Amritsar Massacre. | |
| 1933 | The first flight over Mount Everest is completed by Lord Clydesdale. | |
| 1941 | German troops capture Belgrade, Yugoslavia. | |
| 1943 | Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Jefferson Memorial. | |
| 1945 | Vienna falls to Soviet troops. | |
| 1960 | The first navigational satellite is launched into Earth's orbit. | |
| 1961 | The U.N. General Assembly condemns South Africa because of apartheid. | |
| 1964 | Sidney Poitier becomes the first black to win an Oscar for best actor. | |
| 1970 | An oxygen tank explodes on Apollo 13, preventing a planned moon landing and jeopardizing the lives of the three-man crew. | |
| 1976 | The U.S. Federal Reserve begins issuing $2 bicentennial notes. | |
| 1979 | The world's longest doubles ping-pong match ends after 101 hours. | |
| Born on April 13 | ||
| 1721 | John Hanson, first U.S. President under the Articles of Confederation. | |
| 1732 | Frederick Lord North, British prime minister (1770-82). | |
| 1743 | Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States (1801-09) | |
| 1852 | Frank W. Woolworth, American retailer. | |
| 1866 | Butch Cassidy [Robert LeRoy Parker], American outlaw and leader of the Wild Bunch. | |
| 1899 | Alfred Butts, inventor of the board game Scrabble. | |
| 1906 | Samuel Beckett, playwright, Nobel Prize winner (Waiting for Godot). | |
| 1909 | Eudora Welty, Southern writer (Delta Wedding, The Optimist's Daughter). | |
| 1922 | John Gerard Braine, British novelist (Room at the Top). | |
| 1939 | Seamus Heaney, Irish poet, Nobel laureate. | |
