History of Today in India – 13 May

Explore the history of today 13 May in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 13 May 2026, 04:21 AM

📜 Important Events on 13 May in World History

• 13 May 2014: An explosion at an underground coal mine in southwest Turkey kills 301 miners. Read more
• 13 May 2013: American physician Kermit Gosnell is found guilty in Pennsylvania of murdering three infants born alive during attempted abortions, involuntary manslaughter of a woman during an abortion procedure, and other charges. Read more
• 13 May 2012: Forty-nine dismembered bodies are discovered by Mexican authorities on Mexican Federal Highway 40. Read more
• 13 May 2011: Two bombs explode in the Charsadda District of Pakistan killing 98 people and wounding 140 others. Read more
• 13 May 2006: São Paulo violence: Rebellions occur in several prisons in Brazil. Read more
• 13 May 2005: Andijan uprising, Uzbekistan: Troops open fire on crowds of protestors after a prison break; at least 187 people were killed according to official estimates. Read more
• 13 May 2000: A fireworks storage depot explodes in a residential neighborhood in Enschede, Netherlands, killing 23 people and injuring 950 others. Read more
• 13 May 1999: Kosovo War: NATO bombs the village of Koriša, killing at least 87 people. Read more
• 13 May 1998: Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped. Read more
• 13 May 1998: India carries out two nuclear weapon tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India. Read more
• 13 May 1996: Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people. Read more
• 13 May 1995: Alison Hargreaves, a 33-year-old British mother, becomes the first woman to ascend Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas. Read more
• 13 May 1992: Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People's Republic of China. Read more
• 13 May 1990: The Dinamo–Red Star riot takes place at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia, between the Bad Blue Boys (fans of Dinamo Zagreb) and the Delije (fans of Red Star Belgrade). Read more
• 13 May 1989: Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike. Read more
• 13 May 1985: Police bomb MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia, killing six adults and five children, and destroying the homes of 250 city residents. Read more
• 13 May 1981: Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives. Read more
• 13 May 1980: An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area. Read more
• 13 May 1972: A fire occurs in the Sennichi Department Store in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators result in 118 fatalities (many victims leaping to their deaths). Read more
• 13 May 1972: 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. Read more
• 13 May 1969: In the aftermath of the 1969 Malaysian general election, Sino-Malay sectarian violence erupts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Read more
• 13 May 1967: 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. Read more
• 13 May 1960: Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Read more
• 13 May 1958: During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, the US Vice President Richard Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators. Read more
• 13 May 1958: May 1958 crisis: A group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria. Read more
• 13 May 1958: 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. Read more
• 13 May 1954: The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place. Read more
• 13 May 1952: The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting. Read more
• 13 May 1951: The 400th anniversary of the founding of the National University of San Marcos is commemorated by the opening of the first large-capacity stadium in Peru. Read more
• 13 May 1950: The inaugural Formula One World Championship race takes place at Silverstone Circuit. The race was won by Giuseppe Farina, who would go on to become the inaugural champion that year. Read more
• 13 May 1949: Aeroflot Flight 17 crashes on approach to Severny Airport in Novosibirsk, killing 25. Read more
• 13 May 1948: Arab–Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre occurs, a day prior to the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Read more
• 13 May 1945: World War II: Yevgeny Khaldei's photograph Raising a Flag over the Reichstag is published in Ogonyok magazine. Read more
• 13 May 1943: World War II: Operations Vulcan and Strike force the surrender of the last Axis troops in Tunisia. Read more
• 13 May 1940: World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins, as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons. Read more
• 13 May 1917: Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal. Read more
• 13 May 1912: The Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom. Read more
• 13 May 1909: 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. Read more
• 13 May 1888: With the passage of the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law"), the Empire of Brazil abolishes slavery. Read more
• 13 May 1862: Southern slave Robert Smalls steals the steamboat Planter, spirits it through Confederate lines and hands it to the United States Navy, who quickly commission it as the gunboat USS Planter and appoint Smalls as captain, thus making him the first black man to command a United States ship. Read more
• 13 May 1861: American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality" which recognizes the Confederacy as having belligerent rights. Read more
• 13 May 1861: The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia. Read more
• 13 May 1861: Pakistan's (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri. Read more
• 13 May 1858: Montenegrin forces under Grand Duke Mirko Petrović-Njegoš defeat an Ottoman army under Hussein Pasha in the battle of Grahovac. The battle is a significant step towards formal independence and quickly becomes a part of national folklore. Read more
• 13 May 1846: Mexican–American War: The United States declares war on the Federal Republic of Mexico following a dispute over the American annexation of the Republic of Texas and a Mexican military incursion. Read more
• 13 May 1830: Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia. Read more
• 13 May 1804: Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derna from the Americans attack the city. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 13 May in World History

• 13 May 2005: Romain Esse, English footballer Romain Joy Kouakou Esse is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for EFL Championship side Coventry City on loan from Premier League club Crystal Palace. Read more
• 13 May 2003: Jaxson Dart, American football player Jaxson Chase Dart is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and Ole Miss Rebels and was selected by the Giants in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft. Read more
• 13 May 2003: Javi Guerra, Spanish footballer Javier "Javi" Guerra Moreno is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Valencia. Read more
• 13 May 2003: Jabari Smith Jr., American basketball player Jabari Montsho Smith Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers. Read more
• 13 May 2002: Diego López, Spanish footballer Diego López Noguerol is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as either a right winger or a forward for La Liga club Valencia. Nicknamed El Guajín, López has become a fan favorite at the Spanish giant. Read more
• 13 May 1999: Óscar Mingueza, Spanish footballer Óscar Mingueza García is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for La Liga club Celta de Vigo and the Spain national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play in either full-back position, mostly as a right-back. Read more
• 13 May 1999: Aníbal Moreno, Argentine footballer Aníbal Ismael Moreno is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for River Plate and the Argentina national team. Read more
• 13 May 1998: Adrià Pedrosa, Spanish footballer Adrià Giner Pedrosa is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for La Liga club Elche, on loan from Sevilla. Read more
• 13 May 1998: Luca Zidane, Algerian footballer Luca Zinedine Zidane is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Segunda División club Granada. Born in France, he plays for the Algeria national team. Read more
• 13 May 1997: Nico Hoerner, American baseball player Nicholas Mackie Hoerner is an American professional baseball middle infielder for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Stanford University, and was selected by the Cubs in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2019. He has won two Gold Glove Awards. Read more
• 13 May 1994: Percy Tau, South African footballer Percy Muzi Tau is a South African professional footballer who plays as a winger for V.League 1 club Thep Xanh Man Dinh and the South Africa national team. Read more
• 13 May 1993: Abby Dahlkemper, American footballer Abigail Lynn Dahlkemper is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for Bay FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. Read more
• 13 May 1993: Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Napoli and the Belgium national team. Lukaku ranks second for the all-time European men's top goalscorers in international football (89). Read more
• 13 May 1993: Debby Ryan, American actress and singer Deborah Ann Ryan is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She started acting professionally onstage at the age of seven, and was later discovered during Disney Channel's nationwide search for new talent. As a Disney child star, she had major roles in the series The Suite Life on Deck (2008–2011), the film 16 Wishes (2010), the series Jessie (2011–2015), and the film Radio Rebel (2012). She expanded into other appearances, such as the drama film What If… (2010), and has continued acting as an adult, including roles in the series Insatiable (2018–2019), the comedy film The Opening Act (2020), the thriller film Night Teeth (2021), and Spin Me Round (2022). Read more
• 13 May 1993: Morgan Wallen, American singer-songwriter Morgan Cole Wallen is an American country and country pop singer from Sneedville, Tennessee. In 2014, he competed in the sixth season of The Voice. After being eliminated in the playoffs, he signed to Panacea Records and released his debut extended play Stand Alone (2015). Later in 2016, Wallen signed to Big Loud to release his second extended play The Way I Talk (2016). His debut studio album If I Know Me (2018) included four singles: "The Way I Talk", "Up Down", "Whiskey Glasses", and "Chasin' You". If I Know Me, after a record-breaking 114 weeks on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, reached No. 1. Read more
• 13 May 1992: Thievy Bifouma, Congolese footballer Thievy Guivane Bifouma Koulossa is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Persian Gulf Pro League club Persepolis. Read more
• 13 May 1992: Willson Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player Willson Eduardo Contreras is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and catcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Read more
• 13 May 1992: Tyrann Mathieu, American football player Tyrann Devine Mathieu is an American former professional football safety who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers and earned the nickname "the Honey Badger" and gained a reputation for causing turnovers, setting a (SEC) record with 11 career forced fumbles. As a sophomore, he won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in college football, was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU football program after that season due to a violation of team rules. Read more
• 13 May 1992: Josh Papalii, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player Joshua Papali'i is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop forward for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League. He has played for both Australia and Samoa at international level. He is also the highest-capped Canberra Raiders player of all time. Read more
• 13 May 1992: Mark Stone, Canadian hockey player Mark Stone is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a right winger and captain for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the sixth round, 178th overall, of the 2010 NHL entry draft. Read more
• 13 May 1991: Jen Beattie, Scottish footballer Jennifer Patricia Beattie is a Scottish former professional footballer who played for Arsenal FC of the WSL and the Scotland national team. Read more
• 13 May 1991: Francis Coquelin, French footballer Francis Joseph Coquelin is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nantes. He has also featured for Valencia, Arsenal, Lorient, SC Freiburg, Charlton Athletic and Villarreal in his career. Read more
• 13 May 1991: Junior Messias, Brazilian footballer Walter Messias Júnior is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Genoa. Capable of playing anywhere across the attacking front, he has also been deployed on occasions as an attacking midfielder. Read more
• 13 May 1991: Alan Patrick, Brazilian footballer Alan Patrick Lourenço is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Internacional. Read more
• 13 May 1990: Mychal Givens, American baseball player Mychal Antonio Givens is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Read more
• 13 May 1989: P. K. Subban, Canadian ice hockey player Pernell-Karl Sylvester Subban is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Between 2009 and 2022, he played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, and New Jersey Devils. The Canadiens selected Subban in the second round, 43rd overall, of the 2007 NHL entry draft. In 2013, he won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenceman, and tied with Kris Letang as the season's leading scorer among defencemen. In the summer of 2014, he signed an eight-year, $72 million contract with the Canadiens, running through the 2021–22 season. After the 2015–16 season, Subban was traded to the Nashville Predators, where he spent three seasons before being traded to New Jersey in 2019. He is now a broadcast analyst for the NHL on ESPN. Read more
• 13 May 1988: Paulo Avelino, Filipino actor and singer Michael Paulo Lingbanan Avelino is a Filipino actor, singer, model, and film producer. He has starred in multiple hit television series such as Walang Hanggan (2012), Bridges of Love (2015), The General's Daughter (2019) and Linlang (2023-2024). In films, one of his best known works is his portrayal of Gregorio del Pilar in the Philippine war epic Heneral Luna (2015), which he reprised in a title role for its sequel, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018). Avelino's other prominent films include Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay. Read more
• 13 May 1988: Casey Donovan, Australian singer-songwriter Casey Donovan is an Indigenous Australian singer and actress, best known for winning the second season of the singing competition show Australian Idol in 2004. She won the competition at the age of 16, becoming the series' youngest winner. In 2017, Donovan won the third series of I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here. Donovan also hosted the NITV music show Fusion with Casey Donovan. Read more
• 13 May 1988: Lydia Williams, Australian footballer Lydia Grace Yilkari Williams is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper and represented the Australian national team. Read more
• 13 May 1987: Candice King, American singer-songwriter and actress Candice King is an American actress best known as Caroline Forbes in The Vampire Diaries and its spin-offs, The Originals and Legacies. Read more
• 13 May 1987: Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclist Marianne Vos is a Dutch multi-discipline cyclist who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Visma–Lease a Bike. Read more
• 13 May 1986: Lena Dunham, American actress, director, and screenwriter Lena Dunham is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series Girls (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe Awards. Dunham also directed several episodes of Girls and became the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series. She started her career writing, directing, and starring in her semi-autobiographical independent film Tiny Furniture (2010), for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. She has since written and directed the 2022 films Sharp Stick and Catherine Called Birdy. In 2025, she created the Netflix series Too Much starring Megan Stalter. Read more
• 13 May 1986: Robert Pattinson, English actor Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor. He is known for starring in both major studio productions and independent films, in which he often portrays eccentric characters across a diverse range of genres. Pattinson has been ranked among the world's highest-paid actors and his works have grossed over $4.7 billion worldwide. In 2010, Time included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and he was also featured in the Forbes Celebrity 100. Read more
• 13 May 1986: Alexander Rybak, Belarusian-Norwegian singer-songwriter, violinist, and actor Alexander Igorevich Rybak or Alyaksandr Iharavich Rybak is a Belarusian-born Norwegian singer, songwriter and actor. Based in Oslo, Norway, Rybak extensively worked on television programs and on tours in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe throughout the early 2010s. Performing in English, Russian and Norwegian, Rybak has released five albums. Read more
• 13 May 1986: Kris Versteeg, Canadian ice hockey player Kristopher Royce Versteeg is a Canadian entrepreneur and former professional ice hockey winger. During his career, he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames, Avangard Omsk, Växjö Lakers and Nitra. Versteeg is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 and 2015. Read more
• 13 May 1985: Javi Balboa, Equatoguinean footballer Javier Ángel Balboa Osa is a former professional footballer who played as a winger, most notably for Real Madrid and Benfica. Read more
• 13 May 1985: Jaroslav Halák, Slovak ice hockey player Jaroslav Halák is a Slovak former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was selected in the ninth round, 271st overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2003 NHL entry draft. Halák played for the Canadiens as well as the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, and Washington Capitals. Read more
• 13 May 1985: Iwan Rheon, Welsh actor and singer Iwan Rheon is a Welsh actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Simon Bellamy in the E4 series Misfits (2009–2011), Ramsay Bolton in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2013–2016), and Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars in the film The Dirt (2019). He has also appeared in the series Vicious, Riviera, Inhumans, and Those About to Die. Read more
• 13 May 1985: Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player Travis Zajac is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Zajac was selected in the first round, 20th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 2004 NHL entry draft. He played more than 1,000 NHL games with the team over 15 years, and retired after a brief stint with the New York Islanders. Read more
• 13 May 1984: Dawn Harper, American hurdler Dawn Harper-Nelson, née Dawn Harper, is an American, retired track and field athlete who specializes in the 100-meter hurdles. She was the gold medalist in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the silver medalist in the 2012 London Olympic Games and the 2017 World Championships. She was trained by Bob Kersee, husband of Jackie Joyner-Kersee. She is a member of the 2022 class of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame. Read more
• 13 May 1983: Natalie Cassidy, English actress and singer Natalie Ann Cassidy is an English actress and television personality. She played Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, for which she won the award for Best Actress at the British Soap Awards and the TV Quick Awards in 2001. Her other television roles include The Catherine Tate Show (2006), Psychoville (2009), Mandy (2020), Motherland (2021), and Boarders (2025). Read more
• 13 May 1983: Anita Görbicz, Hungarian handball player Anita Görbicz is a Hungarian former professional handballer. She is widely regarded as one of the best handball players of all time, and was voted IHF World Player of the Year in 2005 by the International Handball Federation. Görbicz has also been given the nickname the Queen of Handball internationally. Read more
• 13 May 1983: Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer Gnégnéri Yaya Touré is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently an assistant coach for the Saudi Arabia national team. Read more
• 13 May 1982: Larry Fonacier, Filipino basketball player Larry Alexander Nacua Fonacier is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He previously served as the team manager for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted fourteenth overall by the Red Bull Barako in the 2005 PBA draft. Nicknamed the "Babyface Assassin", he became known as a reliable three-point shooter and reliable defender. Read more
• 13 May 1982: Oguchi Onyewu, American footballer Oguchialu Chijioke Onyewu is an American former soccer player who is the Vice President of Sporting for the United States Soccer Federation. He was previously the sporting director for Orlando City B and secretary-general of R.E. Virton. Read more
• 13 May 1981: Luciana Berger, English politician Luciana Clare Berger, Baroness Berger, is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree from 2010 to 2019, and a Member of the House of Lords since 2025. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she was a founding member of The Independent Group, later Change UK, before joining the Liberal Democrats; Berger rejoined Labour in 2023. Read more
• 13 May 1981: Andrey Polukeyev, Russian sprinter Andrey Andreevich Polukeyev is a Russian former sprinter specializing in the 400 metres and the 9th World Athletics Indoor Championships bronze medallist in the 4 × 400 m relay. Polukeyev also won relay medals at the European Athletics Indoor Championships, European Athletics U23 Championships, and World University Games. Read more
• 13 May 1979: Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland is the only son and the second of three children of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. As of 2022, Prince Carl Philip is fourth in the line of succession, after his older sister, Crown Princess Victoria, his niece and goddaughter Princess Estelle, and his nephew Prince Oscar. He lives with his wife, Princess Sofia, and four children in Villa Solbacken in Djurgården, Stockholm. Read more
• 13 May 1979: Steve Mildenhall, English footballer Stephen James Mildenhall is an English former professional footballer who is goalkeeping coach at Swindon Town. Read more
• 13 May 1978: Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach Michael Bibby is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach at California State University, Sacramento. He played for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Bibby played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, with whom he won the 1997 NCAA Championship. He was drafted second overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1998 NBA draft and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in his first season with the Grizzlies. He also played for the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks. Read more
• 13 May 1978: Barry Zito, American baseball player Barry William Zito is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A left-hander, Zito pitched for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants during a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career. Zito led the American League in wins and won the AL Cy Young Award in 2002. A three-time All-Star known for his curveball, Zito won a World Series ring with the Giants in 2012. Read more
• 13 May 1977: Tom Cotton, American politician Thomas Bryant Cotton is an American politician and former Army officer serving since 2015 as the junior United States senator from Arkansas. From 2013 to 2015 he served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Arkansas's 4th congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. Read more
• 13 May 1977: Ilse DeLange, Dutch singer-songwriter Ilse Annoeska de Lange, better known as Ilse DeLange, is a Dutch country and pop rock singer-songwriter. In 1998, she gained fame with her single 'I'm Not So Tough', which later became multiple platinum in The Netherlands. Other hits were "Miracle", "So Incredible" and "The Great Escape". Read more
• 13 May 1977: Samantha Morton, English actress and director Samantha Jane Morton is an English actress and musician. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas with dark and tragic themes, her accolades include two BAFTAs and a Golden Globe Award, with nominations for two Academy Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Read more
• 13 May 1977: Pusha T, American rapper Terrence LeVarr Thornton, better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother Malice. Established in 1994, the duo were discovered by Pharrell Williams and signed with his record label Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Arista Records, in 2001. They initially released three studio albums—Lord Willin' (2002), Hell Hath No Fury (2006) and Til the Casket Drops (2009)—to mild commercial success; the former spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time", for which they became best known. Read more
• 13 May 1976: Trajan Langdon, American basketball player and executive Trajan Shaka Langdon is an American basketball executive and former professional player. He is the current president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 211 lb (96 kg) shooting guard, he first gained fame in the U.S. while playing college basketball at Duke University. Read more
• 13 May 1973: Reinhold Einwallner, Austrian politician Reinhold Einwallner is an Austrian politician and member of the National Council. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he has represented Vorarlberg since November 2017. He was a member of the Landtag of Vorarlberg from October 2014 to October 2017 and a member of the Federal Council from October 2004 to October 2009. Read more
• 13 May 1972: Darryl Sydor, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Darryl Marion Sydor is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He won two Stanley Cups during his career: with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. He also reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1993 as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, in 2000 as a member of the Dallas Stars and in 2008 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. As a junior, Sydor won a Memorial Cup with the Kamloops Blazers and also represented Canada at the World Junior Championships. Read more
• 13 May 1969: Buckethead, American guitarist and songwriter Brian Patrick Carroll, known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist. Read more
• 13 May 1968: Scott Morrison, Australian politician, 30th Prime Minister of Australia Scott John Morrison is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and the leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He was the member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Cook from 2007 to 2024. Read more
• 13 May 1967: Chuck Schuldiner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2001) Charles Michael Schuldiner was an American musician. He co-founded the pioneering Florida death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the guitarist, primary songwriter and only continuous member until his death in 2001 of a brain tumor. He became the lead vocalist in 1985 after original drummer and vocalist Kam Lee left the band. His obituary in the January 5, 2002, issue of Kerrang! described him as "one of the most significant figures in the history of metal." Schuldiner was ranked No. 10 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists in 2009 and No. 20 in March 2004 Guitar World's "The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists". In 1987, Schuldiner founded the publishing company Mutilation Music, affiliated with performance rights organization BMI. Read more
• 13 May 1967: Melanie Thornton, American-German singer (died 2001) Melanie Janene Thornton was an American singer-songwriter. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, she first gained recognition as a session singer after relocating to Germany to pursue a music career. Her work attracted the attention of production team Ulli Brenner and Gerd Amir Saraf, who enlisted her vocals on the songs "Sweet Dreams" and "Tonight Is the Night". After being signed to MCI Records by German record producer Frank Farian, she formed a music duo called La Bouche with Lane McCray. The duo released their debut album Sweet Dreams in June 1995, which spawned the top-charting US Billboard Hot 100 singles "Sweet Dreams" and "Be My Lover". She departed from La Bouche after the release of their less-successful second album A Moment of Love (1997) to pursue a solo career, respectively. Read more
• 13 May 1966: Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter and producer Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp is an English musician and record producer, known as the founder, vocalist and namesake of English electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Read more
• 13 May 1966: Darius Rucker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Darius Carlos Rucker is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld, and Dean Felber. The band released five studio albums with Rucker as a member and charted six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Rucker co-wrote most of the songs with the other members of the band. Read more
• 13 May 1965: José Rijo, Dominican baseball player José Antonio Rijo Abreu is a Dominican former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who spent the majority of his career with the Cincinnati Reds. Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1980, Rijo made his MLB debut with them in 1984, and also played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics. He pitched and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall, and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg) during his playing career. Read more
• 13 May 1965: Lari White, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (died 2018) Lari Michele White Cannon was an American country musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her debut in 1988 after winning You Can Be a Star, a televised talent competition on The Nashville Network. After an unsuccessful stint on Capitol Records Nashville, she signed to RCA Records Nashville in 1993. Read more
• 13 May 1964: Stephen Colbert, American comedian and talk show host Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the Comedy Central news satire show The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014, and the CBS talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert since September 2015. Read more
• 13 May 1963: Andrea Leadsom, English politician Dame Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom is a British politician who served in various ministerial positions under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2014 and 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Northamptonshire from 2010 to 2024. Leadsom served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2016 to 2017, Leader of the House of Commons from 2017 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2019 to 2020. She has twice stood to become Leader of the Conservative Party, in 2016 and 2019. Read more
• 13 May 1961: Siobhan Fallon Hogan, American actress Siobhan Fallon Hogan is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her collaborations with director Lars von Trier, she has appeared in three of his features to date: Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2003), and The House That Jack Built (2018). Her other film credits include Forrest Gump (1994), Men in Black (1997), The Negotiator (1998), Holes (2003), Daddy Day Care (2003), Fever Pitch (2005), Charlotte's Web (2006), Funny Games (2007), Baby Mama (2008), The Bounty Hunter (2010), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), Going in Style (2017), and Rushed (2021). Her television work includes Saturday Night Live (1991–1992), Seinfeld (1991–1994), and Wayward Pines (2015–2016). Read more
• 13 May 1961: Dennis Rodman, American basketball player, wrestler, and actor Dennis Keith Rodman is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history". Nicknamed "the Worm", he played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rodman played at the small forward position in his early years before becoming a power forward. Read more
• 13 May 1957: Mar Roxas, Filipino economist and politician, 24th Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas II is a Filipino former politician who served as a senator of the Philippines from 2004 to 2010. He is the grandson and namesake of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas. He served in the Cabinet of the Philippines as the 37th secretary of the interior and local government from 2012 to 2015 after serving as the 30th secretary of trade and industry from 2000 to 2003 and 38th secretary of transportation and communications from 2011 to 2012. He is the son of former senator Gerry Roxas. Read more
• 13 May 1956: Richard Madeley, English journalist and author Richard Holt Madeley is an English television presenter and writer. Alongside his wife Judy Finnigan, he presented ITV's This Morning and Channel 4 chat show Richard & Judy (2001–2008). Madeley's solo projects include the series Fortune: Million Pound Giveaway (2007) and covering for The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. He was the main relief presenter of Channel 5's The Wright Stuff (2012–2017), and since 2017, he has been one of three main relief presenters of ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain. Read more
• 13 May 1954: Johnny Logan, Australian-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist Seán Patrick Michael Sherrard, also known professionally as Johnny Logan, is an Australian-born Irish singer, songwriter and musician. He is known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1980 and 1987. He also composed the winning song in 1992. Read more
• 13 May 1952: John Kasich, American politician, 69th Governor of Ohio John Richard Kasich Jr. is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and was a candidate for the presidential nomination in 2000 and 2016. Read more
• 13 May 1952: Mary Walsh, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter Mary Cynthia Walsh is a Canadian actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her work on CODCO and This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Read more
• 13 May 1952: Londa Schiebinger, American academic and author Londa Schiebinger is the John L. Hinds Professor of History of Science, Department of History, and by courtesy the d-school, Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1984. An international authority on the theory, practice, and history of gender and intersectionality in science, technology, and medicine, she is the founding Director of Gendered Innovations in Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Environment. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Schiebinger received honorary doctorates from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium (2013), from the Faculty of Science, Lund University, Sweden (2017), and from Universitat de València, Spain (2018). She was the first woman in the field of History to win the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize in 1999. Read more
• 13 May 1950: Danny Kirwan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2018) Daniel David Kirwan was a British musician and guitarist, singer and songwriter with the blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac between 1968 and 1972. He released three albums as a solo artist from 1975 to 1979, recorded albums with Otis Spann, Chris Youlden, and Tramp, and worked with former Fleetwood Mac colleagues Jeremy Spencer and Christine McVie on some of their solo projects. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Fleetwood Mac in 1998. Read more
• 13 May 1950: Bobby Valentine, American baseball player and manager Robert John Valentine, nicknamed "Bobby V", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He also served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels (1973–1975), San Diego Padres (1975-1977), New York Mets (1977–78), and Seattle Mariners (1979) in MLB. He managed the Texas Rangers (1985–1992), the New York Mets (1996–2002), and the Boston Red Sox (2012) of MLB, as well as the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. Read more
• 13 May 1950: Stevie Wonder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer Stevland Hardaway Morris, known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, and is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band during much of his peak years, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments in the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Read more
• 13 May 1949: Zoë Wanamaker, American-British actress Zoë Wanamaker is an American-born British actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Wanamaker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 by Queen Elizabeth II. She has received numerous accolades including a Laurence Olivier Award and nominations for three BAFTA Awards, and four Tony Awards. Read more
• 13 May 1946: Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor and author (died 2017) Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith was a British film and television actor and author. For his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series The Jewel in the Crown, he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1985. Other television roles included appearance in The Chief, Midsomer Murders, The Vice, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, King Charles III and two Doctor Who stories. Pigott-Smith appeared in films including Clash of the Titans (1981), Gangs of New York (2002), Johnny English (2003), Alexander (2004), V for Vendetta (2005), Quantum of Solace (2008), Red 2 (2013) and Jupiter Ascending (2015). Read more
• 13 May 1946: Marv Wolfman, American author Marvin Arthur Wolfman is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's The Tomb of Dracula (1972–1979), for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's The New Teen Titans and the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series with George Pérez. Read more
• 13 May 1945: Lasse Berghagen, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 2023) Lars Nils "Lasse" Berghagen was a Swedish singer and songwriter. He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song "Jennie, Jennie". He was also known for presenting Allsång på Skansen on Swedish television from 1994 up until 2003. Read more
• 13 May 1945: Lou Marini, American saxophonist and composer Louis Eugene Marini Jr., known as "Blue Lou" Marini, is an American saxophonist, arranger, and composer. He is best known for his work in jazz, rock, blues, and soul music, as well as his association with The Blues Brothers. Read more
• 13 May 1944: Armistead Maupin, American author, screenwriter, and actor Armistead Jones Maupin Jr. is an American writer notable for Tales of the City, a series of novels set in San Francisco. Read more
• 13 May 1943: Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (died 1992) Mary Esther Wells was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Read more
• 13 May 1941: Senta Berger, Austrian actress Senta Verhoeven is an Austrian-German actress. She received many award nominations for her acting in theatre, film, and television; her awards include three Bambi Awards, two Romys, an Adolf Grimme Award, both a Deutscher Fernsehpreis and a Bayerischer Fernsehpreis, and a Goldene Kamera. Read more
• 13 May 1941: Jody Conradt, American basketball player and coach Addie Jo "Jody" Conradt is an American retired women's basketball coach. She was the head coach for the women's team at University of Texas at Austin (UT). Her coaching career spanned 38 years, with the last 31 years at UT from 1976 to 2007. She also served concurrently as the UT women's athletic director from 1992 to 2001. During her tenure at UT, she achieved several notable personal and team milestones in collegiate basketball. At retirement, she had tallied 900 career victories, second place in all time victories for an NCAA Division I basketball coach. Conradt was inducted in the inaugural class at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. Read more
• 13 May 1941: Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1959) Richard Steven Valenzuela, better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died in a plane crash just eight months after his breakthrough. Read more
• 13 May 1940: Bruce Chatwin, English author (died 1989) Charles Bruce Chatwin was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, In Patagonia (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storyteller, interested in bringing to light unusual tales. He won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel On the Black Hill (1982), while his novel Utz (1988) was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2008 The Times ranked Chatwin as number 46 on their list of "50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945". Read more
• 13 May 1939: Harvey Keitel, American actor Harvey Johannes Keitel is an American actor and producer. Known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters, he rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement. Read more
• 13 May 1938: Giuliano Amato, Italian academic and politician, 48th Prime Minister of Italy Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001. Upon Arnaldo Forlani's death in July 2023, Amato became the country's earliest-serving surviving Prime Minister. Read more
• 13 May 1937: Zohra Lampert, American actress Zohra Lampert is a retired American actress, who has had roles on stage, film and television. She performed under her then-married name of Zohra Alton early in her career. Lampert achieved critical acclaim for her work on Broadway as well, earning two Tony Award nominations for her roles in Look: We've Come Through (1962) and Mother Courage and Her Children (1963). Her film performances include the title character in the 1971 cult horror film Let's Scare Jessica to Death. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for her guest role in a 1975 episode of Kojak. Read more
• 13 May 1937: Roger Zelazny, American author and poet (died 1995) Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels focusing on mythology and various religions, best known for The Chronicles of Amber series. He won the Nebula Award three times and the Hugo Award six times, including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel …And Call Me Conrad (1965), subsequently published under the title This Immortal (1966) and the novel Lord of Light (1967). Read more
• 13 May 1935: James F. White, American funeral director and politician (died 2026) James Flavian White Sr. was an American funeral director and politician. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor party, he was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1975 to 1978. Read more
• 13 May 1934: Ehud Netzer, Israeli archaeologist, architect, and academic (died 2010) Ehud Netzer was an Israeli architect, archaeologist and educator, known for his extensive excavations at Herodium, where in 2007 he found and identified the tomb of Herod the Great; and the discovery of a structure defined by Netzer as a synagogue, which, if true would be the oldest one ever found. Read more
• 13 May 1933: John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (died 2002) John Junior Roseboro was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 until 1970, most prominently as a member of the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. A four-time All-Star player, Roseboro is considered one of the best defensive catchers of the 1960s, winning two Gold Glove Awards. He was the Dodgers' starting catcher in four World Series with the Dodgers winning three of those. Read more
• 13 May 1931: Jim Jones, American cult leader, founder of the Peoples Temple (died 1978) James Warren Jones was an American cult leader, preacher, and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrated a mass murder–suicide that resulted in the deaths of over 900 people including 304 children, which he described as "revolutionary suicide", a term coined by Huey P. Newton, in his remote jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana on November 18, 1978, including the assassination of U.S. congressman Leo Ryan. Jonestown had a defining influence on society's perception of cults. Read more
• 13 May 1930: Mike Gravel, American politician (died 2021) Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel was an American politician and writer who represented Alaska in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party. He ran for president twice: in 2008 and 2020. He was the fourth U.S. Senator in Alaska's history. Read more
• 13 May 1928: Enrique Bolaños, Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua (died 2021) Enrique José Bolaños Geyer was a Nicaraguan politician who served as the president of Nicaragua from 10 January 2002 to 10 January 2007. Read more
• 13 May 1924: Harry Schwarz, South African anti-apartheid leader, lawyer, and Ambassador (died 2010) Harry Heinz Schwarz was a South African lawyer, statesman, and long-time political opposition leader against apartheid in South Africa who eventually served as the South African Ambassador to the United States during the country's transition to majority rule. Read more
• 13 May 1922: Otl Aicher, German graphic designer and typographer (died 1991) Otto "Otl" Aicher was a German graphic designer and typographer. Aicher co-founded and taught at the influential Ulm School of Design. He is known for having led the design team of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and for overseeing the creation of its prominently used system of pictograms. Aicher also developed the Rotis typeface. Read more
• 13 May 1922: Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (died 2009) Beatrice Arthur was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work on television beginning in the 1970s as Maude Findlay in the popular sitcoms All in the Family (1971–1972) and Maude (1972–1978) and later in the 1980s and 1990s as Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls (1985–1992). Read more
• 13 May 1914: Joe Louis, American boxer (died 1981) Joseph Louis Barrow was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. He was victorious in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. Louis has the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history. Read more
• 13 May 1914: Johnnie Wright, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2011) Johnnie Robert Wright Jr. was an American country music singer-songwriter, who spent much of his career working with Jack Anglin as the popular duo Johnnie & Jack, and was also the husband of country music star Kitty Wells. Read more
• 13 May 1913: Robert Dorning, English actor, singer, and dancer (died 1989) Robert Dorning was an English musician, dance band vocalist, ballet dancer and actor. He is known to have performed in at least 77 television and film productions between 1940 and 1988. Read more
• 13 May 1913: William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (died 1980) William Richard Tolbert Jr. was a Liberian politician who served as the 20th president of Liberia from 1971 until his assassination in 1980. Read more
• 13 May 1912: Gil Evans, Canadian-American pianist, composer, and bandleader (died 1988) Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, and jazz fusion. He is best known for his acclaimed collaborations with Miles Davis. Read more
• 13 May 1911: Maxine Sullivan, American singer and actress (died 1987) Maxine Sullivan, born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States, was an American jazz vocalist and performer. Read more
• 13 May 1909: Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (died 1992) Kenneth Lorin Darby was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. Darby is also notable as the author of The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe (1983), a biography of the home of Rex Stout's fictional detective. Read more
• 13 May 1907: Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (died 1989) Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather George du Maurier was a writer and cartoonist. Du Maurier spent much of her life in Cornwall, where most of her works are set. As her fame increased, she became more reclusive. Read more
• 13 May 1905: Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th President of India (died 1977) Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the President of India from 1974 to 1977. Read more
• 13 May 1895: Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist, parapsychologist, and author (died 1964) Nandor Fodor was a British and American parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist of Hungarian origin. Read more
• 13 May 1894: Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Icelandic politician, 2nd President of Iceland (died 1972) Ásgeir Ásgeirsson was the second president of Iceland; he served from 1952 to 1968. He also served as the prime minister of Iceland from 3 June 1932 to 28 July 1934 for the Progressive Party. Ásgeir is the only person in Iceland to date to serve both as president and prime minister. He was a Freemason and served as grand master of the Icelandic Order of Freemasons. Read more
• 13 May 1888: Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (died 1993) Inge Lehmann was a Danish seismologist and geophysicist who is known for her discovery in 1936 of the solid inner core that exists within the molten outer core of the Earth. She also discovered the seismic discontinuity in the speed of seismic waves at depths between 190 and 250 km, which is named the Lehmann discontinuity after her. Lehmann is considered to be a pioneer among women and scientists in seismology research. Read more
• 13 May 1887: Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator and educational psychologist (died 1951) Lorna Myrtle Hodgkinson was an Australian educator and educational psychologist who worked with intellectually disabled children. She was the first woman to receive a Doctor of Education degree from Harvard University. She called out the poor system in Australia and her reputation was ruined by the minister responsible. Read more
• 13 May 1885: Mikiel Gonzi, Maltese archbishop (died 1984) Sir Michael Count Gonzi was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Malta from 1944 until 1976. He had been enthroned as Bishop of Malta in December 1943, and was consecrated as the first Archbishop of Malta in 1944. He had also been Bishop of Gozo and an elected Labour Senator in the Malta Legislative Assembly. Read more
• 13 May 1884: Oskar Rosenfeld, Jewish-Austrian writer and Holocaust victim (died 1944) Oskar Rosenfeld was an Austrian-Jewish writer killed at Auschwitz concentration camp. Read more
• 13 May 1883: Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the pap smear (died 1962) Georgios Nikolaou Papanikolaou was a Greek physician, zoologist and microscopist who was a pioneer in cytopathology and early cancer detection, and inventor of the pap smear for detection of cervical cancer. Read more
• 13 May 1882: Georges Braque, French painter and sculptor (died 1963) Georges Braque was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he played in the development of Cubism. Braque's work between 1908 and 1912 is closely associated with that of his colleague Pablo Picasso. Their respective Cubist works were indistinguishable for many years, yet the quiet nature of Braque was partially eclipsed by the fame and notoriety of Picasso. Read more
• 13 May 1881: Lima Barreto, Brazilian journalist and author (died 1922) Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto was a Brazilian novelist and journalist. A major figure in Brazilian Pre-Modernism, he is famous for the novel Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma, a bitter satire of the early years of the First Brazilian Republic. Read more
• 13 May 1881: Joe Forshaw, American runner (died 1964) Joseph Forshaw Jr. was an American athlete who competed mainly in the marathon. Read more
• 13 May 1877: Robert Hamilton, Scottish international footballer (died 1948) Robert Cumming Hamilton was a Scottish international footballer who played as a Centre forward and was known for his prolific scoring record and his ten-season association with Rangers. Read more
• 13 May 1869: Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Turkish writer (died 1944) Mehmet Emin Yurdakul was a Turkish nationalist writer, poet and politician. Being an ideologue of Pan-Turkism, his writings and poems had a major impact on defining the term vatan (Fatherland). Read more
• 13 May 1868: Sumner Paine, American target shooter (died 1904) Sumner Paine was an American shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Read more
• 13 May 1857: Ronald Ross, Indian-English physician and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1932) Sir Ronald Ross was a British medical doctor. He received the 1902 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine "for his work on malaria, by which he has shown how it enters the organism and thereby has laid the foundation for successful research on this disease and methods of combating it". His discovery of the malarial parasite in the gastrointestinal tract of a mosquito in 1897 proved that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes, and laid the foundation for the method of combating the disease. Read more
• 13 May 1856: Tom O'Rourke, American boxer and manager (died 1938) Tom O'Rourke was born in Boston and became a boxing manager in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Read more
• 13 May 1842: Arthur Sullivan, English composer (died 1900) Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. His works include 24 operas, 11 major orchestral works, ten choral works and oratorios, two ballets, incidental music to several plays, and numerous church pieces, songs, and piano and chamber pieces. His hymns and songs include "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "The Lost Chord". Read more
• 13 May 1840: Alphonse Daudet, French author, poet, and playwright (died 1897) Louis Marie Alphonse Daudet was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Read more
• 13 May 1832: Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and author (died 1864) Juris Alunāns was a Latvian writer and philologist in the Russian Empire. He was one of the first contributors of the Latvian language. He was one of the members of the Young Latvia movement. Read more
• 13 May 1830: Zebulon Baird Vance, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of North Carolina (died 1894) Zebulon Baird Vance was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 37th and 43rd governor of North Carolina, a U.S. senator from North Carolina, and a Confederate officer during the American Civil War. Read more
• 13 May 1822: Francis, Duke of Cádiz (died 1902) Francisco de Asís de Borbón was King of Spain as the husband of Queen Isabella II from their marriage in 1846 until Isabella's deposition in 1868. Francisco and his wife were double first cousins, as their fathers were brothers and their mothers were sisters. Isabella was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1868, but the monarchy was restored under their son Alfonso XII in 1874. Read more
• 13 May 1811: Juan Bautista Ceballos, President of Mexico (1853) (died 1859) Juan Bautista Loreto Mucio Francisco José de Asís de la Santísima Trinidad Ceballos Gómez Sañudo (1811–1859) was a Mexican politician who served in congress and in the supreme court before being briefly made president after the resignation of President Mariano Arista during a revolution known as the Plan of Jalisco in 1853. He failed to come to any sort of arrangements with the insurgents and resigned after only about a month of serving and went back to his seat on the supreme court. After being removed from the court by the restored Santa Anna, he left the country and died in Paris in 1859. Read more
• 13 May 1804: Per Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad, treasurer of Tavastia province, manor host, and paternal grandfather of President of Finland P. E. Svinhufvud (died 1866) Per Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad was a Finnish provincial treasurer of Tavastia and the host of the Rapola Manor in Sääksmäki. His grandson was Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, the future third President of the Republic of Finland. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 13 May in World History

• 13 May 2025: Kit Bond, American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of Missouri (born 1939) Christopher Samuel Bond was an American attorney and politician from Missouri. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. senator from 1987 to 2011, following two non-consecutive terms as the governor of Missouri from 1973 to 1977 and 1981 to 1985, and two years as State Auditor of Missouri from 1971 to 1973. His first election as governor ended a 28-year Democratic streak in that office. Read more
• 13 May 2025: Danny Lendich, New Zealand businessperson (born 1944) Danilo Stanislav Lendich was a New Zealand businessman. Based in Auckland, he started his career at the age of 12, eventually founding and operating an earthmoving and hauling company, Lendich Construction. In 1988, Lendich opened the first Wendy's franchise in New Zealand. He was also a midget car owner and sponsored several drivers, including Sleepy Tripp, Craig Baird, and Jerry Coons Jr. Read more
• 13 May 2025: José Mujica, Uruguayan politician, 40th President of Uruguay (born 1935) José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano was a Uruguayan politician, revolutionary and farmer who served as the 40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. A former guerrilla with the Tupamaros, he was tortured and imprisoned for 14 years during the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. A member of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties, Mujica was the minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a senator afterwards. As the candidate of the Broad Front, he won the 2009 presidential election and took office as president on 1 March 2010. Read more
• 13 May 2024: Alice Munro, Canadian short story writer (born 1931) Alice Ann Munro was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Read more
• 13 May 2024: Cyril Wecht, American forensic pathologist (born 1931) Cyril Harrison Wecht was an American forensic pathologist. He was president of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American College of Legal Medicine, and headed the board of trustees of the American Board of Legal Medicine. Wecht served as County Commissioner and Allegheny County Coroner and Medical Examiner, serving the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. He was perhaps best known for his criticism of the Warren Commission's findings concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Read more
• 13 May 2024: Samm-Art Williams, American playwright and screenwriter (born 1946) Samuel Arthur Williams was an American playwright, screenwriter, and television producer. Read more
• 13 May 2022: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2nd President of the United Arab Emirates (born 1948) Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the second president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi from 2004 until his death in 2022. Read more
• 13 May 2019: Doris Day, American singer and actress (born 1922) Doris Day was an American actress and singer. With an entertainment career that spanned nearly 50 years, Day was one of the most popular and acclaimed female singers of the 1940s and 1950s, with a parallel career as a leading actress in Hollywood films, where she became one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1960s. She was known for her on-screen girl next door image and her distinctive singing voice. Read more
• 13 May 2019: Unita Blackwell, American civil rights activist and politician (born 1933) Unita Zelma Blackwell was an American civil rights activist who was the first African-American woman to be elected mayor in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Blackwell was a project director for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and helped organize voter drives for African Americans across Mississippi. She was also a leader of the US–China Peoples Friendship Association, a group dedicated to promoting cultural exchange between the United States and China. She also served as an advisor to six US presidents: Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. Read more
• 13 May 2016: Murray A. Straus, American sociologist and academic (born 1926) Murray Arnold Straus was an American professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He is best known for creating the conflict tactics scale, the "most widely used instrument in research on family violence". Read more
• 13 May 2015: Earl Averill, Jr., American baseball player (born 1931) Earl Douglas Averill was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and outfielder in the Major Leagues in 1956 and from 1958 to 1963 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies. He was commonly called Earl Averill Jr. to distinguish him from his father, Howard Earl Averill, who was a Hall of Fame baseball player in his own right. Read more
• 13 May 2015: Robert Drasnin, American clarinet player and composer (born 1927) Robert Jackson Drasnin was an American composer and clarinet player. Read more
• 13 May 2015: Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (born 1928) Nina Grigoryevna Otkalenko, née Pletnyova, was a Soviet middle-distance runner. She won a European title in the 800 m at the inaugural 1954 European Athletics Championships and set multiple world records in this event in 1951–54. She missed the 1952 and 1956 Olympics, where women's middle-distance events were not part of the program, and the 1960 Olympics due to an injury. Read more
• 13 May 2015: David Sackett, American-Canadian physician and academic (born 1934) David Lawrence Sackett was an American-Canadian physician and a pioneer in evidence-based medicine. He is known as one of the fathers of Evidence-Based Medicine. He founded the first department of clinical epidemiology in Canada at McMaster University, and the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. He is well known for his textbooks Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine.
  One of his last collaborators was his colleague and pupil Prof. Giovanni Natalizio, an Italian but, for years, a professor based in London, with whom he carried out numerous research activities. Read more
• 13 May 2015: Gainan Saidkhuzhin, Russian cyclist (born 1937) Gainan Rakhmatovich Saidkhuzhin was a Russian Tatar cyclist and ten-time cycling champion of the Soviet Union. He competed in the road race at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics and finished in 34th and 41st places, respectively. In 1964 he also finished fifth in the 100 km team time trial. Read more
• 13 May 2014: David Malet Armstrong, Australian philosopher and author (born 1926) David Malet Armstrong, often D. M. Armstrong, was an Australian philosopher. He is well known for his work on metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, and for his defence of a factualist ontology, a functionalist theory of the mind, an externalist epistemology, and a necessitarian conception of the laws of nature. Read more
• 13 May 2014: Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish director and producer (born 1977) Malik Bendjelloul was a Swedish documentary filmmaker, journalist and actor. He directed the 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, which won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. Read more
• 13 May 2014: J. F. Coleman, American soldier and pilot (born 1918) James Francis Coleman, nicknamed "Skeets", was an American military fighter and test pilot. Read more
• 13 May 2014: Ron Stevens, Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1949) Ronald Gordon "Ron" Stevens was a Canadian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Calgary-Glenmore as a Progressive Conservative until his resignation on May 15, 2009. He was subsequently appointed a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta on May 20, 2009, by the government of Canada. Read more
• 13 May 2014: Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (born 1948) Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, born as Diana Moore, subsequently known as Morning Glory Ferns, Morning Glory Zell and briefly Morning G'Zell, was an American community leader, writer, and lecturer in Neopaganism, as well as a priestess of the Church of All Worlds. An advocate of polyamory, she is credited with coining the word. With her husband Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, she designed deity images. Read more
• 13 May 2013: Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, author, and actress (born 1927) Joyce Diane Bauer Brothers was an American psychologist, television personality, advice columnist, and writer. Read more
• 13 May 2013: Otto Herrigel, Namibian lawyer and politician (born 1937) Otto Herrigel was a Namibian businessman, and politician. He served as Namibia's first Minister of Finance between 1990 and 1992. Read more
• 13 May 2013: Jagdish Mali, Indian photographer (born 1954) Jagdish Mali was an Indian fashion and film photographer. He was the father of Bollywood actress Antara Mali. In his career he took images of celebrities like Rekha, Anupam Kher, Irrfan Khan, Manisha Koirala, Shabana Azmi etc. Read more
• 13 May 2013: Chuck Muncie, American football player (born 1953) Harry Vance "Chuck" Muncie was an American professional football player who was a running back for the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers in the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 to 1984. He was selected to the Pro Bowl three times, and tied the then-NFL season record for rushing touchdowns in 1981. Read more
• 13 May 2013: Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (born 1973) Fyodor Vladimirovich Tuvin was a Russian football midfielder. Read more
• 13 May 2013: Lynne Woolstencroft, Canadian politician (born 1943) Lynne Elizabeth Woolstencroft was a Canadian politician and former mayor of Waterloo, Ontario. Read more
• 13 May 2012: Arsala Rahmani Daulat, Afghan politician (born 1937) Arsala Rahmani Daulat was selected to serve in the Meshrano Jirga, the upper house of Afghanistan's national assembly, in 2005 and 2010.
  He was appointed a Deputy Minister for Higher Education under the Taliban, in 1998. The United Nations Security Council issued Security Council Resolution 1267 in 1999, which listed senior Taliban members. The United Nations requested member states to freeze the financial assets of those individuals. He was one of the individuals who were sanctioned. He was also one of the four former Taliban leaders that accepted the reconciliation offer from the Afghan government. He was also named deputy leader of Khuddamul Furqan for political affairs. Read more
• 13 May 2012: Donald "Duck" Dunn, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (born 1941) Donald "Duck" Dunn was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax Records. At Stax, Dunn played on thousands of records, including hits by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, Bill Withers, Elvis Presley, and many others. In 1992, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s. In 2017, he was ranked 40th on Bass Player magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time". Read more
• 13 May 2012: Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Cuban-American theologian, author, and academic (born 1943) Ada María Isasi-Díaz was a Cuban-American theologian who served as professor emerita of ethics and theology at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. As a Hispanic theologian, she was an innovator of Hispanic theology in general and specifically of mujerista theology. She was founder and co-director of the Hispanic Institute of Theology at Drew University until her retirement in 2009. Read more
• 13 May 2012: Lee Richardson, English speedway rider (born 1979) Lee Stewart Richardson was a British international motorcycle speedway rider. Read more
• 13 May 2012: Don Ritchie, Australian humanitarian (born 1925) Donald Taylor Ritchie was an Australian who intervened in many suicide attempts. He officially rescued at least 180 people but his family says he helped save up to 500 people who had intended to attempt suicide at The Gap. Read more
• 13 May 2012: Nguyễn Văn Thiện, Vietnamese bishop (born 1906) Antoine Nguyễn Văn Thiện was a Vietnamese Roman Catholic bishop and the oldest of the Catholic Church at 106 years of age. He was also one of the last living bishops to have served in South Vietnam. Read more
• 13 May 2011: Derek Boogaard, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1982) Derek Leendert Boogaard was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played for the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Read more
• 13 May 2011: Stephen De Staebler, American sculptor and educator (born 1933) Stephen De Staebler was an American sculptor, printmaker, and educator, he was best recognized for his work in clay and bronze. Totemic and fragmented in form, De Staebler's figurative sculptures call forth the many contingencies of the human condition, such as resiliency and fragility, growth and decay, earthly boundedness and the possibility for spiritual transcendence. An important figure in the California Clay Movement, he is credited with "sustaining the figurative tradition in post-World War II decades when the relevance and even possibility of embracing the human figure seemed problematic at best." Read more
• 13 May 2011: Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, co-founded McCain Foods (born 1930) George Wallace Ferguson McCain was a Canadian businessman and co-founder of McCain Foods. With an estimated net worth of $US 4.15 billion, McCain was ranked by Forbes as the 13th wealthiest Canadian and 512th in the world. Read more
• 13 May 2011: Bruce Ricker, American director and producer (born 1942) Bruce Ricker was a jazz and blues documentarian. He is best known for his collaboration with Clint Eastwood on films about jazz and blues legends. Read more
• 13 May 2009: Frank Aletter, American actor (born 1926) Frank George Aletter was an American actor. Read more
• 13 May 2009: Meir Brandsdorfer, Belgian rabbi (born 1934) Rabbi Meir Brandsdorfer was a member of the Rabbinical Court of the Edah HaChareidis, the Haredi Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem, and was in charge of their Kashrut operations, especially matters of Shechita. Read more
• 13 May 2009: Achille Compagnoni, Italian skier and mountaineer (born 1914) Achille Compagnoni was an Italian mountaineer and skier. Together with Lino Lacedelli on 31 July 1954 he was in the first party to reach the summit of K2. Read more
• 13 May 2008: Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler, Emir of Kuwait (born 1930) Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah was the Emir of Kuwait from 15 January 2006, succeeding Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, until abdicating nine days later on 24 January. Prior to that he had been Prime Minister of Kuwait from 1978 to 2006. Read more
• 13 May 2008: Ron Stone, American journalist and author (born 1936) Ron Stone was an American news anchor at KPRC-TV in Houston for 20 years from 1973 to 1992. He was called "the most popular and revered news anchor the city has ever known" by
  the Houston Chronicle. He was president of Stonefilms, Inc., a Texas production company. Read more
• 13 May 2006: Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian and scholar (born 1923) Jaroslav Jan Pelikan Jr. was an American scholar of the history of Christianity, Christian theology, and medieval intellectual history at Yale University. Read more
• 13 May 2006: Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (born 1949) Johnnie James Wilder Jr. was an American musician, co-founder and vocalist of the R&B/funk group Heatwave. The group were popular during the late 1970s with hits such as "Boogie Nights", "Mind Blowing Decisions", "Always and Forever", and "The Groove Line". Read more
• 13 May 2005: Eddie Barclay, French record producer, founded Barclay Records (born 1921) Édouard Ruault, better known as Eddie Barclay, was a French record producer whose singers included Jacques Brel, Dalida and Charles Aznavour. He founded record label Barclay. Read more
• 13 May 2005: George Dantzig, American mathematician and academic (born 1914) George Bernard Dantzig was an American mathematical scientist who made contributions to industrial engineering, operations research, computer science, economics and statistics. Read more
• 13 May 2002: Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (born 1939) Valeriy Vasylyovych Lobanovskyi was а Soviet and Ukrainian football player and manager. He was Master of Sports of the USSR, Distinguished Coach of the USSR, and a laureate of the UEFA Order of Merit in Ruby (2002) and FIFA Order of Merit, the highest honour awarded by FIFA. In 2002 he was awarded the Hero of Ukraine award (posthumously), his nation's highest honour, for his contribution to Ukrainian football. Read more
• 13 May 2001: Jason Miller, American actor and playwright (born 1939) Jason Miller was an American playwright and actor. He won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play for his play That Championship Season, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Father Damien Karras in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist, a role he reprised in The Exorcist III (1990). He later became artistic director of the Scranton Public Theatre in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where That Championship Season was set. Read more
• 13 May 2000: Paul Bartel, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1938) Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he co-wrote, starred in and directed. Read more
• 13 May 2000: Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese wrestler (born 1951) Tomomi "Tommy" Tsuruta , better known by his ring name Jumbo Tsuruta , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyweight Championship, the NWA United National Championship, and the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, and unifying the three titles. He is also known for being one-half of the first World Tag Team Champions with Yoshiaki Yatsu, having won the NWA International Tag Team Championship and the PWF Tag Team Championship, and unifying the two titles. Read more
• 13 May 1999: Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Saudi Arabian scholar and academic (born 1910) Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah Al Baz, simply known as Ibn Baz, was a Saudi Islamic scholar who served as the second Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999. Read more
• 13 May 1999: Gene Sarazen, American golfer and journalist (born 1902) Gene Sarazen was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He was the first of six players to win each of the four majors at least once, known as the Career Grand Slam:
  U.S. Open ,
  PGA Championship ,
  Open Championship (1932), and
  Masters (1935). Read more
• 13 May 1995: Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (born 1921) Hao Wang was a Chinese-American logician, philosopher, mathematician, and commentator on Kurt Gödel. Read more
• 13 May 1994: Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver (born 1920) James Duncan Hamilton was a British racing driver. He was known for his colourful and extroverted personality. After fighting in the Second World War, he took up motorsport. Although adept in single-seaters, he was more successful in sportscars, winning the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans, two Coupe de Paris events, and the 12 heures internationals Reims race in 1956. He retired in 1958 and ran a garage in Bagshot, Surrey for many years. He died of lung cancer in 1994. Read more
• 13 May 1994: John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (born 1925) John Burley Swainson was a Canadian-American politician and jurist who served as the 42nd governor of Michigan from 1961 to 1963. Read more
• 13 May 1992: F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor (born 1909) Frederick Edward McWilliam, was a Northern Irish surrealist sculptor. He worked chiefly in stone, wood and bronze. Read more
• 13 May 1988: Chet Baker, American singer and trumpet player (born 1929) Chesney Henry Baker Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Read more
• 13 May 1985: Leatrice Joy, American actress (born 1893) Leatrice Joy was an American actress most prolific during the silent film era. Read more
• 13 May 1985: Richard Ellmann, American literary critic and biographer (born 1918) Richard David Ellmann, FBA, was an American literary critic and biographer of the Irish writers James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and William Butler Yeats. He won the U.S. National Book Award for Nonfiction for James Joyce (1959), one of the most acclaimed literary biographies of the 20th century. Its 1982 revised edition won James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Ellmann was a liberal humanist, and his academic work focuses on the major modernist writers of the 20th century. Read more
• 13 May 1977: Mickey Spillane, American mobster (born 1934) Michael J. Spillane was an Irish-American mobster who controlled Hell's Kitchen in New York in the 1960s and 1970s. Spillane, the so-called “Gentleman Gangster", was a marked contrast to the violent Westies mob members who succeeded him in Hell's Kitchen. Read more
• 13 May 1975: Marguerite Perey, French physicist (born 1909) Marguerite Catherine Perey was a French physicist and a student of Marie Curie. In 1939, Perey discovered the element francium by purifying samples of lanthanum that contained actinium. In 1962, she was the first woman to be elected to the French Académie des Sciences, an honor denied to her mentor Curie. Perey died of cancer in 1975. Read more
• 13 May 1975: Bob Wills, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1905) James Robert Wills was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing. He was also noted for punctuating his music with his trademark "ah-haa" calls. Read more
• 13 May 1974: Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican poet and diplomat (born 1902) Jaime Mario Emilio Torres Bodet was a prominent Mexican politician and writer who served in the executive cabinet of three Presidents of Mexico. He was the second Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), serving from 1948 until his resignation in 1952. Read more
• 13 May 1974: Arthur J. Burks, American colonel and author (born 1898) Arthur Josephus Burks was an American Marine officer and fiction writer. Read more
• 13 May 1972: Dan Blocker, American actor (born 1928) Bobby Dan Davis Blocker was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the NBC Western television series Bonanza. Read more
• 13 May 1963: Alois Hudal, Austrian-Italian bishop (born 1885) Alois Karl Hudal was an Austrian bishop of the Catholic Church based in Rome. For thirty years, he was the head of the Austrian-German congregation of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome and, until 1937, an influential representative of the Catholic Church in Austria. Read more
• 13 May 1962: Henry Trendley Dean, American dentist (born 1893) Henry Trendley Dean was the first director of the United States National Institute of Dental Research and a pioneer investigator of water fluoridation in the prevention of tooth decay. Read more
• 13 May 1962: Franz Kline, American painter and academic (born 1910) Franz Kline was an American painter. He is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Kline, along with other action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, John Ferren, and Lee Krasner, as well as local poets, dancers, and musicians, came to be known as the informal group, the New York School. Although he explored the same innovations to painting as the other artists in this group, Kline's work is distinct in itself and has been revered since the 1950s. Read more
• 13 May 1961: Gary Cooper, American actor (born 1901) Gary Cooper was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, as well as an Academy Honorary Award in 1961 for his career achievements. He was one of the top-10 film personalities for 23 consecutive years and one of the top money-making stars for 18 years. The American Film Institute (AFI) ranked Cooper at number 11 on its list of the 50 greatest screen legends. Read more
• 13 May 1957: Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (born 1886) Michael (Mihály) Fekete was a Hungarian-Israeli mathematician. Read more
• 13 May 1948: Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (born 1920) Kathleen Agnes Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington, also known as "Kick" Kennedy, was an American socialite. She was the second daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald, a sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, and the wife of the Marquess of Hartington, heir apparent to the 10th Duke of Devonshire. Read more
• 13 May 1947: Sukanta Bhattacharya, Indian poet and playwright (born 1926) Sukanta Bhattacharya was a Bengali poet and revolutionary. He was known as "Young Nazrul" and "Kishore Bidrohi Kobi", for his rebellious stance and opposition against the British Raj, Empire of Japan, other Axis powers, Second World War, and the social elites through the work of poetry. While his poetry was not much studied during his career, he became one of the most popular poets of the 20th century and Bengali literature after his death, primarily because all of his poetry collection books were published after his death. These published books founded way for inspiration of social change in the community with their liberation themes. He became an official member of the Communist Party of India, as a Marxist poet, in 1944. He was known as a "Teen poet" for his works as a teen. His writing career spanned about 6 years. His main work was poetry, but he also wrote songs, stories, essays and plays. Read more
• 13 May 1946: Zara DuPont, American suffragist (born 1869) Zara "Zadie" DuPont (1869–1946) was an American suffragist, serving as the first Vice President of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association. Read more
• 13 May 1945: Tubby Hall, American drummer (born 1895) Alfred "Tubby" Hall was an American jazz drummer. Read more
• 13 May 1941: Frederick Christian, English cricketer (born 1877) A cricket match was played as part of the 1900 Summer Olympics, which took place on 19–20 August at the Vélodrome de Vincennes between teams representing Great Britain and France. Read more
• 13 May 1941: Ōnishiki Uichirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 26th Yokozuna (born 1891) Ōnishiki Uichirō was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 26th yokozuna. On 2 November 1922, he became the first yokozuna to perform the yokozuna dohyō-iri at the Meiji Shrine. Read more
• 13 May 1938: Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1861) Charles-Édouard Guillaume was a Swiss physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1920 "for the service he had rendered to precision measurements in physics by his discovery of anomalies in nickel steel alloys". In 1919, he gave the fifth Guthrie Lecture at the Institute of Physics in London with the title "The Anomaly of the Nickel-Steels". Read more
• 13 May 1930: Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian scientist, explorer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1861) Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, a scientist, a diplomat, a humanitarian, and the co-founder of the Fatherland League. Read more
• 13 May 1929: Arthur Scherbius, German electrical engineer, invented the Enigma machine (born 1878) Arthur Scherbius was a German electrical engineer who invented the mechanical cipher Enigma machine. He patented the invention and later sold the machine under the brand name Enigma. Read more
• 13 May 1926: Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian-American bishop (born 1857) Libert H. Boeynaems, formally Libert Hubert John Louis Boeynaems was a Belgian Catholic priest who served as the fourth vicar apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands – now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu. Read more
• 13 May 1921: Jean Aicard, French author, poet, and playwright (born 1848) Jean François Victor Aicard was a French poet, dramatist, and novelist. Read more
• 13 May 1916: Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (born 1859) Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, better known under his pen name Sholem Aleichem, was a Jewish author and playwright who wrote in Yiddish and lived in the Russian Empire and in the United States. The 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof, based on Aleichem's stories about Tevye the Dairyman, was the first commercially successful English-language stage production about Jewish life in Eastern Europe. Read more
• 13 May 1903: Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (born 1864) Apolinario Mabini y Maranán was a Filipino revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer, and statesman who served first as a legal and constitutional adviser to the Revolutionary Government, and then as the first Prime Minister of the Philippines upon the establishment of the First Philippine Republic. He is regarded as the "utak ng himagsikan" or "brain of the revolution" and is also considered as a national hero in the Philippines. Mabini's work and thoughts on the government shaped the Philippines' fight for independence over the next century. Read more
• 13 May 1885: Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician, pathologist, and anatomist (born 1809) Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist, and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay, "On Miasma and Contagia," was an early argument for the germ theory of disease. He was an important figure in the development of modern medicine. Read more
• 13 May 1884: Cyrus McCormick, American businessman, co-founded the International Harvester Company (born 1809) Cyrus Hall McCormick was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, he and many members of the McCormick family became prominent residents of Chicago. Read more
• 13 May 1878: Joseph Henry, American physicist and academic (born 1797) Joseph Henry was an American physicist and inventor who served as the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the secretary for the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smithsonian Institution. He also served as president of the National Academy of Sciences from 1868 to 1878. Read more
• 13 May 1866: Nikolai Brashman, Czech-Russian mathematician and academic (born 1796) Nikolai Dmitrievich Brashman was a Russian mathematician of Jewish-Austrian origin. He was a student of Joseph Johann Littrow, and the advisor of Pafnuty Chebyshev and August Davidov. Read more
• 13 May 1836: John Littlejohn, American sheriff and Methodist preacher (born 1756) John Littlejohn was an English-born American tradesman, Methodist preacher and politician. Born in Penrith, Cumberland, he briefly attended trade school in London before returning to Penrith. When Littlejohn was around twelve years old, he immigrated to British America to pursue various apprenticeships under tradesmen in Virginia and Maryland. While not particularly religious as a youth, he was inspired by Methodist revivalist sermons and began service as a circuit rider in 1776, after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Read more
• 13 May 1835: John Nash, English architect, designed the Royal Pavilion (born 1752) John Nash was a British architect of the Georgian and Regency eras. He was responsible for the design, in the neoclassical and picturesque styles, of many important areas of London. His designs were financed by the Prince Regent and by the era's most successful property developer, James Burton. Nash also collaborated extensively with Burton's son, Decimus Burton. Read more
• 13 May 1832: Georges Cuvier, French zoologist and academic (born 1769) Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier, known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in natural sciences research in the early 19th century and was instrumental in establishing the fields of comparative anatomy and paleontology through his work in comparing living animals with fossils. Read more
• 13 May 1809: Beilby Porteus, English bishop (born 1731) Beilby Porteus, successively Bishop of Chester and of London, was a Church of England reformer and a leading abolitionist in England. He was the first Anglican in a position of authority to seriously challenge the Church's position on slavery. Read more
• 13 May 1807: Eliphalet Dyer, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (born 1721) Eliphalet Dyer was an American lawyer, jurist, and statesman from Windham, Connecticut. He was a delegate for Connecticut to many sessions of the Continental Congress, where he signed the 1774 Continental Association. Read more

Why is 13 May Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 13 May, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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What happened on 13 May in World history?

On 13 May, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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