What are the important events that happened on December 13? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
December 13: Facts & Myths About This Day
December 13 is the 348th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 18 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is November 30, 2024 – a Friday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,734,048,000 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘trihectatetracontaoctagon’ day.
Sagittarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Turquoise is the modern birthstone for this month. Onyx is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 47 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,375 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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December 13 Historical Events
- 1642 –Abel Janszoon Tasman reaches New Zealand.
- 1769 –Dartmouth College is founded by the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, with a Royal Charter from King George III, on land donated by Royal Governor John Wentworth.
- 1809 –Dr. Ephraim McDowell performed the first ovariotomy, removing a 22 pound tumor.
- 1862 –American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats the Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside.
- 1977 –A DC-3 aircraft chartered from the Indianapolis-based National Jet crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 29, including the University of Evansville basketball team, support staff and boosters of the team.
- 1981 –General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland to prevent dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity.
- 1988 –Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat gives a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in the Swiss city of Geneva after the United States authorities refused to give him a visa to enter New York.
- 2000 –The “Texas 7” escape from the John Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas and go on a robbery spree, during which police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot and killed.
- 2001 –The King of Perlis has has sweared and signed the proclamation of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong,thus became the de jure 12th Yang Di-Pertuan Agong,the head of state of Malaysia.He replaced the Sultan of Selangor,whose died in office for five years.
- 2003 –Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit (see Operation Red Dawn).
Who were born on December 13?
- 1797 –Heinrich Heine, German poet (d. 1856)
- 1856 –Svetozar Boroević, Austro-Hungarian field marshal (d. 1920)
- 1917 –John Hart, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1950 –Tom Vilsack, 40th Governor of Iowa and 30th United States Secretary of Agriculture
- 1953 –Ben Bernanke, American economist and current United States Chairman of the Federal Reserve
- 1966 –Don Roff, American writer and filmmaker
- 1977 –Sascha Kindred, British Paralympic swimmer
- 1980 –Patrik Antonius, Finnish poker player
- 1985 –Alby Mathewson, New Zealand rugby player
- 1985 –Michael Bumpus, American football player
Who died on December 13?
- 1565 –Conrad Gessner, Swiss naturalist (b. 1516)
- 1603 –Franciscus Vieta, French mathematician (b. 1540)
- 1721 –Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor and castaway (b. 1676)
- 1783 –Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, Swedish astronomer (b. 1717)
- 1784 –Samuel Johnson, English writer and lexicographer (b. 1709)
- 1881 –August Senoa, Croatian writer (b. 1838)
- 1969 –Spencer Williams, Jr., American actor (b. 1893)
- 1983 –Alexander Schmemann, Estonian Orthodox Christian priest and theologian (b. 1921)
- 2007 –Floyd Red Crow Westerman, American actor (b. 1936)
- 2010 –Woolly Wolstenholme, British Musician (b. 1947)
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