April 13 is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 262 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about April 13th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about April 13th in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- International Creative Innovative Day.
- International Pink Day.
- School Librarian Day.
- National Thomas Jefferson Day
- National Scrabble Day
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – April 13
1997: Tiger Woods becomes the youngest ever golfer to win the Masters Tournament
The then 21-year old sportsman was also the first person of African heritage to win a major golf title. Tiger Woods is considered one of the most successful golfers of all time.
1970: An oxygen tank explodes on Apollo 13, leaving the spacecraft crippled
The emergency prompted Jack Swigert’s famous quote “Houston, we’ve had a problem”. The crew managed to return to Earth safely.
1970: Mikis Theodorakis is freed
The Greek composer and politician was interned in the concentration camp of Oropos by the right-wing military junta. The solidarity movement demanding his release included Dmitri Shostakovich, Leonard Bernstein, and Harry Belafonte.
1960: The world’s first satellite navigation system is launched
Transit 1B was primarily used by the U.S. Navy to update the navigation systems aboard their Polaris submarines.
1919: British troops massacre around 400 unarmed civilians in India
Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered his men to shoot into the crowd, in his own words “to punish the Indians for disobedience.” The Indian independence movement grew considerably after the Amritsar massacre.
1951: Donation Drive In America to Buy Wheat For India. India Faced Severe Food Shortage In 1951 ( Photo – Yale Joel )

1945: Britain “SAS” patrol in North Africa during WW2.

1917: A crashed British Plane. Northern France. 1917

1869: The Steam power brake was patented in 1869.
1868: Abyssinian War ends as British and Indian troops capture Magdala and Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II commits suicide in 1868.
1840: A daguerreotype of John Armstrong Jr, 1840. Armstrong was the last surviving delegate to the Continental Congress, dying in 1843. He is the only delegate to have been photographed.

1796: Battle of Millesimo, Italy: Napoleon’s forces defeat the allied armies of Austria and of the Kingdom of Sardinia Piedmont in 1796.
Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, April 13
1963: Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player
1949: Christopher Hitchens, English/American journalist, author
1924: Stanley Donen, American director, choreographer
1906: Samuel Beckett, Irish/French author, playwright, director, Nobel Prize laureate
1743: Thomas Jefferson, American politician, 3rd President of the United States
Thomas Jefferson was born.
Glenn Howerton was born.
Crishtopher Hitchers was born.
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, April 13
2009: Harry Kalas, American sportscaster
1954: Angus Lewis Macdonald, Canadian politician
1938: Grey Owl, English/Canadian environmentalist, author
1882: Bruno Bauer, German historian, philosopher
1868: Tewodros II, of Ethiopia
Milos Formann died.
Tewodros II of Ethiopia died.
John Archibald Wheeler died.