This Day in History
13 Dec 1294
Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.
13 Dec 1545
Council of Trent (19th ecumenical council) opened by Pope Paul III
13 Dec 1572
Spanish army beats Geuzen fleet (confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles) under admiral Lumey
13 Dec 1621
Emperor Ferdinand II delegates 1st anti-Reformation decree
More History
First export of American furs
Under the care of Robert Cushman the first American furs to be exported from the continent leave for England aboard the Fortune.One month before Cushman and t...
Saddam Hussein captured
After spending nine months on the run former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is captured on this day in 2003. Saddams downfall began on March 20 2003 w...
Tasman discovers New Zealand
Dutch navigator Abel Tasman becomes the first European explorer to sight the South Pacific island group now known as New Zealand. In his sole attempt to land s...
Kenny Rogers’ Greatest Hits goes to #1
Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits which soared all the way to the top of the Billboard 200 pop album chart on this day in 1980 marking Kennys arrival as a crossover ...
The Rape of Nanking
During the Sino-Japanese War Nanking the capital of China falls to Japanese forces and the Chinese government flees to Hankow further inland along the Yang...
Al Gore concedes presidential election
Vice President Al Gore reluctantly concedes defeat to Texas Governor George W. Bush in his bid for the presidency following weeks of legal battles over the rec...
President Wilson makes first U.S. presidential trip to Europe
After nine days at sea aboard the SS George WashingtonWoodrow Wilson arrives at Brest France on December 13 1918 and travels by land to Versailles. There...
Peace negotiations in Paris deadlocked
Peace negotiations are hopelessly deadlocked after a six-hour meeting between North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho and National Security Advisor Henry Kissing...
North Vietnamese commence attack on Phuoc Long Province
North Vietnamese General Tran Van Tra orders 7th Division and the newly formed 3rd Division to attack Phuoc Long Province north of Saigon.This attack represent...
Pistons and Nuggets play record-breaking game
On December 13 1983 the Detroit Pistons defeat the Denver Nuggets by a score of 186-184 in triple overtime in the highest scoring game in the history of the ...
Wilson arrives in France
On this day in 1918 President Woodrow Wilson arrives in France to take part in World War I peace negotiations and to promote his plan for a League of Nations ...
Joseph Walker born in Tennessee
Joseph Reddeford Walker one of the greatest trailblazing mountain men and the first Anglo-American to see Yosemite is born in Tennessee.Although he had little...
Mystery writer Ross Macdonald is born
Detective novelist Kenneth Millar better known by his nom de plume Ross Macdonald was born on this day in 1915 in Los Gatos California. He wrote 24 mystery n...
Dick Van Dyke born
On this day in 1925 Dick Van Dyke the quintessential nice guy actor who would become known for his performances in such movie classics as Mary P...
Soldiers perish in avalanche as World War I rages
A powerful avalanche kills hundreds of Austrian soldiers in a barracks near Italys Mount Marmolada on this day in 1916. Over a period of several days a...
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