August 13
1521 - After a three-month siege, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City) fell to the Spanish conquistadors, marking the end of one empire and the rise of another.
1704 - The Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces.
1846 - The American flag was raised in Los Angeles for the first time.
1868 - A series of earthquakes killed an estimated 25,000 people in Peru and Ecuador.
1889 - William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut, received a patent for a coin-operated telephone.
1899 - Movie director Alfred Hitchcock was born in London.
1906 - An all-black army unit was accused of a shooting rampage that left one civilian dead at Fort Brown in Brownsville, Texas. (In 1972, they were all exonerated.)
1910 - Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, died in London at age 90.
1932 - Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vice-chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out "for all or nothing."
1942 - Disney's animated feature Bambi opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
1960 - The first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1, a balloon satellite.
1961 - East Germany sealed off the border between Berlin’s eastern and western sectors before building a wall that would divide the city for the next 28 years.
1981 - President Ronald Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions.
2003 - Libya agreed to set up a $2.7 billion fund for families of 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Am bombing.
2003 - Iraq began pumping crude oil from its northern oil fields for the first time since the start of the war.
2004 - TV chef Julia Child died in Montecito, California, two days short of her 92nd birthday.
2011 - Seven people were killed when a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair during a powerful storm just before a concert was to begin.
2011 - In Republican presidential politics, Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Cockeye straw poll and Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared his candidacy.
2011 - In eastern Pakistan, al-Qaida gunmen kidnapped an American development expert, Warren Weinstein. (Weinstein was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Jan. 2015.)
2016 - Violence erupted in Milwaukee following the fatal shooting of Sylville Smith, a 23-year-old Black man, by a Black police officer, Dominique Heaggan-Brown, who was later acquitted of first-degree reckless homicide.
2017 - In a statement, the White House said President Donald Trump “very strongly” condemned individual hate groups such as “white supremacists, KKK and neo-Nazis;” the statement followed criticism of Trump for blaming the previous day’s deadly violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on “many sides.”
2020 - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he was dropping a lawsuit against the city of Atlanta over the city’s requirement to wear masks in public and other coronavirus restrictions; Kemp had sought to block local governments from requiring that masks be worn.
2020 - Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced that they were establishing full diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by the U.S.; it required Israel to halt its plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by the Palestinians.
Birthdays
22 - Lennon Stella (actress/singer)
29 - Erika Henningsen (actress)
31 - DeMarcus Cousins (basketball player)
36 - Ray Diaz (actor)
37 - James Morrison (singer)
39 - Sebastian Stan (actor)
42 - Kathryn Fiore (actress)
45 - Gregory Fitoussi (actor)
48 - Andy Griggs (country singer)
54 - Quinn Cummings (actress)
57 - Debi Mazar (actress)
59 - John Slattery (actor)
60 - Sam Champion (TV weatherman)
62 - Danny Bonaduce (actor)
66 - Betsy King (golfer)
72 - Bobby Clarke (hockey player)
77 - Kevin Tighe (actor)
=========================================
Today in Sports History - August 13
1948 - The United States successfully defends its Olympic basketball title with a 65-21 win over France at the London Games.
1963 - Warren Spahn sets the MLB career record for strikeouts by a lefty with 2,382.
1969 - Bowie Kuhn is elected the next commissioner of MLB.
1979 - Lou Brock becomes the 14th player in MLB history to record 3,000 career hits.
1986 - United States Football League standout Herschel Walker signed to play with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.
1988 - The Boston Red Sox win an American League record 24th straight home game.
1995 - Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died of liver cancer at age 63.
2004 - The Summer Olympic Games opened in Athens, Greece.
2006 - Cleveland Indians first baseman Travis Hafner ties Don Mattingley's MLB mark of 6 grand slams in a season when he homers off Kansas City's Luke Hudson.
2008 - U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won his 11th career gold medal, becoming the first athlete in Olympic history to do so.
2016 - Michael Phelps closed out the Rio Olympics and his Olympic career with another gold medal, the 23rd of his career.
1521 - After a three-month siege, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City) fell to the Spanish conquistadors, marking the end of one empire and the rise of another.
1704 - The Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces.
1846 - The American flag was raised in Los Angeles for the first time.
1868 - A series of earthquakes killed an estimated 25,000 people in Peru and Ecuador.
1889 - William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut, received a patent for a coin-operated telephone.
1899 - Movie director Alfred Hitchcock was born in London.
1906 - An all-black army unit was accused of a shooting rampage that left one civilian dead at Fort Brown in Brownsville, Texas. (In 1972, they were all exonerated.)
1910 - Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, died in London at age 90.
1932 - Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vice-chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out "for all or nothing."
1942 - Disney's animated feature Bambi opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
1960 - The first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1, a balloon satellite.
1961 - East Germany sealed off the border between Berlin’s eastern and western sectors before building a wall that would divide the city for the next 28 years.
1981 - President Ronald Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions.
2003 - Libya agreed to set up a $2.7 billion fund for families of 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Am bombing.
2003 - Iraq began pumping crude oil from its northern oil fields for the first time since the start of the war.
2004 - TV chef Julia Child died in Montecito, California, two days short of her 92nd birthday.
2011 - Seven people were killed when a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair during a powerful storm just before a concert was to begin.
2011 - In Republican presidential politics, Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Cockeye straw poll and Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared his candidacy.
2011 - In eastern Pakistan, al-Qaida gunmen kidnapped an American development expert, Warren Weinstein. (Weinstein was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Jan. 2015.)
2016 - Violence erupted in Milwaukee following the fatal shooting of Sylville Smith, a 23-year-old Black man, by a Black police officer, Dominique Heaggan-Brown, who was later acquitted of first-degree reckless homicide.
2017 - In a statement, the White House said President Donald Trump “very strongly” condemned individual hate groups such as “white supremacists, KKK and neo-Nazis;” the statement followed criticism of Trump for blaming the previous day’s deadly violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on “many sides.”
2020 - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he was dropping a lawsuit against the city of Atlanta over the city’s requirement to wear masks in public and other coronavirus restrictions; Kemp had sought to block local governments from requiring that masks be worn.
2020 - Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced that they were establishing full diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by the U.S.; it required Israel to halt its plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by the Palestinians.
Birthdays
22 - Lennon Stella (actress/singer)
29 - Erika Henningsen (actress)
31 - DeMarcus Cousins (basketball player)
36 - Ray Diaz (actor)
37 - James Morrison (singer)
39 - Sebastian Stan (actor)
42 - Kathryn Fiore (actress)
45 - Gregory Fitoussi (actor)
48 - Andy Griggs (country singer)
54 - Quinn Cummings (actress)
57 - Debi Mazar (actress)
59 - John Slattery (actor)
60 - Sam Champion (TV weatherman)
62 - Danny Bonaduce (actor)
66 - Betsy King (golfer)
72 - Bobby Clarke (hockey player)
77 - Kevin Tighe (actor)
=========================================
Today in Sports History - August 13
1948 - The United States successfully defends its Olympic basketball title with a 65-21 win over France at the London Games.
1963 - Warren Spahn sets the MLB career record for strikeouts by a lefty with 2,382.
1969 - Bowie Kuhn is elected the next commissioner of MLB.
1979 - Lou Brock becomes the 14th player in MLB history to record 3,000 career hits.
1986 - United States Football League standout Herschel Walker signed to play with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.
1988 - The Boston Red Sox win an American League record 24th straight home game.
1995 - Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died of liver cancer at age 63.
2004 - The Summer Olympic Games opened in Athens, Greece.
2006 - Cleveland Indians first baseman Travis Hafner ties Don Mattingley's MLB mark of 6 grand slams in a season when he homers off Kansas City's Luke Hudson.
2008 - U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won his 11th career gold medal, becoming the first athlete in Olympic history to do so.
2016 - Michael Phelps closed out the Rio Olympics and his Olympic career with another gold medal, the 23rd of his career.
