December 13
1642 - New Zealand is discovered by Dutch navigator Abel Tasman.
1862 - Union forces led by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside launched futile attacks against entrenched Confederate soldiers during the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg; the soundly defeated Northern troops withdrew two days later.
1918 - President Woodrow Wilson arrived in France, becoming the first U.S. president to visit Europe while in office.
1937 - The Chinese city of Nanjing fell to Japanese forces during the Sino-Japanese War; what followed was a massacre of war prisoners, soldiers and citizens. (China maintains that up to 300,000 people were killed; Japanese nationalists say the death toll was far lower.)
1978 - The U.S. Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony dollar, the first American coin honoring a woman.
1981 - The Polish government imposed martial law in an attempt to crush the Solidarity movement. (Martial law formally ended in 1983.)
1989 - South African President F.W. de Klerk met with Nelson Mandela for the first time.
1993 - The space shuttle Endeavour returned from its mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
1996 - Kofi Annan of Ghana was chosen to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations.
2000 - George W. Bush accepted the presidency and his challenger, Al Gore, conceded, 36 days after the election and one day after the U.S. Supreme Court the election recount in Florida.
2001 - The Pentagon publicly released a captured videotape of Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader said the deaths and destruction achieved by the September 11 attacks exceeded his “most optimistic” expectations.
2002 - President George W. Bush announced he would take the smallpox vaccine along with U.S. military forces, but was not recommending the potentially risky inoculation for most Americans.
2003 - American forces captured Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was hiding in a hole near his hometown of Tikrit.
2013 - North Korea’s state-run media announced the execution the day before of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle Jang Song Thaek, portraying him as a morally corrupt traitor.
2014 - Thousands of protesters marched in New York, Washington and other U.S. cities to call attention to the killing of unarmed Black men by white police officers who faced no criminal charges.
2019 - The House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment accusing President Donald Trump of abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstruction of Congress in the investigation that followed.
2020 - The first vials of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 began making their way to distribution sites across the United States.
2022 - President Joe Biden signed gay marriage legislation, saying “the law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms.”
Birthdays
20 - Maisy Stella (actress)
28 - Emma Corrin (actress)
34 - Taylor Swift (singer)
34 - Katherine Schwarzenegger (author)
35 - Marcel Spears (actor)
36 - Michael Socha (actor)
42 - Amy Lee (singer)
42 - Chelsea Hertford (actress)
44 - Kimee Balmilero (actress)
48 - James Kyson Lee (actor)
49 - Debbie Matenopoulos (TV host)
52 - Jeffrey Pierce (actor)
53 - Bart Johnson (actor)
56 - Jamie Foxx (actor/comedian)
57 - NeNe Leakes (actress)
64 - Johnny Whitaker (actor)
66 - Steve Buscemi (actor)
69 - John Anderson (singer)
73 - Wendie Malick (actress)
74 - Robert Lindsay (actor)
75 - Ted Nugent (singer)
78 - Kathy Garver (actress)
82 - John Davidson (singer)
98 - Dick Van Dyke (actor/comedian)
========================================
Today in Sports History - December 13
1931 - The Green Bay Packers win their third consecutive NFL championship game.
1936 - The Redskins played their last game in Boston, in a 21-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game. The next season the Redskins began playing in Washington, DC.
1942 - The Washington Redskins defeat the Chicago Bears 14-6 in the NFL Championship Game.
1949 - The American League rejected a revival of the spitball, which had been outlawed since 1920.
1956 - Jackie Robinson (Los Angeles Dodgers) was traded to the Giants for pitcher Dick Littlefield and $35,000. Robinson retired instead of accepting the trade.
1966 - The rights to the first four Super Bowls were sold to CBS and NBC for a total of $9.5 million.
1977 - Fourteen members of the University of Evansville men's basketball team die in a plane crash.
1983 - An NBA record was set when the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets played a triple overtime that resulted in Pistons winning 186-184.
1995 - Paul Coffey (Detroit Red Wings) became the first NHL defenseman to reach 1,000 career points.
1997 - Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson wins the Heisman Trophy.
1998 - Gary Anderson (Minnesota Vikings) kicked six field goals against Baltimore. In the game Anderson set an NFL record for 34 straight field goals without a miss.
1998 - Marshall Faulk set a new Colts record for total yards from scrimmage in a season with 2,090. The record had been held by Eric Dickerson with 2,036.
1999 - Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne wins the Heisman Trophy.
2003 - Oklahoma quarterback Jason White wins the Heisman Trophy.
2007 - Major League Baseball’s Mitchell Report was released, identifying 85 names to differing degrees in connection with the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.
2010 - The New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings played at Detroit's Ford Field. The game was moved due to the collapse of the inflatable roof at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Mall of America Stadium the previous day.
2010 - Auburn quarterback Cam Newton wins the Heisman Trophy.
2014 - Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota wins the Heisman Trophy.
2015 - Alabama running back Derrick Henry wins the Heisman Trophy.
2018 - Dirk Nowitzki begins his record 21st season in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, surpassing Kobe Bryant's 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers.
2022 - Washington Capitals center Alex Ovechekin scores his 800th career NHL goal, becoming just the third player in NHL history to achieve the feat, joining Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe.
1642 - New Zealand is discovered by Dutch navigator Abel Tasman.
1862 - Union forces led by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside launched futile attacks against entrenched Confederate soldiers during the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg; the soundly defeated Northern troops withdrew two days later.
1918 - President Woodrow Wilson arrived in France, becoming the first U.S. president to visit Europe while in office.
1937 - The Chinese city of Nanjing fell to Japanese forces during the Sino-Japanese War; what followed was a massacre of war prisoners, soldiers and citizens. (China maintains that up to 300,000 people were killed; Japanese nationalists say the death toll was far lower.)
1978 - The U.S. Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony dollar, the first American coin honoring a woman.
1981 - The Polish government imposed martial law in an attempt to crush the Solidarity movement. (Martial law formally ended in 1983.)
1989 - South African President F.W. de Klerk met with Nelson Mandela for the first time.
1993 - The space shuttle Endeavour returned from its mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
1996 - Kofi Annan of Ghana was chosen to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations.
2000 - George W. Bush accepted the presidency and his challenger, Al Gore, conceded, 36 days after the election and one day after the U.S. Supreme Court the election recount in Florida.
2001 - The Pentagon publicly released a captured videotape of Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader said the deaths and destruction achieved by the September 11 attacks exceeded his “most optimistic” expectations.
2002 - President George W. Bush announced he would take the smallpox vaccine along with U.S. military forces, but was not recommending the potentially risky inoculation for most Americans.
2003 - American forces captured Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was hiding in a hole near his hometown of Tikrit.
2013 - North Korea’s state-run media announced the execution the day before of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle Jang Song Thaek, portraying him as a morally corrupt traitor.
2014 - Thousands of protesters marched in New York, Washington and other U.S. cities to call attention to the killing of unarmed Black men by white police officers who faced no criminal charges.
2019 - The House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment accusing President Donald Trump of abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstruction of Congress in the investigation that followed.
2020 - The first vials of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 began making their way to distribution sites across the United States.
2022 - President Joe Biden signed gay marriage legislation, saying “the law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms.”
Birthdays
20 - Maisy Stella (actress)
28 - Emma Corrin (actress)
34 - Taylor Swift (singer)
34 - Katherine Schwarzenegger (author)
35 - Marcel Spears (actor)
36 - Michael Socha (actor)
42 - Amy Lee (singer)
42 - Chelsea Hertford (actress)
44 - Kimee Balmilero (actress)
48 - James Kyson Lee (actor)
49 - Debbie Matenopoulos (TV host)
52 - Jeffrey Pierce (actor)
53 - Bart Johnson (actor)
56 - Jamie Foxx (actor/comedian)
57 - NeNe Leakes (actress)
64 - Johnny Whitaker (actor)
66 - Steve Buscemi (actor)
69 - John Anderson (singer)
73 - Wendie Malick (actress)
74 - Robert Lindsay (actor)
75 - Ted Nugent (singer)
78 - Kathy Garver (actress)
82 - John Davidson (singer)
98 - Dick Van Dyke (actor/comedian)
========================================
Today in Sports History - December 13
1931 - The Green Bay Packers win their third consecutive NFL championship game.
1936 - The Redskins played their last game in Boston, in a 21-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game. The next season the Redskins began playing in Washington, DC.
1942 - The Washington Redskins defeat the Chicago Bears 14-6 in the NFL Championship Game.
1949 - The American League rejected a revival of the spitball, which had been outlawed since 1920.
1956 - Jackie Robinson (Los Angeles Dodgers) was traded to the Giants for pitcher Dick Littlefield and $35,000. Robinson retired instead of accepting the trade.
1966 - The rights to the first four Super Bowls were sold to CBS and NBC for a total of $9.5 million.
1977 - Fourteen members of the University of Evansville men's basketball team die in a plane crash.
1983 - An NBA record was set when the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets played a triple overtime that resulted in Pistons winning 186-184.
1995 - Paul Coffey (Detroit Red Wings) became the first NHL defenseman to reach 1,000 career points.
1997 - Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson wins the Heisman Trophy.
1998 - Gary Anderson (Minnesota Vikings) kicked six field goals against Baltimore. In the game Anderson set an NFL record for 34 straight field goals without a miss.
1998 - Marshall Faulk set a new Colts record for total yards from scrimmage in a season with 2,090. The record had been held by Eric Dickerson with 2,036.
1999 - Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne wins the Heisman Trophy.
2003 - Oklahoma quarterback Jason White wins the Heisman Trophy.
2007 - Major League Baseball’s Mitchell Report was released, identifying 85 names to differing degrees in connection with the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.
2010 - The New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings played at Detroit's Ford Field. The game was moved due to the collapse of the inflatable roof at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Mall of America Stadium the previous day.
2010 - Auburn quarterback Cam Newton wins the Heisman Trophy.
2014 - Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota wins the Heisman Trophy.
2015 - Alabama running back Derrick Henry wins the Heisman Trophy.
2018 - Dirk Nowitzki begins his record 21st season in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, surpassing Kobe Bryant's 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers.
2022 - Washington Capitals center Alex Ovechekin scores his 800th career NHL goal, becoming just the third player in NHL history to achieve the feat, joining Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe.
