Discover what happened on April 13 in history, along with notable events that shaped sports, space exploration, and cultural milestones.
What Happened on April 13 in History?
From a life-threatening crisis in space to a historic win at Augusta and a groundbreaking Oscar moment, April 13 highlights major achievements and dramatic turning points.
APRIL 13 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1782 – Washington, NC, was incorporated as the first town to be named for George Washington.
1796 – The first elephant to arrive in the United States came from Bengal, India.
1808 – William “Juda” Henry Lane perfected the tap dance.
1860 – The first mail was delivered via Pony Express when a westbound rider arrived in Sacremento, CA from St. Joseph, MO.
1861 – After 34 hours of bombardment, the Union-held Fort Sumter surrendered to Confederates.
1870 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in New York, NY.
1902 – James C. Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer, WY.
1916 – The first hybrid, seed corn was purchased for 15 cents a bushel by Samuel Ramsay.
1933 – The first flight over Mount Everest was completed by Lord Clydesdale.
1941 – It was a warm spring day in Michigan. Temperatures reached the 80s across lower Michigan. Record highs were set in Detroit (at 87°) and Lansing (at 82°). Grand Rapids set a record high temperature when the thermometer hit 80°.
1942 – A German U-Boat was sunk off the coast of North Carolina.
1943 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC, on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson’s birth.
1949 – Philip S. Hench and associates announced that cortizone was an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
1954 – Baseball player Hank Aaron debuted with the Milwaukee Braves.
1954 – Ernie Harwell made his debut as the announcer for the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, MI.
1960 – The first navigational satellite, Transit 1-B, was launched into Earth’s orbit.
1962 – In the U.S., major steel companies rescinded announced price increases. The John F. Kennedy administration had been applying pressure against the price increases.
1963 – Baseball player Pete Rose, of the Cincinnati Reds, got his first hit in the major leagues.
1964 – Sidney Poitier became the first black actor to win an Oscar for Best Actor. It was for his role in the movie “Lilies of the Field.”
1970 – An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 exploded, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the spacecraft while en route to the Moon. The explosion prevented a planned Moon landing.
1972 – The first player strike in the history of major league baseball ended. Players had walked off the field 13 days earlier.
1974 – Western Union, in cooperation with NASA and Hughes Aircraft, launched the United States’ first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1.
1976 – The U.S. Treasury Department reintroduced the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday as part of the U.S. Bicentennial celebration.
1979 – The world’s longest doubles ping-pong match ended after 101 hours.
1981 – Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke received a Pulitzer Prize for her feature about an 8-year-old heroin addict named “Jimmy.” Cooke relinquished the prize two days later after admitting she had fabricated the story.
1985 – The single “We Are the World” hit #1 in the U.S.
1985 – “The Grand Ole Opry” debuted on television.
1992 – The Great Chicago Flood devastated much of central Chicago, IL.
1997 – Tiger Woods became the youngest person to win the Masters Tournament at the age of 21. He also set a record when he finished at 18 under par.
1998 – NationsBank and BankAmerica announced a $62.5 billion merger, creating the country’s first coast-to-coast bank.
1998 – Dolly, the world’s first cloned sheep, gave natural birth to a healthy baby lamb.
1998 – The television show “The Love Boat” sets sail again, with Robert Urich (replacing Gavin MacLeod) at the helm as Captain Jim Kennedy III.
1999 – In Pontiac, MI, Jack Kervorkian was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for the second-degree murder of Thomas Youk. Youk’s assisted suicide was videotaped and shown on “60 Minutes” in 1998.
2000 – Richard Gordon was charged with trying to extort $250,000 from comedian Louie Anderson in exchange for not telling the tabloid media about Anderson once asking him for sex. Gordon was held without bail pending a court hearing.
2000 – Metallica filed suit against Napster, the University of Southern California, Yale University and Indiana University for copyright infringement, unlawful use of digital audio interface device and violations of the Racketeering Influenced & Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
2005 – American terrorist Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to the bombings at the 1996 Olympics, a gay club and a family planning clinic in Atlanta, GA, and an abortion clinic in Birmingham, AL. Rudolph was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences.
2020 – The U.S. Treasury Department began sending out $1,200 stimulus checks that were part of President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 CARES Act.
2021 – Voice actor Hank Azaria apologized for voicing Indian character Apu on “The Simpsons” for 30 years.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON APRIL 13:
Ruby Puryear Hearn – 86 years old (1940) – African-American biophysicist
Michael Stuart Brown – 85 years old (1941) – Geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Bill Conti – 84 years old (1942) – Composer and conductor
Susan Davis – 82 years old (1944) – Russian-American social worker and politician
Al Green – 80 years old (1946) – Singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor
Rae Armantrout – 79 years old (1947) – Poet and academic
Ron Perlman – 76 years old (1950) – Actor
William Sadler – 76 years old (1950) – Actor
Peabo Bryson – 75 years old (1951) – Singer
Max Weinberg – 75 years old (1951) – Musician and bandleader
Sam Bush – 74 years old (1952) – Mandolinist
Steve Camp – 71 years old (1955) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Davis Love III – 62 years old (1964) – Golfer and sportscaster
Dana Barros – 59 years old (1967) – Basketball player and coach
Michael Eisen – 59 years old (1967) – Biologist and academic
Ricky Schroder – 56 years old (1970) – Actor
Bo Outlaw – 55 years old (1971) – Basketball player
Aaron Lewis – 54 years old (1972) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Bokeem Woodbine – 53 years old (1973) – Actor
Dan Campbell – 50 years old (1976) – Football player and coach
Glenn Howerton – 50 years old (1976) – Actor
Baron Davis – 47 years old (1979) – Basketball player
Kelli Giddish – 46 years old (1980) – Actress
Quentin Richardson – 46 years old (1980) – Basketball player
Nellie McKay – 44 years old (1982) – British-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress
Ty Dolla Sign – 44 years old (1982) – Singer, songwriter, and musician
Hunter Pence – 43 years old (1983) – Baseball player
Lorenzo Cain – 40 years old (1986) – Baseball player
John-Allison Weiss – 39 years old (1987) – Singer-songwriter
Allison Williams – 38 years old (1988) – Actress and singer
Josh Gordon – 35 years old (1991) – Football player
Melvin Gordon – 33 years old (1993) – Football player
Darrun Hilliard – 33 years old (1993) – Basketball player
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR APRIL 13:
Today's special observances are temporarily unavailable. Please check back soon.
For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
