Did you know
In 2008, he finished in second place on the American version of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD).
Notable Deaths on December 13
2022 — Stephen "tWitch" Boss
American dancer and media personality (born 1982)
December 13 has 91 recorded notable deaths across history, from 558 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
91 source records
558 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on December 13
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1962 NASA launches Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit. Source
- 1939 The Battle of the River Plate is fought off the coast of Uruguay; the first naval battle of World War II. The Kriegsmarine's Deutschland-class cruiser (pocket battleship) Admiral Graf Spee engages with three Royal Navy cruisers: HMS Ajax, HMNZS Achilles and HMS Exeter. Source
- 2003 Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit. Source
- 1989 The Troubles: Attack on Derryard checkpoint: The Provisional Irish Republican Army launches an attack on a British Army temporary vehicle checkpoint near Rosslea, Northern Ireland. Two British soldiers are killed and two others are wounded. Source
Did you know
Manuel I, known as the Fortunate, was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521.
Did you know
Donatello's David was the first freestanding nude male sculpture since antiquity; like much of his work, it was commissioned by the Medici family.
Did you know
Grandma Moses began painting in earnest at the age of 78 and is a prominent example of a newly successful art career at an advanced age.
Did you know
Mahmud I, known as Mahmud the Hunchback, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1730 to 1754.
More major people who died on December 13
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1521
Manuel I of Portugal (born 1469)
Manuel I, known as the Fortunate, was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch.
1466
Donatello
Italian painter and sculptor (born 1386)
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, known mononymously as Donatello, was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period.
1961
Grandma Moses
American painter (born 1860)
Anna Mary Robertson Moses, popularly known as Grandma Moses, was an American folk artist. She began painting in earnest at the age of 78 and is a prominent example of a newly successful art career at an advanced age.
1754
Mahmud I
Ottoman sultan (born 1696)
Mahmud I, known as Mahmud the Hunchback, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1730 to 1754. He took over the throne after the quelling of the Patrona Halil rebellion.
1979
Jon Hall
American actor and director (born 1915)
Jon Hall was an American film actor known for playing a variety of adventurous roles, as in 1937's The Hurricane, and later when contracted to Universal Pictures, including Invisible Agent, The Invisible Man's Revenge,…
1565
Conrad Gessner
Swiss botanist and physician (born 1516)
Conrad Gessner was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist.
1979
Behçet Necatigil
Turkish author, poet and translator (born 1916)
Behçet Necatigil, Turkish poet, teacher and translator who is often considered to be one of the most important poets of modern Turkish poetry.
2024
Lorraine O'Grady
American artist (born 1934)
Lorraine O'Grady was an American artist, writer, translator, and critic.
1881
August Šenoa
Croatian author and poet (born 1838)
August Ivan Nepomuk Eduard Šenoa was a Croatian novelist, playwright, poet, and editor.
1960
Dora Marsden
English author and activist (born 1882)
Dora Marsden was an English suffragette, editor of literary journals, and philosopher of language.
2018
Noah Klieger
Holocaust survivor who became an award-winning Israeli journalist (born 1926)
Noah Klieger was an Israeli journalist and sports administrator.
1924
Samuel Gompers
English-born American labor leader, founded the American Federation of Labor (born 1850)
Samuel Gompers was a British-born American cigar maker and labor union leader.
1986
Ella Baker
American activist (born 1903)
Ella Josephine Baker was an African-American civil rights and human rights activist. She was a largely behind-the-scenes organizer whose career spanned more than five decades.
1557
Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia
Italian mathematician and engineer (born 1499)
Nicolo, known as Tartaglia, was an Italian mathematician, engineer, a surveyor and a bookkeeper from the then Republic of Venice.
1986
Smita Patil
Indian actress and journalist (born 1955)
Smita Patil was an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi and Marathi films.
1969
Raymond A. Spruance
American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Philippines (born 1886)
Raymond Ames Spruance was a United States Navy admiral during World War II. He commanded U.S. naval forces during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, one of the most significant naval battles of the Pacific Theatre.
1784
Samuel Johnson
English poet and lexicographer (born 1709)
Samuel Johnson, often called Dr. Johnson, was an English writer and polymath who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer.
1922
Hannes Hafstein
Icelandic poet and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Iceland (born 1861)
Hannes Þórður Pétursson Hafstein was an Icelandic politician and poet.
1945
Josef Kramer
German concentration camp commandant (born 1906)
Josef Kramer was a Hauptsturmführer in the SS and the Commandant of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen Belsen concentration camps.