Did you know
In 1888, With the passage of the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law"), the Empire of Brazil abolishes slavery. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
May 13 in History
1888 — With the passage of the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law"), the Empire of Brazil abolishes slavery
May 13 spans 59 recorded events across recorded history, from 535 to 2014. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
59 events
535 – 2014
Today in history
More major events on May 13
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1948 Arab–Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre occurs, a day prior to the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Source
- 1862 Southern slave Robert Smalls steals the steamboat Planter, spirits it through Confederate lines and hands it to the United States Navy, who quickly commission it as the gunboat USS Planter and appoint Smalls as captain, thus making him the first black man to command a United States ship. Source
- 1858 Montenegrin forces under Grand Duke Mirko Petrović-Njegoš defeat an Ottoman army under Hussein Pasha in the battle of Grahovac. The battle is a significant step towards formal independence and quickly becomes a part of national folklore. Source
Did you know
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
The empire's government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Pedro I and his son Pedro II. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
A colony of the Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil became the seat of the Portuguese Empire in 1808, when the Portuguese Prince regent, later King Dom John VI, fled from Napoleon's invasion of Portugal and established himself and his government in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
John VI later returned to Portugal, leaving his eldest son and heir-apparent, Pedro, to rule the Kingdom of Brazil as regent. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
535
Election of pope Agapetus I following the death of pope John II earlier that month.
Head of the Catholic Church from 535 to 536
1110
Baldwin I of Jerusalem captures the city of Beirut from the Fatimid Caliphate with the help of a Genoese fleet.
King of Jerusalem from 1100 to 1118
1344
A Latin Christian fleet defeats a Turkish fleet in the battle of Pallene during the Smyrniote crusades.
Largest autonomous particular Catholic church
1373
Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book Revelations of Divine Love.
English anchoress (c. 1343 – after 1416)
1501
Amerigo Vespucci, this time under Portuguese flag, sets sail for western lands.
Italian explorer and navigator (1454–1512)
1568
Mary, Queen of Scots, is defeated at the Battle of Langside, part of the civil war between Queen Mary and the supporters of her son, James VI.
Queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567
1612
Sword duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro on the shores of Ganryū Island.
Kojiro dies at the end.
1619
Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after being convicted of treason.
Dutch statesman and revolutionary (1547–1619)
1654
A Venetian fleet under Admiral Cort Adeler breaks through a line of galleys and defeats the Turkish navy.
Norwegian seaman (1622–1675)
1779
War of the Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war.
In the agreement Austria acquires the Innviertel.
1780
The Cumberland Compact is signed by leaders of the settlers in the Cumberland River area of what would become the U.S.
state of Tennessee, providing for democratic government and a formal system of justice.
1791
The British under Charles Cornwallis defeat a Mysorean army under Tipu Sultan in the battle of Arakere.
British Army officer (1738–1805)
1804
Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derna from the Americans attack the city.
Pasha of Ottoman Tripolitania from 1795 to 1832
1846
Mexican–American War: The United States declares war on the Federal Republic of Mexico following a dispute over the American annexation of the Republic of Texas and a Mexican military incursion.
1846–1848 conflict between Mexico and the United States
1858
Montenegrin forces under Grand Duke Mirko Petrović-Njegoš defeat an Ottoman army under Hussein Pasha in the battle of Grahovac.
The battle is a significant step towards formal independence and quickly becomes a part of national folklore.
1861
American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality" which recognizes the Confederacy as having belligerent rights.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
1861
The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
Great Comet of 1861
1861
Pakistan's (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri.
Pakistani state-owned railway company
1862
Southern slave Robert Smalls steals the steamboat Planter, spirits it through Confederate lines and hands it to the United States Navy, who quickly commission it as the gunboat USS Planter and appoint Smalls as captain, thus making him the first black man to command a United States ship.
Former slave and American politician (1839–1915)
1909
The first edition of the Giro d'Italia, a long-distance multiple-stage bicycle race, begins in Milan; the Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna was the eventual winner.
Cycling race
1912
The Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.
Former air warfare service of the British Army
1917
Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal.
Title for Mary, mother of Jesus
1940
World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins, as the German army crosses the Meuse.
Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons.
1943
World War II: Operations Vulcan and Strike force the surrender of the last Axis troops in Tunisia.
1943 final battles of Tunisian campaign
1945
World War II: Yevgeny Khaldei's photograph Raising a Flag over the Reichstag is published in Ogonyok magazine.
Soviet photojournalist (1917–1997)
1948
Arab–Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre occurs, a day prior to the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
Second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war
1949
Aeroflot Flight 17 crashes on approach to Severny Airport in Novosibirsk, killing 25.
Airport in Novosibirsk, Russia
1950
The inaugural Formula One World Championship race takes place at Silverstone Circuit.
The race was won by Giuseppe Farina, who would go on to become the inaugural champion that year.
1951
The 400th anniversary of the founding of the National University of San Marcos is commemorated by the opening of the first large-capacity stadium in Peru.
Public university in Lima, Peru
1952
The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.
Upper house of the Indian Parliament
1954
The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place.
1954 civil unrest in Singapore
1958
During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, the US Vice President Richard Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
Capital and largest city of Venezuela
1958
May 1958 crisis: A group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.
Political crisis in France during the Algerian War of Independence
1958
Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.
Australian adventurer (1912–1981)
1960
Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Public university in Berkeley, California
1967
Dr.
Zakir Husain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, 1969.
1969
In the aftermath of the 1969 Malaysian general election, Sino-Malay sectarian violence erupts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
1972
A fire occurs in the Sennichi Department Store in Osaka, Japan.
Blocked exits and non-functional elevators result in 118 fatalities (many victims leaping to their deaths).
1972
The Troubles: A car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army.
Seven people are killed and over 66 injured.
1980
An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.
1981
Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St.
Peter's Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.
1985
Police bomb MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia, killing six adults and five children, and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.
1985 aerial bombing by police in Philadelphia
1989
Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
Student-led demonstrations in China
1990
The Dinamo–Red Star riot takes place at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia, between the Bad Blue Boys (fans of Dinamo Zagreb) and the Delije (fans of Red Star Belgrade).
1990 football riot at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, SR Croatia
1992
Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People's Republic of China.
Chinese religious leader and dissident (born 1951 or 1952)
1995
Alison Hargreaves, a 33-year-old British mother, becomes the first woman to ascend Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.
20th-century British mountain climber (1962–1995)
1996
Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
Storm characterized by lightning
1998
Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped.
1998
India carries out two nuclear weapon tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11.
The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
1999
Kosovo War: NATO bombs the village of Koriša, killing at least 87 people.
1998–1999 armed conflict in the Balkans
2000
A fireworks storage depot explodes in a residential neighborhood in Enschede, Netherlands, killing 23 people and injuring 950 others.
2000 explosion in the Netherlands
2005
Andijan uprising, Uzbekistan: Troops open fire on crowds of protestors after a prison break; at least 187 people were killed according to official estimates.
Violent incident in Andijan, Uzbekistan
2006
São Paulo violence: Rebellions occur in several prisons in Brazil.
Clash between law enforcement officials and criminals in Brazil
2011
Two bombs explode in the Charsadda District of Pakistan killing 98 people and wounding 140 others.
Suicide bombing by Islamist militants in Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
2012
Forty-nine dismembered bodies are discovered by Mexican authorities on Mexican Federal Highway 40.
2012 mass killing by the Los Zetas cartel in Mexico
2013
American physician Kermit Gosnell is found guilty in Pennsylvania of murdering three infants born alive during attempted abortions, involuntary manslaughter of a woman during an abortion procedure, and other charges.
American serial killer (1941–2026)
2014
An explosion at an underground coal mine in southwest Turkey kills 301 miners.
2014 mine fire in Turkey