August 13 in History

Historical Events on August 13

1779 American Revolutionary War: The Royal Navy defeats the Penobscot Expedition with the most significant loss of United States naval forces prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

1889 William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut is granted United States Patent Number 408,709 for "Coin-controlled apparatus for telephones." [1]

1898 Spanish-American War: Spanish and American forces engage in a mock battle for Manila, after which the Spanish commander surrendered in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.

1920 Polish-Soviet War: The Battle of Warsaw begins and will last till August 25. The Red Army is defeated.

1944 World War II: German troops begin the pillage and razing of Anogeia in Crete that would continue until September 5.

1961 East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West, and construction of the Berlin Wall is started.[2]

1969 The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker tape parade in New York City.[3] That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.[4]

1978 One hundred fifty Palestinians in Beirut are killed in a terrorist attack during the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War.

2004 One hundred fifty-six Congolese Tutsi refugees are massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.

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Famous Birthdays on August 13

1899 Alfred Hitchcock

1926 Fidel Castro

1970 Alan Shearer

1974 Joe Perry (snooker player)

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Famous Deaths on August 13

1910 Florence Nightingale

1946 H. G. Wells

1995 Mickey Mantle

2009 Les Paul

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