Today In History [13th August, 2015]

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

Today in History
August 13

1521		Cortes captures the city of Tenochtitlan, Mexico, and sets it on fire.
1630		Emperor Ferdinand II dismisses Albert Eusebius van Wallenstein, his most capable general.
1680		War starts when the Spanish are expelled from Santa Fe, New Mexico, by Indians under Chief Pope.
1704		The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Austria defeat the French Army at the Battle of Blenheim.
1787		The Ottoman Empire declares war on Russia.
1862		Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest defeats a Union army under Thomas Crittenden at Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
1881		The first African-American nursing school opens at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
1889		The first coin-operated telephone is patented by William Gray.
1892		The first issue of the Afro American newspaper is published in Baltimore, Maryland.
1898		Manila, the capital of the Philippines, falls to the U.S. Army.
1910		British nurse Florence Nightingale, famous for her care of British soldiers during the Crimean War, dies.
1932		Adolf Hitler refuses to serve as Franz Von Papen’s vice chancellor.
1948		During the Berlin Airlift, the weather over Berlin becomes so stormy that American planes have their most difficult day landing supplies. They deem it ‘Black Friday.’
1961		Construction begins on Berlin Wall during the night.
1963		A 17 year-old Buddhist monk burns himself to death in Saigon, South Vietnam.
1978		Bomb attack in Beirut during Second Lebanese Civil War kills more than 150 people.
1989		The wreckage of a plane that carried U.S. congressman Mickey Leland and others on a humanitarian mission is found on a mountain side in Ethiopia; there are no survivors.
1993		US Court of Appeals rules Congress must save all emails.
Born on August 13
1655		Johann Christoph Denner, inventor of the clarinet.
1818		Lucy Stone, woman’s rights activist, founder of Woman’s Journal.
1860		Phoebe Anne Moses, later known as Annie Oakley, a sharpshooter and entertainer.
1899		Alfred Hitchcock, director of over 50 films including Rebecca, Rear Window, Psycho and North by Northwest.
1902		Felix Wankel, inventory of the rotary engine which bears his name.
1912		Ben Hogan, American golfer.
1916		Daniel Schorr, radio and television correspondent.
1926		Fidel Castro, Cuban revolutionary leader and president.
1930		Don Ho, Hawaii’s best-known musician and singer ("Tiny Bubbles").
1933		Jocelyn Elders, first African American US Surgeon General (Sept 1993–Dec 1994).
1940		Ann Armstrong Daily, founder of Children’s Hospice international.
1942		Robert Lee Stewart, US Army brigadier general and astronaut.
1951		Dan Fogelberg, multiple-platinum singer-songwriter.
1952		Herb Ritts, photographer who revolutionized fashion photography in the 1980s and created many iconic photos of celebrities.