What happened today December 13th?

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Events
1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months; Celestine hoped to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.
1545 - Council of Trent begins.
1577 - Sir Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.
1636 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. This organization is recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard.
1642 - Abel Janszoon Tasman reaches New Zealand.
1643 - English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire.
1769 - Dartmouth College founded by the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, with a Royal Charter from King George III, on land donated by Royal Governor John Wentworth.
1862 - American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats the Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside.
1937 - Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanjing - Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese.
1938 - The Holocaust: 100 deportees from Sachsenhausen build the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg.
1939 - World War II: Battle of the River Plate - Captain Hans Langsdorff of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee engages with Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles.
1941 - World War II: Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States.
1949 - The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel to Jerusalem.
1959 - Archbishop Makarios becomes the first President of Cyprus.
1973 - Rael, leader of the Raelian Movement claims to meet an ET he says is named Yahweh, during an alleged UFO encounter in Puy de Lassolas, France.
1974 - Malta becomes a republic.
1974 - The Detroit Wheels of the WFL are established.
1977 - A United States government aircraft DC-3 crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 29, including the University of Evansville basketball team.
1978 - The first Susan B. Anthony dollar enters circulation.
1979 - The Canadian Government of Prime Minister Joe Clark is defeated in the House of Commons, prompting the 1980 Canadian election.
1981 - General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland to prevent dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity.
1989 - The last issue of Gnistan (The Spark), the organ of the Solidaritetspartiet, is published in Sweden.
1996 - Kofi Annan is elected as Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2000 - The "Texas 7" escape from the John Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas and go on a robbery spree, during which police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot and killed.
2000 - American Vice President Al Gore delivers his concession speech ending his hopes of becoming the 43rd President of the United States.
2001 - the Indian Parliament Sansad is attacked by Terrorists, killing 15 people, including all the terrorists. Tensions escalate in South Asia, with nuclear war likelihoods.
2002 - Enlargement of the European Union: The European Union announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia will become members from May 1, 2004.
2003 - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit (see Operation Red Dawn).
2003 - In the most-attended basketball game in history, 78,129 watch Michigan State University lose 79-74 to the University of Kentucky at Ford Field.
2004 - Former Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet is put under house arrest, after being sued under accusations over 9 kidnapping actions and manslaughter. The house arrest is lifted the same day on appeal.

Births
1521 - Pope Sixtus V (d. 1590)
1533 - King Eric XIV of Sweden (d. 1577)
1553 - King Henry IV of France (d. 1610)
1585 - William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (d. 1649)
1640 - Robert Plot, English naturalist (d. 1696)
1662 - Francesco Bianchini, Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1729)
1678 - Yongzheng Emperor of China (d. 1735)
1720 - Carlo Gozzi, Italian dramatist (d. 1804
1724 - Franz Aepinus, German scientist (d. 1802)
1784 - Archduke Louis of Austria (d. 1864)
1797 - Heinrich Heine, German poet (d. 1856)
1804 - Joseph Howe, Canadian politician (d. 1873)
1813 - David Spangler Kaufman, American politician (d. 1851)
1816 - Ernst Werner von Siemens, German engineer, inventor, and industrialist (d. 1892)
1818 - Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady of the United States (d. 1882)
1836 - Franz von Lenbach, German painter (d. 1904)
1854 - Thomas Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934)
1856 - Svetozar Boroević, Austro-Hungarian field marshal (d. 1920)
1860 - Lucien Guitry, French actor (d. 1925)
1864 - Emil Seidel, Mayor of Milwaukee (d. 1947)
1867 - Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian explorer and scientist (d. 1917)
1870 - Edward LeSaint, American actor and director (d. 1940)
1871 - Emily Carr, Canadian artist (d. 1945)
1874 - Josef Lhévinne, Russian-born pianist (d. 1944)
1883 - Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer and archivist (d. 1950)
1887 - George Polya, Hungarian-born mathematician (d. 1985)
1887 - Alvin York, American soldier & Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
1897 - Drew Pearson, American journalist (d. 1969)
1903 - Carlos Montoya, Spanish guitarist (d. 1993)
1906 - Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (d. 1968)
1906 - Sir Laurens van der Post, Afrikaner-born South African author (d. 1996)
1910 - Van Heflin, American actor (d. 1971)
1911 - Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist and Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1999)
1911 - Kenneth Patchen, American poet and painter (d. 1972)
1913 - Archie Moore, American boxer and World Light-Heavyweight Champion (d. 1998)
1913 - Arnold Brown, the 11th General of The Salvation Army (d. 2002)
1915 - Curd Jürgens, German actor (d. 1982)
1915 - Ross Macdonald, American-born author (d. 1983)
1919 - Hans-Joachim Marseille, German Fighter Ace of World War 2 (d. 1942)
1923 - Philip Warren Anderson, American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
1923 - Larry Doby, American baseball player (d. 2003)
1925 - Dick Van Dyke, American actor and comedian
1926 - George Rhoden, Jamaican athlete and Olympic gold medalist
1929 - Christopher Plummer, Canadian actor
1934 - Richard D. Zanuck, American film producer
1935 - Lindy McDaniel, American baseball player
1936 - His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan (Prince Karim El Husseni)
1939 - Eric Flynn, British actor and singer (d. 2002)
1942 - Anna Eshoo, American politician
1943 - Ferguson Jenkins, Canadian baseball player
1944 - Hwang Jang Lee, Korean martial artist and film actor
1948 - Ted Nugent, American guitarist
1948 - Jeff Baxter, American guitarist (Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers)
1948 - Lillian Board, British athlete (d. 1970)
1948 - Brian Wilson, British politician
1949 - Tom Verlaine, American singer/guitarist of Television
1950 - Tom Vilsack, Governor of Iowa
1952 - Sylvester Ritter, Professional wrestler better known as Junkyard Dog (d. 1998)
1953 - Ben Bernanke, American economist
1953 - Bob Gainey, Canadian hockey player
1954 - John Anderson, American country musician
1957 - Steve Buscemi, American actor
1957 - Morris Day, American singer (The Time)
1957 - Jean-Marie Messier, French businessman
1958 - Lynn-Holly Johnson, American figure skater and actress
1959 - Nadia Russ, Soviet-born artist
1959 - Jim Darrel, American professional wrestler
1961 - Harry Gregson-Williams, British composer
1963 - Jake White, South African rugby union coach
1964 - Matsumoto Hideto, Japanese guitarist and singer (X-Japan)
1965 - Marko Mäetamm, Estonian artist
1967 - Jamie Foxx, American actor
1969 - Sergei Fedorov, Russian hockey player
1972 - Mauricio Solís, Costa Rican footballer
1973 - Christie Clark, American actress
1974 - Nicholas McCarthy, British-born guitarist (Franz Ferdinand)
1974 - Sara Cox, TV and Radio presenter
1975 - Tom Delonge, American guitarist (Blink-182, Angels and Airwaves)
1976 - Josh Fogg, American baseball player
1976 - Radosław Sobolewski, Polish footballer
1977 - Christopher Hudgens, American Painter
1979 - Jon Elliott, Professional Athlete, Industry Mogu
1980 - Ivan Milković, Professional Basketball Player, Šibenik, Croatia
1981 - Amy Lee, American singer/songwriter (Evanescence)
1982 - Ricky Nolasco, Major League Baseball Pitcher, Florida Marlins
1983 - Otylia Jędrzejczak, Polish swimmer, FINA World Champion and Olympic gold medalist
1985 - Laurence Leboeuf, Canadian actress

Deaths
1048 - Al-Biruni, Persian mathematician (b. 973)
1124 - Pope Callixtus II
1204 - Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (b. 1135)
1250 - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1194)
1404 - Albert, Count of Holland (b. 1336)
1466 - Donatello, Florentine artist and sculptor (b. 1386)
1516 - Johannes Trithemius, German cryptographer (b. 1462)
1521 - Manuel I of Portugal (b. 1469)
1557 - Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia, Italian mathematician
1565 - Conrad Gessner, Swiss naturalist (b. 1516)
1603 - François Viète, French mathematician (b. 1540)
1621 - Katarina Stenbock, Queen of Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1535)
1716 - Charles de La Fosse, French painter (b. 1640)
1721 - Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor and castaway (b. 1676)
1729 - Anthony Collins, English philosopher (b. 1676)
1754 - Mahmud I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1696)
1769 - Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet (b. 1715)
1783 - Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, Swedish astronomer (b. 1717)
1784 - Samuel Johnson, British writer and lexicographer (b. 1709)
1814 - Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligne, Belgian-born Austrian field marshal (b. 1735)
1837 - Herman of Alaska, Russian Orthodox hermit (b. 1756)
1863 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel, German writer (b. 1813)
1868 - Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist (b. 1794)
1881 - August Senoa, Croatian writer (b. 1838)
1883 - Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (b. 1812)
1895 - Anyos Jedlik, Hungarian physicist (b. 1800)
1919 - Woldemar Voigt, German physicist (b. 1850)
1930 - Fritz Pregl, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
1931 - Gustave le Bon, French psychologist (b. 1840)
1935 - Victor Grignard, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)
1940 - Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval, French physicist (b. 1851)
1942 - Wlodimir Ledochowski, Polish-Austrian director of the Society of Jesus (b. 1866)
1944 - Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born French artist (b. 1866)
1947 - Nicholas Roerich, Russian-born painter (b. 1874)
1955 - Egas Moniz, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
1961 - Grandma Moses, American painter (b. 1860)
1983 - Alexander Schmemann, Orthodox Christian priest and theologian (b. 1921)
1983 - Nichita Stanescu, Romanian poet (b.1933)
1992 - Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and heir (b. 1899)
1992 - K.C. Irving, Canadian industrialist (b. 1899)
1993 - Vanessa Duriès, French novelist (b. 1972)
2001 - Chuck Schuldiner, American musician (Death) (b. 1967)
2002 - Zal Yanofsky, American musician (The Lovin' Spoonful) (b. 1945)
2003 - William V. Roth, Jr., U.S. Senator (b. 1921)
2004 - Andre Rodgers, Bahamian baseball player (b. 1934)
2004 - David Wheeler, British computer scientist (b. 1927)
2005 - Stanley Williams, co-founder of the Crips (b. 1953)

Holidays and observances
Roman festivals - Tellus was worshipped in the district Carinae at the Esquiline Hill, and a lectisternium or table was spread for Ceres.
R.C. Saints - memorial of Saint Lucy
Also see December 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
In the Julian calendar before the Gregorian reform, this was the shortest day and longest night, and widely celebrated as such
In the Irish calendar the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following the Feast of Saint Lucy were observed as Quarter tense.
Malta - Republic Day (since 1974)
St. Lucia's Day in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and some regions of Italy, mainly Sicily, Veneto and Trentino.

External links
BBC: On This Day
The New York Times: On This Day
On This Day in Canada