Historical Events on May 13
- 1846: The Mexican American War begins when the U.S declares war on Mexico.
- 1861: During the American Civil War, the United Kingdom’s Queen Victoria issues a Neutrality Proclamation.
- 1861: John Tebbutt discovered the Great Comet of 1861.
- 1862: A southern slave named Robert Smalls commandeers and sneaks the USS Planter through Confederate lines to the Union. He would later be appointed captain of the vessel – becoming the first black man to command a U.S ship.
- 1864: Union General Sherman fights his way towards the city of Atlanta at the Battle of Resaca during the American Civil War.
- 1880: The first test of an electric railway is conducted by Thomas Edison in Menlo Park, New Jersey.
- 1917: The first appearance of the apparition of Our Lady of Fátima is reported by children in Fatima, Portugal.
- 1940: German forces cross the Meuse and start their invasion of France during World War 2.
- 1940: After the Germans invade the Netherlands, Queen Wilhelmina flees to Great Britain.
- 1943: Italian forces and German forces surrender to the Allies in North Africa.
- 1971: During the Demra Massacre, over nine hundred Bengali Hindus are killed.
- 1972: Almost one hundred and twenty people die in Osaka, Japan when faulty wiring causes a fire underneath Playtown Cabaret.
- 1980: In Kalamazoo Country, Michigan, an F-3 tornado touches down. United States President Jimmy Carter declares the area a Federal disaster area.
Famous Birthdays on May 13
- Indian-English physician, mathematician and Nobel Prize laureate, Ronald Ross is born in 1857.
- American actor Robert Middleton is born in 1911.
- American boxer and actor, Joe Louis is born in 1914.
- American singer-songwriter Johnnie Wright is born in 1914.
- American actress Zohra Lampert is born in 1937.
- American actor Harvey Keitel is born in 1939.
- American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder is born in 1950.
- American actor and screenwriter, Neil Hopkins is born in 1977.
- American actor and producer, Brian Thomas Smith is born in 1977.