Historical Events on September 13

  • 1501: The statue of David is started by Michelangelo.
  • 1541: After three years of exile, John Calvin returns to Geneva to reform the church under his Calvinism Doctrine.
  • 1609: Henry Hudson finally reaches the river that would later be named in his honor: the Hudson River.
  • 1782: During the Great Siege of Gibraltar, Franco-Spanish forces launch the grand assault.
  • 1791: The new but short-lived French Constitution is accepted by King Louis XVI of France.
  • 1812: A wagon carrying supplies to Fort Harrison is ambushed at the Attack at the Narrows during the War of 1812.
  • 1814: The British fail to capture the city of Baltimore. However, while the city is being bombarded, Francis Scott Key pens his now famous poem: “Defence of Fort McHenry” which would later be set to a British drinking song and become the national anthem off the United States of America.
  • 1862: In a prelude to the Battle of Antietam, Union soldiers find a copy of Robert E. Lee’s battle plans in a field just outside of Frederick, Maryland.
  • 1898: Celluloid photographic film is patented by Hannibal Goodwin.
  • 1899: On this day, the first traffic related casualty occurs when Henry Bliss is killed in a car accident.
  • 1906: The first flight of a fixed wing aircraft in Europe occurs on this day.
  • 1914: The Battle of Aisne starts between Germany and France during WWI.
  • 1956: The 1st commercial computer to store data on a disk is introduced on this day. It’s called the IBM 305 RAMAC.
  • 1985: The Super Mario series begins on this day when Super Mario Bros. Is released for the NES in Japan.

Famous Birthdays on September 13

  • American businessman and founder of the Hershey Company Milton S. Hershey is born in 1857.
  • American general and lawyer John J. Pershing is born in 1860.
  • American short story writer and novelist Sherwood Anderson is born in 1876.
  • English captain Stanley Lord is born in 1877.
  • British poet, novelist and screenwriter Roald Dahl is born in 1916.
  • American author and historian Carol Kendall is born in 1917.