February 13

Friday 13, 2004:

Travis Metcalfe from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics discovers the universe's largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093.

Wednesday 13, 2002:

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom gives former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani an honorary knighthood.

Tuesday 13, 2001:

An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale hits El Salvador, killing at least 400.

Sunday 13, 2000:

The last original Peanuts comic strip appears in newspapers a day after Charles M. Schulz died.

Thursday 13, 1997:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 7,000 for the first time closing at 7,022.44.

Tuesday 13, 1996:

The Nepalese People's War began.

Wednesday 13, 1991:

Gulf War: Two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy an underground bunker in Baghdad killing hundreds of Iraqis civilians.

Tuesday 13, 1990:

German reunification: An agreement is reached for a two-stage plan to reunite Germany.

Saturday 13, 1988:

1988 Winter Olympic Games open in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Monday 13, 1984:

Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Tuesday 13, 1979:

The intense February 13, 1979 Windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a 1/2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge

Monday 13, 1978:

Hilton bombing: a bomb explodes in a refuse truck outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two refuse collectors and a policeman.

Wednesday 13, 1974:

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.

Saturday 13, 1971:

Vietnam War: Backed by American air and artillery support, South Vietnamese troops invade Laos.

Saturday 13, 1960:

Nuclear testing: France tests its first atomic bomb.

Sunday 13, 1955:

Israel obtains 4 of the 7 Dead Sea scrolls.

Tuesday 13, 1945:

World War II: The Royal Air Force bombers were dispatched to Dresden, Germany (see Bombing of Dresden in World War II).

Wednesday 13, 1935:

A jury in Flemington, New Jersey finds Bruno Hauptmann guilty of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, the son of Charles Lindbergh.

Tuesday 13, 1934:

The Soviet steamship Cheliuskin sinks in the Arctic Ocean.

Friday 13, 1920:

The Negro National League is formed.

Friday 13, 1914:

Copyright: In New York City the ASCAP (for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.

Tuesday 13, 1894:

Auguste and Louis Lumière patent the Cinematographe, a combination movie camera and projector.

Sunday 13, 1881:

The feminist newspaper La Citoyenne is first published in Paris by activist Hubertine Auclert.

Friday 13, 1880:

Thomas Edison observes the Edison effect.

Tuesday 13, 1866:

The first daylight robbery in United States history during peacetime takes place in Liberty, Missouri. This is considered to be the first robbery committed by Jesse James and his gang, although James's role is disputed.

Monday 13, 1815:

The Cambridge Union Society founded.

Wednesday 13, 1692:

Massacre of Glencoe : About 78 Macdonalds at Glen Coe, Scotland are killed early in the morning for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new king, William of Orange.

Sunday 13, 1689:

William and Mary are proclaimed co-rulers of England.

Monday 13, 1668:

Spain recognizes Portugal as an independent nation.

Tuesday 13, 1635:

The first public school in the U.S., Boston Latin Public School, is founded.

Sunday 13, 1633:

Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition.

Thursday 13, 1575:

Henry III of France is crowned at Reims

Friday 13, 1542:

Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, is executed for adultery.

Thursday 13, 1130:

Innocent II is voted Pope.

Year	Month	Day