Politics & World Events
- 1689 – The English Convention Parliament declares William III and Mary II co-monarchs of England, following the Glorious Revolution.
- 1867 – Work begins on covering the Senne River in Brussels, a major urban transformation project.
- 1935 – Bruno Hauptmann is convicted for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh’s infant son.
- 1945 – The Allied bombing of Dresden, Germany begins during World War II (February 13–15).
- 1974 – Soviet author and dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is arrested and deported from the USSR.
- 1991 – During the Gulf War, a U.S. airstrike hits the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad.
- 2008 – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologizes to Indigenous Australians for the “Stolen Generations.”
Science & Technology
- 1633 – Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to stand trial before the Inquisition for defending heliocentrism.
- 1960 – France conducts its first successful atomic bomb test (“Gerboise Bleue”) in the Sahara Desert.
Culture, Arts & Media
- 1867 – Johann Strauss II’s famous waltz “The Blue Danube” premieres in Vienna.
- 1920 – The League of Women Voters is founded in the United States.
- 2000 – The final original “Peanuts” comic strip by Charles M. Schulz is published, one day after his death.
Sports
- 1895 – William G. Morgan creates a new game called “Mintonette” in Massachusetts — later renamed volleyball.
Notable Birthdays – February 13
- William Shockley (1910–1989) – Physicist, co-inventor of the transistor (Nobel Prize winner)
- Georges Simenon (1903–1989) – Belgian novelist, creator of Inspector Maigret
- Kim Novak (b. 1933) – Actress (Vertigo)
- Jerry Springer (1944–2023) – Television host
- Stockard Channing (b. 1944) – Actress (Grease, The West Wing)
- Peter Gabriel (b. 1950) – Musician, former lead singer of Genesis
- Henry Rollins (b. 1961) – Musician and writer
- Neal McDonough (b. 1966) – Actor
- Matt Berninger (b. 1971) – Lead singer of The National
- Robbie Williams (b. 1974) – British pop singer
- Mena Suvari (b. 1979) – Actress (American Beauty)
- Chuck Yeager (1923–2020) – U.S. Air Force pilot, first person to break the sound barrier
