Some of the significant events which took place on August 13 taken from the leaf of History:

1521- Spanish conquistadors under Hernan Cortes capture Aztec Emperor Cuauhtemec in Tenochtitlan marking the end of the Aztec Empire.

1536 – Buddhist monks from Kyōto’s Enryaku Temple set fire to 21 Nichiren temples throughout Kyoto in the Tenbun Hokke Disturbance. (Traditional Japanese date: July 27, 1536).

1642 – Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovers Martian south polar cap.

1788 – Prussia joins Anglo-Dutch alliance to form Triple Alliance to prevent spread of Russo-Swedish War of 1788-90.

1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces begin the Battle of Shanghai, a conflict that will last 3 months and involve 1 million troops.

1942 – The ‘Manhattan Project’ commences, under the direction of US General Leslie Groves: its aim – to deliver an atomic bomb.

2008 – American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins 3 gold medals, all in world record time, in the one day at the Beijing Olympics; 200m I/M (1:54.23), 200m butterfly (1.52.03) and 4 x 200m freestyle relay (6:58.56).

1966 – Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution 13th August, 1966 : China has announced It’s Cultural Revolution and that by reorganizing the current small farming collectives into great communes workers would be released to work in industry. With the Cultural Revolution came persecution of radical students and teachers and colleges were effectively closed down, and Chairman Mao also used the time to purge his rivals. A bi-product of the Cultural Revolution was that grain output declined leading to the country’s largest famine in history. What Happened in 1966.

1905 – China Earthquake, 1905 : Chinese residents were shaken up by an earthquake and nine hours of aftershocks. To avoid quivering buildings throngs went to parks. Chinese religious leaders compounded the terror by predicating doom. As a result, Hong Kong was flooded with refugees.

1920 – U.S.A. Draft Dodger Round Up, 1920 : A roundup by U.S. deputy marshals for 212 draft dodgers was going on in the Chicago area. Names of the culprits were obtained from Washington by the district attorney. The men pursued either failed to register for the draft or were shirking their military obligations.

1920 – The Soviet Union begins its assault on Warsaw in Poland which the Poles managed to halt and eventually gained independence for Poland from the Soviet Union.

1936 – Eskimos in Barrow, Alaska were in a state of starvation this summer when the usual whales and seals did not migrate to the northern seas. The ship called, “The Northland” rescued them as it was loaded with 41/2 tons of foodstuffs.

1943 – Under a volley of five hundred anti-aircraft guns, Nazi soldiers fled across the Messina Strait to Italy. It was reported that the German army was in full retreat after being pounded by the allies. German Captain Ludwig Sertoius admitted on the radio that, (it was) “a systematic, new disengagement movement by German and Italian troops.”

1953 – France had four million workers go on a massive strike as unions sparred with the government and its economic policies. The situation was so bad that even convicts were pressed into service in an attempt to fill the gap left by the strikers. The only people that were happy were tourists who were jubilant that customs officers walked off the job and all baggage could leave the country without inspection.

1961 – German communists closed the border between East and West Germany stopping refugees from leaving and going to West Germany, they also started laying barbed wire as the first step to building the Berlin Wall.

1969 – Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins were exuberantly welcomed by New Yorkers as their motorcade went by. The paper thrown into the streets in celebration of the first walk on the moon was ankle deep. Nationwide celebrations were going to be held as well.

1979 – After Watergate and President Nixon’s downfall, President Ford promised to listen and cooperate with Congress. At the time Congress was predominantly Democrat and Ford was a Republican, so the relationship was particularly challenging. During Nixon’s presidency the limits of executive power verses the power of Congress had been a huge issue.

1988 – Anne Ramsey, who had a 37 year long acting career, died of throat cancer at age 59. Her most famous role was the homely, harping mother in the movie, “Throw Mama off the Train” where she co-starred with Danny DeVito. Other flicks that Ramsey acted in were, “Up From the Sandbox”, “For Pete’s Sake”, “Weeds”, and “Goonies.”

1995 – A downs syndrome woman whose organs are failing has been rejected as a candidate for a heart-lung transplant. Ms. Jensen graduated from high school and worked at busing tables. However, two hospitals have said that she could not comprehend the treatment regime or the medical complications of the surgery and therefore cannot have a transplant to save her life. Dr. William Bronston, a rehabilitation authority says that Ms. Jensen’s rights have been violated under the national Americans with Disabilities Act.

2001 – International Aid Agencies in Congo including Save the Children, Oxfam and Christian Aid are pleading for more help from the International Community for war ravaged Congo. They are telling world leaders a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions is occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With 16 million Congolese starving making it one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises in 50 years. Those affected worst are the children in the country where 40% of children receive no schooling and 10,000 children have been commandeered to act as child soldiers in the war.

2002 – Beleaguered American airlines have experienced stock crashes and it is feared that United Airlines could fail just like U.S. Airways did. Daily losses, high prices, and the fear after September 9/11 have threatened the viability of airlines.

2004 – The Summer Olympic Games opening ceremony in Athens Greece, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, the opening ceremony was shown around the world.

2004 – Hurricane Charley a Category 3 hurricane with winds in excess of 150 MPH makes landfall in southwest Florida, ripping up trees and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents. The hurricane caused 10 deaths and $15.4 billion in damages in the state.

2006 – Tokyo faced an accidental blackout which lasted for a few hours on this day. The power outage went on during the morning rush hour and disrupted the regular flow of business in the city as many workers were delayed and companies could not open.

2007 – The Taleban freed two South Korea aid workers after three weeks of captivity. The Taleban initially captured a total of 23 South Korean Christian aid workers but had killed two earlier. The remaining 19 hostages were not released until the end of August 2007.

2007 – After the severe Tropical Storm Pabuk hit the Guangdong province of China, over 3,600 homes were destroyed. The storm caused an estimated $171 million in damage and disrupted business and everyday activities in Hong Kong and other major cities.

2009 – A South-Korean worker who was arrested by North Korea in a joint industrial zone was released. The worker was arrested after being accused of criticizing the North Korean government. His release came after the head of the Hyundai Group, his employer, visited North Korea.

2011 – The capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, hosted its first gay pride March in the city. The event was monitored by three hundred police while thousands marched through the city.

2011 – A stage at the Indiana State Fair collapsed during a storm in Indianapolis just as the band Sugarland were about to perform. Seven people died as a result of the collapse while several others sustained injuries.

2011 – Texas Governor Rick Perry officially announces he is running for Republican Nomination for President of the United States.

2012 – The London Olympics hosted their closing ceremony and officially handed over the games to the next host city, Rio de Janeiro. It was a three hour long show that featured many musical performances by a variety of popular British artists including the Spice Girls, George Michael, the Pet Shop Boys, One Direction and Jessie J, among others.

2013 – The US state of California became the first state to created rights in law for transgender schoolchildren. The law would make public schools from kindergarten to the twelfth grade let transgender students access either the male or female bathrooms dependent on their preference and it would also allow transgender students to play either girls or boys sports. Proponents of the law hoped it would reduce bullying and discrimination against transgender children.

2014 – Int’l. Congress of mathematicians in South Korea, Stanford Prof. Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian-born mathematician, became the first woman to be awarded the Fields Medal for her work in understanding the mathematical symmetry of curved surfaces and saddle-shaped spaces.