13 August in history
9 events that happened on 13 August, from 523 to 1961.
✦ Anniversary of the day
582 CE 1,444 years ago
The dying Tiberius II crowns Maurice as Byzantine emperor
Maurice, a successful general whom Tiberius II had chosen as his heir and son-in-law, was crowned emperor by the dying Tiberius. He reigned until 602, the last emperor of the Justinian dynasty.
900 CE 1,126 years ago
Zwentibold of Lotharingia is killed in battle on the Meuse
Zwentibold, king of Lotharingia since 895, was killed in battle on the Meuse near present-day Susteren by nobles who had risen against him under Reginar Longneck. Lotharingia then passed to his half-brother Louis the Child.
1099 CE 927 years ago
Paschal II is elected pope in succession to Urban II
Raniero Raineri di Bleda, a monk of Cluny, was elected pope as Paschal II after the death of Pope Urban II the previous month. His reign of almost twenty years was exceptionally long for a medieval pope.
1521 CE 505 years ago
Tenochtitlan falls to Cortés and his allies
After a siege of nearly three months, Spanish forces and their Tlaxcalan allies captured Cuauhtémoc and the Aztec capital. Mexico City, capital of New Spain, rose on its ruins.
1704 CE 322 years ago
Marlborough and Prince Eugene win the Battle of Blenheim
The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy destroyed a Franco-Bavarian army at Blenheim. The victory saved Vienna and knocked Bavaria out of the War of the Spanish Succession.
1898 CE 128 years ago
US forces take Manila from Spain
American troops occupied Manila after a largely staged battle with the Spanish garrison, unaware that a peace protocol had been signed the day before. The US went on to annex the Philippines.
1961 CE 65 years ago
East Germany seals the border in Berlin
Overnight, East German forces closed the crossings and began building barriers that became the Berlin Wall. For 28 years it divided the city, and at least 140 people died trying to cross.
Born on 13 August 4
Died on 13 August 7
Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.