July 13
1249 Coronation of
Alexander III as King of Scots.
1787 The Continental Congress enacts the
Northwest Ordinance establishing governing rules for the
Northwest Territory. It also establishes procedures for the admission of new states and limits the expansion of slavery.
1793 Journalist and French revolutionary
Jean-Paul Marat is assassinated in his bathtub by
Charlotte Corday, a member of the opposing political faction.
1863
New York City draft riots: In New York City, opponents of conscription begin three days of rioting which will be later regarded as the worst in United States history.
1919 The
British airship R34 lands in Norfolk, England, completing the first airship return journey across the Atlantic in 182 hours of flight.
1923 The
Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It originally reads "Hollywoodland " but the four last letters are dropped after renovation in 1949.
1962 In an unprecedented action, British Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan dismisses seven members of his Cabinet, marking the effective end of the National Liberals as a distinct force within British politics.
1968 -
Black Sabbath played their first gig at a small backstreet blues club in Birmingham, England.
1969 - Over 100 US radio stations banned
The Beatles' new single '
The Balled Of John and Yoko' due to the line "Christ, you know it ain't easy", calling it offensive.
1973
Alexander Butterfield reveals the existence of the "
Nixon tapes" to the special Senate committee investigating the
Watergate break-in.
1978 - The BBC announced a ban on
The Sex Pistols' latest single
No One Is Innocent, which featured vocals by
Ronnie Biggs, the British criminal notorious for his part in the
Great Train Robbery of 1963. At the time of the recording, Biggs was living in Brazil, and was still wanted by the British authorities, but immune from extradition.
1985 The
Live Aid benefit concert takes place in London and Philadelphia, as well as other venues such as Sydney and Moscow.
Duran Duran became the first artists to have a No.1 on the US singles chart with a James Bond theme when '
A View To A Kill', went to the top of the charts.
1990 -
Curtis Mayfield was badly injured after a strong gust of wind blew a lighting rig on him during an outside concert in Brooklyn, New York.
1996, Over 2,000 guitar players, including
Chet Atkins and
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, set a new world record for the largest jam session ever when they played '
Heartbreak Hotel' for 75 minutes at Nashville's Riverfront Park. The previous record was set in Vancouver, Canada on May 7th, 1994, when
Randy Bachman led 1,322 amateur guitarists in a performance that lasted 68 minutes.
1997,
Red Hot Chili Peppers' singer
Anthony Kiedis underwent five hours of hospital surgery after being involved in a motorbike accident in Los Angeles.
A trial against
John Denver for drunken driving ended in a hung jury, deadlocked 3-3. Denver's defense attorney argued that the singer suffered from a thyroid condition that had distorted blood alcohol tests.
2004,
Arthur Killer Kane, bass player with
The New York Dolls, died aged 55 after checking himself in to a Los Angeles emergency room, complaining of fatigue. He was quickly diagnosed with leukemia, and died within two hours.
2013
George Zimmerman is
found not guilty in the
shooting of Trayvon Martin.
2016
Theresa May succeeds
David Cameron and becomes the second female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Births
1745 Robert Calder; 1821 Nathan Bedford Forrest; 1864 John Jacob Astor IV; 1913 Dave Garroway; 1924 Johnny Gilbert; 1928 Bob Crane; 1935 Jack Kemp; 1940 Paul Prudhomme, Patrick Stewart; 1941 Robert Forster; 1942 Harrison Ford, Roger McGuinn; 1944 Ernő Rubik (cube guy); 1946 Cheech Marin

; 1948 Daphne Maxwell Reid (
Fresh Prince of Bel Air); 1951 Didi Conn; 1954 Louise Mandrell; 1956 Michael Spinks; 1957 Cameron Crowe, Phil Margera (Bam's father); 1962 Rhonda Vincent; 1963 Spud Webb; 1964 Paul Thorn; 1966 Gerald Levert
Deaths
1793 Jean-Paul Marat; 1882 Johnny Ringo; 1890 John C. Frιmont; 1893
Young Man Afraid of His Horses; 1946 Alfred Stieglitz; 1954 Frida Kahlo; 1967 Tom Simpson; 1993 Davey Allison

; 2004 Arthur Kane; 2006 Red Buttons; 2010 George Steinbrenner; 2012 Richard D. Zanuck; 2013 Cory Monteith