History Events on July 13

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.

#Continental_Congress

Coronation of Alexander III as King of Scots.

#Coronation

Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul de Thermes at Gravelines.

#Battle_of_Gravelines_(1558)

The Carabinieri, the national gendarmerie of Italy, is established.

#Carabinieri

Battle of Wanat begins when Taliban and al-Qaeda guerrillas attack US Army and Afghan National Army troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. deaths were, at that time, the most in a single battle since the beginning of operations in 2001.

#Battle_of_Wanat

The General Assembly's Institution, now the Scottish Church College, one of the pioneering institutions that ushered the Bengali Renaissance, is founded by Alexander Duff and Raja Ram Mohan Roy, in Calcutta, India.

#Scottish_Church_College

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.

#New_York_City_draft_riots

The Livonian Order suffers its greatest defeat in the 13th century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

#Livonian_Order

Babylon's siege of Jerusalem ends following the destruction of Solomon's Temple.

#Siege_of_Jerusalem_(587_BC)

William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-74, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England.

#William_the_Lion

Vice President George H. W. Bush becomes the Acting President for the day when President Ronald Reagan undergoes surgery to remove polyps from his colon.

#Vice_President_of_the_United_States

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1999 is adopted, which admits South Sudan to member status of United Nations.

#United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_1999

French DGSE personnel abort an operation to rescue Íngrid Betancourt from FARC rebels in Colombia, causing a political scandal when details are leaked to the press.

#Directorate-General_for_External_Security

Watergate scandal: Alexander Butterfield reveals the existence of a secret Oval Office taping system to investigators for the Senate Watergate Committee.

#Watergate_scandal

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.

#Harold_Macmillan

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron resigns, and is succeeded by Theresa May.

#Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom

Regulamentul Organic, a quasi-constitutional organic law is adopted in Wallachia, one of the two Danubian Principalities that were to become the basis of Romania.

#Regulamentul_Organic

The Battle of Trippstadt is fought between French forces and those of Prussia and Austria.

#Battle_of_Trippstadt

World War II: Montenegrins begin a popular uprising against the Axis powers (Trinaestojulski ustanak).

#World_War_II

English Civil War: Battle of Roundway Down: In England, Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, commanding the Royalist forces, heavily defeats the Parliamentarian forces led by Sir William Waller.

#English_Civil_War

Typhoon Soulik kills at least nine people and affects more than 160 million in East China and Taiwan.

#Typhoon_Soulik_(2013)

Journalist and French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat is assassinated in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday, a member of the opposing political faction.

#Jean-Paul_Marat

The British airship R34 lands in Norfolk, England, completing the first airship return journey across the Atlantic in 182 hours of flight.

#Airship

Mumbai is rocked by three bomb blasts during the evening rush hour, killing 26 and injuring 130.

#Mumbai

Somalia declares war on Ethiopia, starting the Ogaden War.

#Somalia

Eighty Years' War: The Siege of Haarlem ends after seven months.

#Eighty_Years'_War

Treaty of Berlin: The European powers redraw the map of the Balkans. Serbia, Montenegro and Romania become completely independent of the Ottoman Empire.

#Treaty_of_Berlin_(1878)

The Live Aid benefit concert takes place in London and Philadelphia, as well as other venues such as Moscow and Sydney.

New York City: Amidst a period of financial and social turmoil experiences an electrical blackout lasting nearly 24 hours that leads to widespread fires and looting.

The Dartmouth workshop is the first conference on artificial intelligence.

In the Battle of Guaymas, Mexico, General José María Yáñez stops the French invasion led by Count Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon.