Summary of the Day ✨ 13 December (13/12)
On this day, the European Union signed the Treaty of Lisbon to amend its constitutional treaties while also announcing the historic enlargement of the EU to include ten new member states. Meanwhile, in a significant development during the Iraq War, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured near Tikrit, while a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament claimed twelve lives and a plane crash in Italy resulted in forty-nine fatalities.
Historical Events 📜
- 2007: The Treaty of Lisbon is signed by the EU member states to amend both the Treaty of Rome and the Maastricht Treaty which together form the constitutional basis of the EU. The Treaty of Lisbon is effective from 1 December 2009.
- 2003: Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit.
- 2002: European Union enlargement: The EU announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia will become members on May 1, 2004.
- 2001: Indian Parliament attack: Sansad Bhavan, the building housing the Indian Parliament, is attacked by five Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists. Twelve people are killed, including the terrorists.
- 1995: Banat Air Flight 166 crashes in Sommacampagna near Verona Villafranca Airport in Verona, Italy, killing 49.
- 1994: Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 crashes in Morrisville, North Carolina, near Raleigh–Durham International Airport, killing 15.
- 1989: The Troubles: Attack on Derryard checkpoint: The Provisional Irish Republican Army launches an attack on a British Army temporary vehicle checkpoint near Rosslea, Northern Ireland. Two British soldiers are killed and two others are wounded.
- 1988: PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat gives a speech at a UN General Assembly meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, after United States authorities refused to grant him a visa to visit UN headquarters in New York.
- 1982: The 6.0 Ms North Yemen earthquake shakes southwestern Yemen with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing 2,800, and injuring 1,500.
- 1981: General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, largely due to the actions by Solidarity.
- 1977: Air Indiana Flight 216 crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 29, including the University of Evansville basketball team, support staff, and boosters of the team.
- 1974: Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1974: In the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese forces launch their 1975 Spring Offensive (to 30 April 1975), which results in the final capitulation of South Vietnam.
- 1972: Apollo program: Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or “Moonwalk” of Apollo 17. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon.
- 1968: Brazilian President Artur da Costa e Silva issues AI-5 (Institutional Act No. 5), enabling government by decree and suspending habeas corpus.
Famous Births 👶
- 2009: Maddox Batson, American singer and songwriter
- 2002: Brock Bowers, American football player
- 2001: Jayden Goodwin, Australian cricketer
- 2000: Simona Waltert, Swiss tennis player
- 1999: Marina Bassols Ribera, Spanish tennis player
- 1996: Gleyber Torres, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1995: Emma Corrin, English actor
- 1993: Danielle Collins, American tennis player
- 1993: Jamal Fogarty, Australian rugby league player
- 1991: Dave Leduc, Canadian martial artist
- 1991: Vladimir Tarasenko, Russian ice hockey player
- 1990: Fletcher Cox, American football player
- 1990: Joseph Garrett, English YouTuber, actor, and author
- 1990: Arantxa Rus, Dutch tennis player
- 1989: Hellen Obiri, Kenyan runner
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Juan José Zerboni, Mexican actor (born 1953)
- 2024: Lorraine O’Grady, American artist (born 1934)
- 2022: Stephen “tWitch” Boss, American dancer and media personality (born 1982)
- 2018: Noah Klieger, Holocaust survivor who became an award-winning Israeli journalist (born 1926)
- 2016: Alan Thicke, Canadian actor, songwriter, game and talk-show host (born 1947)
- 2006: Lamar Hunt, American businessman, co-founded the American Football League and World Championship Tennis (born 1932)
- 2005: Alan Shields, American painter and ferryboat captain (born 1944)
- 2004: David Wheeler, English computer scientist and academic (born 1927)
- 2002: Zal Yanovsky, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who founded The Lovin’ Spoonful (born 1944)
- 1998: Lew Grade, Ukrainian-born British impresario and media proprietor (born 1906)
- 1998: Richard Thomas, Royal Naval Officer (born 1922)
- 1998: Wade Watts, civil rights activist (born 1919)
- 1997: Don E. Fehrenbacher, American historian, author, and academic (born 1920)
- 1996: Edward Blishen, English author and educator (born 1920)
- 1995: Ann Nolan Clark, American author and educator (born 1896)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
St Antiochus of Sulcis - Christian feast day:
Blessed Francesco Marinoni - Christian feast day:
St Judoc aka St Joyce - Christian feast day:
St Lucy - Christian feast day:
St Odile of Alsace - Acadian Remembrance Day (Acadians)
- National Day (Saint Lucia)
- Martial Law Victims Remembrance Day (Poland)
- Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day (China)
- Nusantara Day (Indonesia)
- Republic Day (Malta)
- Sailor’s Day (Brazil)
- Saint Lucia Day (mainly in Scandinavia)