Summary of the Day ✨ 13 February (13/02)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump was acquitted in his second impeachment trial as a major winter storm devastated Texas and northern Mexico, causing blackouts and killing at least 82 people. Meanwhile, Kim Jong-nam was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport while the European Space Agency launched its first Vega rocket and the Umatilla tribe restored a century-old tradition by hunting bison near Yellowstone National Park.
Historical Events 📜
- 2021: Former U.S. President Donald Trump is acquitted in his second impeachment trial.
- 2021: A major winter storm causes blackouts and kills at least 82 people in Texas and northern Mexico.
- 2017: Kim Jong-nam, brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, is assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
- 2012: The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted the first launch of the European Vega rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
- 2011: For the first time in more than 100 years the Umatilla, an American Indian tribe, are able to hunt and harvest a bison just outside Yellowstone National Park, restoring a centuries-old tradition guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1855.
- 2010: A bomb explodes in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India, killing 17 and injuring 60 more.
- 2008: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes a historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.
- 2007: Taiwan opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigns as the chairman of the Kuomintang party after being indicted on charges of embezzlement during his tenure as the mayor of Taipei; Ma also announces his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.
- 2004: The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces the discovery of the universe’s largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093. Astronomers named this star “Lucy” after The Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.
- 2001: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits El Salvador, killing at least 315.
- 1996: The Nepalese Civil War is initiated in the Kingdom of Nepal by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre).
- 1991: Gulf War: Two laser-guided “smart bombs” destroy the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad. Allied forces said the bunker was being used as a military communications outpost, but over 400 Iraqi civilians inside were killed.
- 1984: Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- 1983: A cinema fire in Turin, Italy, kills 64 people.
- 1981: A series of sewer explosions destroys more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky.
Famous Births 👶
- 2005: Sergio Mestre, Spanish footballer
- 2003: Raúl Asencio, Spanish footballer
- 2002: Jaden Ivey, American basketball player
- 2002: Sophia Lillis, American actress
- 2001: Kaapo Kakko, Finnish ice hockey player
- 2000: Vitinha, Portuguese footballer
- 1995: Kendall Fuller, American football player
- 1995: Georges-Kévin Nkoudou, French-Cameroonian footballer
- 1994: Memphis Depay, Dutch footballer
- 1992: Keith Appling, American basketball player
- 1991: Eliaquim Mangala, French footballer
- 1991: Vianney, French singer
- 1991: Luke Voit, American baseball player
- 1990: Nathan Eovaldi, American baseball player
- 1990: Mamadou Sakho, French footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Jim Guy Tucker, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Arkansas (born 1943)
- 2021: Kadir Topbaş, Turkish politician (born 1945)
- 2019: Callistus Ndlovu, Zimbabwean academic and politician (born 1936)
- 2018: Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark, French-born Danish royal (born 1934)
- 2017: Ricardo Arias Calderón, Panamanian politician (born 1933)
- 2017: Aileen Hernandez, American union organizer and activist (born 1926)
- 2017: Seijun Suzuki, Japanese filmmaker (born 1923)
- 2017: Kim Jong-nam, North Korean politician (born 1971)
- 2017: E-Dubble, American rapper (born 1982)
- 2016: O. N. V. Kurup, Indian poet and academic (born 1931)
- 2016: Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and judge, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (born 1936)
- 2015: Faith Bandler, Australian activist and author (born 1918)
- 2015: Stan Chambers, American journalist and actor (born 1923)
- 2014: Balu Mahendra, Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (born 1939)
- 2014: Richard Møller Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager (born 1937)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Black Love Day (United States)
- Children’s Day (Myanmar)
- Christian feast day:
Absalom Jones (Episcopal Church (USA)) - Christian feast day:
Blessed Agostina Camozzi - Christian feast day:
Benignus of Todi - Christian feast day:
Castor of Karden - Christian feast day:
Dyfnog - Christian feast day:
Ermenilda of Ely - Christian feast day:
Fulcran - Christian feast day:
Jordan of Saxony - Christian feast day:
Paul Liu Hanzuo - Christian feast day:
February 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - World Radio Day