Summary of the Day ✨ 13 March (13/03)
On this day, President Trump declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency in the United States while Breonna Taylor’s death at the hands of police sparked nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality. Simultaneously, Katerina Sakellaropoulou made history as Greece’s first female president amid COVID restrictions, while deadly attacks in Ankara and Ivory Coast claimed dozens of lives.
Historical Events 📜
- 2020: President Donald Trump declares the COVID-19 pandemic to be a national emergency in the United States.
- 2020: Breonna Taylor is killed by police officers who were forcibly entering her home in Louisville, Kentucky; her death sparked extensive protests against racism and police brutality.
- 2020: Katerina Sakellaropoulou is sworn in as the first female President of Greece amid strict COVID-19 measures.
- 2016: The Ankara bombing kills at least 37 people.
- 2016: Three gunmen attack two hotels in the Ivory Coast town of Grand-Bassam, killing at least 19 people.
- 2015: Serbian Army Mi-17 helicopter crashes near Belgrade airport while transporting a 5-day-old baby with respiratory problems to hospital, killing all 7 on board.
- 2013: The 2013 papal conclave elects Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio taking the name Pope Francis as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church.
- 2012: The Sierre coach crash kills 28 people, including 22 children.
- 2003: An article in Nature identifies the Ciampate del Diavolo as 350,000-year-old hominid footprints.
- 1997: The Missionaries of Charity choose Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as their leader.
- 1996: The Dunblane massacre leads to the death of sixteen primary school children and one teacher in Dunblane, Scotland.
- 1993: The 1993 Storm of the Century affects the eastern United States, dropping feet of snow in many areas.
- 1992: The Mw 6.6 Erzincan earthquake strikes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe).
- 1989: Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-29 carrying the TDRS-4 satellite.
- 1988: The Seikan Tunnel, the longest tunnel in the world with an undersea segment, opens between Aomori and Hakodate, Japan.
Famous Births 👶
- 2004: Coco Gauff, American tennis player
- 2002: Frank Gore Jr., American football player
- 2001: Beomgyu, South Korean singer-songwriter
- 2001: Thomas Dearden, Australian rugby league player
- 1998: Jay-Roy Grot, Dutch footballer
- 1998: Jack Harlow, American rapper, singer-songwriter, and actor
- 1997: Pyper America, American model, actress, and musician
- 1997: Landry Shamet, American basketball player
- 1996: Brayden Point, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1995: Mikaela Shiffrin, American skier
- 1995: Jang Su-jeong, South Korean tennis player
- 1994: Gerard Deulofeu, Spanish footballer
- 1994: Mohammed Siraj, Indian cricketer
- 1993: Tyrone Mings, English footballer
- 1992: Lucy Fry, Australian actress
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: John Feinstein, American sportswriter and commentator (born 1956)
- 2025: Raúl Grijalva, United States representative from Arizona (born 1948)
- 2025: Sofia Gubaidulina, Russian-German pianist and composer (born 1931)
- 2024: Philippe de Gaulle, French admiral (born 1921)
- 2022: William Hurt, American actor (born 1950)
- 2021: Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American professional boxer (born 1954)
- 2021: Murray Walker, English motorsport commentator and journalist (born 1923)
- 2018: Emily Nasrallah, Lebanese writer and women’s rights activist. (born 1931)
- 2017: Amy Krouse Rosenthal, American author (born 1965)
- 2016: Hilary Putnam, American philosopher, mathematician, and computer scientist (born 1926)
- 2015: Al Rosen, American baseball player and manager (born 1924)
- 2014: Reubin Askew, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of Florida (born 1928)
- 2014: Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond, Irish businessman and politician (born 1944)
- 2014: Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Sierra Leonean economist, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of Sierra Leone (born 1932)
- 2014: Icchokas Meras, Lithuanian-Israeli author and screenwriter (born 1934)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast days:
Ansovinus - Christian feast days:
Christina of Persia - Christian feast days:
Gerald of Mayo - Christian feast days:
James Theodore Holly (Episcopal Church (USA)) - Christian feast days:
Nicephorus - Christian feast days:
Roderick - Christian feast days:
March 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Kasuga Matsuri (Kasuga Grand Shrine, Nara, Japan)
- National Elephant Day (Thailand)
- Africa Scout Day