History for December 13

History for December 13 - On-This-Day.com
Dick Van Dyke 1925 - Actor, comedian, Christopher Plummer 1929 - Actor, John Davidson 1941 - Singer, actor, game show host ("That's Incredible," "Hollywood Squares")


Ted Nugent 1948 - Musician, Steve Buscemi 1957 - Actor, Taylor Swift 1989 - Singer, songwriter
 

1577 - Five ships under the command of Sir Francis Drake left Plymouth, England, to embark on Drake's circumnavigation of the globe. The journey took almost three years.


1636 - The United States National Guard was created when militia regiments were organized by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.


1809 - The first abdominal surgical procedure was performed in Danville, KY, on Jane Todd Crawford. The operation was performed without an anesthetic.


1862 - In America, an estimated 11,000 Northern soldiers were killed or wounded when Union forces were defeated by Confederates under General Robert E. Lee, at the Battle of Fredericksburg.


1937 - Japanese forces took the Chinese city of Nanking (Nanjing). An estimated 200,000 Chinese were killed over the next six weeks. The event became known as the "Rape of Nanking."


1964 - In El Paso, TX, President Johnson and Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz set off an explosion that diverted the Rio Grande River, reshaping the U.S.-Mexican border. This ended a century-old border dispute.


1998 - Puerto Rican voters rejected U.S. statehood in a non-binding referendum.


2000 - U.S. Vice President Al Gore conceded the 2000 Presidential election to Texas Gov. George W. Bush. The Florida electoral votes were won by only 537 votes, which decided the election. The election had been contested up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which said that the Florida recount (supported by the Florida Supreme Court) was unconstitutional.