Treaty of Lisbon
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..
December-13
Historical Events on December 13
December
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Iraq War
Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit.
2003
2004 enlargement of the European Union
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.
2002
2001 Indian Parliament attack
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.
2001
Banat Air Flight 166
Banat Air Flight 166 crashes in Sommacampagna near Verona Villafranca Airport in Verona, Italy, killing 49.
1995
Flagship Airlines Flight 3379
1994
Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 crashes in Morrisville, North Carolina, near Raleigh–Durham International Airport, killing 15..
The Troubles
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.
1989
Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization
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.
1988
1982 North Yemen earthquake
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.
1982
Wojciech Jaruzelski
General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, largely due to the actions by Solidarity.
1981
Air Indiana Flight 216
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..
Malta
Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations.
1974
Vietnam War
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.
1974
Apollo program
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.
1972
Artur da Costa e Silva
Brazilian President Artur da Costa e Silva issues AI-5 (Institutional Act No. 5), enabling government by decree and suspending habeas corpus.
1968
Constantine II of Greece
1967
Constantine II of Greece attempts an unsuccessful counter-coup against the Regime of the Colonels..
NASA
NASA launches Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit.
1962
Emperor of Ethiopia
While Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Imperial Bodyguard seizes the capital and proclaims him deposed and his son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, Emperor.
1960
List of archbishops of Cyprus
Archbishop Makarios III becomes the first President of Cyprus.
1959
1957 Farsinaj earthquake
The Mw 6.5 Farsinaj earthquake strikes Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII, causing at least 1,119 deaths and damaging over 5,000 homes.
1957
Knesset
1949
The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem..
Kalavryta massacre
World War II: The Massacre of Kalavryta by German occupying forces in Greece.
1943
Battle of the River Plate
The Battle of the River Plate is fought off the coast of Uruguay; the first naval battle of World War II. The Kriegsmarine's Deutschland-class cruiser (pocket battleship) Admiral Graf Spee engages with three Royal Navy cruisers: HMS Ajax, HMNZS Achilles and HMS Exeter.
1939
The Holocaust
The Holocaust: The Neuengamme concentration camp opens in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, Germany.
1938
Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking: The city of Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese. This is followed by the Nanking Massacre, in which Japanese troops rape and slaughter hundreds of thousands of civilians.
1937
Sherman's March to the Sea
1864
American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea: The Second Battle of Fort McAllister ends with the fort being seized by Union forces under General William B. Hazen, threatening the city of Savannah with investment..
American Civil War
American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee repulses attacks by Union Major General Ambrose Burnside on Marye's Heights, inflicting heavy casualties.
1862
Cyril VI of Constantinople
Cyril VI of Constantinople resigns from his position as Ecumenical Patriarch under pressure from the Ottoman Empire.
1818
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is founded by the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, with a royal charter from King George III, on land donated by Royal governor John Wentworth.
1769
Duke William (ship)
The English transport ship Duke William sinks in the North Atlantic, killing over 360 people.
1758
English Civil War
1643
English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire..
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman is the first recorded European to sight New Zealand.
1642
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians, a date now considered the founding of the National Guard of the United States.
1636
Plymouth Colony
The Plymouth Colony establishes the system of trial by 12-men jury in the American colonies.
1623
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake sets sail from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.
1577
Council of Trent
1545
The Council of Trent begins as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation..
Pope Celestine V
Saint Celestine V resigns the papacy after only five months to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.
1294
Salerno
The city of Salerno surrenders to Robert Guiscard. Duke Gisulf continues his resistance in the citadel until May of the following year.
1076