23 Ordibehesht 1397

Events

• 1830 (196 years ago) Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia.
• 1846 (180 years ago) Mexican–American War: The United States declares war on the Federal Republic of Mexico following a dispute over the American annexation of the Republic of Texas and a Mexican military incursion.
• 1940 (86 years ago) World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins, as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons.
• 1954 (72 years ago) The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place.
• 1996 (30 years ago) Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
• 1998 (28 years ago) Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped.
• 2005 (21 years ago) Andijan uprising, Uzbekistan: Troops open fire on crowds of protestors after a prison break; at least 187 people were killed according to official estimates.
• 2014 (12 years ago) An explosion at an underground coal mine in southwest Turkey kills 301 miners.

Births

• 1717 (309 years ago) Maria Theresa, Archduchess, Queen, and Empress; Austrian wife of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1780)
• 1792 (234 years ago) Pope Pius IX,
• 1840 (186 years ago) Alphonse Daudet, French author, poet, and playwright (died 1897)
• 1857 (169 years ago) Ronald Ross, Indian-English physician and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1932)
• 1950 (76 years ago) Stevie Wonder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
• 1968 (58 years ago) Scott Morrison, Australian politician, 30th Prime Minister of Australia
• 1986 (40 years ago) Robert Pattinson, English actor
• 1993 (33 years ago) Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer

Deaths

• 1832 (194 years ago) Georges Cuvier, French zoologist and academic (born 1769)
• 1930 (96 years ago) Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian scientist, explorer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1861)
• 1938 (88 years ago) Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1861)
• 1961 (65 years ago) Gary Cooper, American actor (born 1901)
• 2019 (7 years ago) Doris Day, American singer and actress (born 1922)
• 2022 (4 years ago) Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2nd President of the United Arab Emirates (born 1948)
• 2024 (2 years ago) Alice Munro, Canadian short story writer (born 1931)
• 2025 (a year ago) José Mujica, Uruguayan politician, 40th President of Uruguay (born 1935)

All 315 events, births and deaths of May 13