December 13
December 13 is the 348th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 18 days remain until the year's end. It falls in autumn (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Sagittarius.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On December 13 the Sun's declination is approximately -23.3°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a December 13.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Christian feast day: St Antiochus of Sulcis
- Christian feast day: Blessed Francesco Marinoni
- Christian feast day: St Judoc aka St Joyce
- Christian feast day: St Lucy
- Christian feast day: St Odile of Alsace
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
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. ↗(19 years ago)more
The Treaty of Lisbon is a European agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all EU member states on 13 December 2007, entered into force on 1 December 2009.
2003 — Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit. ↗(23 years ago)more
The Iraq War, also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States–led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein.
2002 — 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. ↗(24 years ago)more
The largest enlargement of the European Union (EU), in terms of number of states and population, took place on 1 May 2004.
2001 — 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. ↗(25 years ago)more
The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a terrorist attack on the Parliament of India in New Delhi, India, on 13 December 2001. The attack was carried out by five Jaish-e-Mohammed militants and resulted in the deaths of six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel, and a gardener. All five militants were killed by security forces.
1995 — Banat Air Flight 166 crashes in Sommacampagna near Verona Villafranca Airport in Verona, Italy, killing 49. ↗(31 years ago)more
Banat Air Flight 166 was an Antonov An-24 chartered on 13 December 1995 from Romavia by Banat Air.
1994 — Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 crashes in Morrisville, North Carolina, near Raleigh–Durham International Airport, killing 15. ↗(32 years ago)more
On December 13, 1994, Flagship Airlines Flight 3379, a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Greensboro to Raleigh, North Carolina, crashed during a go-around, killing 15 out of the 20 people on board.
1989 — 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. ↗(37 years ago)more
The Troubles were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
1988 — 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. ↗(38 years ago)more
The Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, officially the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, is the leader of the Executive Committee (EC) of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the executive body of the PLO, which was established in 1964.
- 1982 — 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. ↗(44 years ago)
more
The 1982 North Yemen earthquake hit near the city of Dhamar, North Yemen on December 13. Measuring 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale, with a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale, as many as 2,800 people were killed and another 1,500 injured.
1981 — General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, largely due to the actions by Solidarity. ↗(45 years ago)more
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski was a Polish military general, politician and de facto leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989, and a military dictator from 13 December 1981 until 22 July 1983. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party between 1981 and 1989, making him the last leader of the Polish People's Republic.
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. ↗(49 years ago)more
The Air Indiana Flight 216 crash occurred on December 13, 1977, at 19:22 CST, when a Douglas DC-3, registration N51071 carrying the University of Evansville basketball team, the Evansville Purple Aces, lost control and crashed shortly after takeoff at the Evansville Regional Airport in Evansville, Indiana.
1974 — Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations. ↗(52 years ago)more
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya.
Notable births
- 2009 — Maddox Batson, American singer and songwriter ↗(17 years ago)
more
William Maddox Batson is an American singer and songwriter. His debut single "Tears in the River" entered the top-twenty on Spotify's US Viral 50 chart and the song had approximately twelve million global streams by the end of 2024. As of April 2025, he has released an EP and seven singles.
2002 — Brock Bowers, American football player ↗(24 years ago)more
Brock Allen Bowers is an American professional football tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Bowers played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was a three-time All-American, two-time John Mackey Award winner, and won two national championships.
- 2001 — Jayden Goodwin, Australian cricketer ↗(25 years ago)
more
Jayden Goodwin is an Australian cricketer. He made his first-class debut on 10 November 2021, for Western Australia in the 2021–22 Sheffield Shield season.
2000 — Simona Waltert, Swiss tennis player ↗(26 years ago)more
Simona Waltert is a Swiss professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 88, achieved on 20 October 2025, and a doubles ranking of No. 88, achieved on 27 October 2025. To date, she has won one doubles title on the WTA Tour, one singles and five WTA 125 doubles titles.
1999 — Marina Bassols Ribera, Spanish tennis player ↗(27 years ago)more
Marina Bassols Ribera is a Spanish tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 105 in singles, achieved on 5 February 2024, and of No. 194 in doubles, reached on 15 August 2022.
1996 — Gleyber Torres, Venezuelan baseball player ↗(30 years ago)more
Gleyber David Torres Castro is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees. Torres made his MLB debut in 2018 with the Yankees. He has been named an All-Star in 2018, 2019, and 2025.
Notable deaths
2024 — Lorraine O'Grady, American artist (born 1934) ↗(2 years ago)more
Lorraine O'Grady was an American artist, writer, translator, and critic. Working in conceptual art and performance art that integrates photo and video installation, she explored the cultural construction of identity – particularly that of Black female subjectivity – as shaped by the experience of diaspora and hybridity.
2022 — Stephen 'tWitch' Boss, American dancer and media personality (born 1982) ↗(4 years ago)more
Stephen Laurel "tWitch" Boss was an American freestyle hip hop dancer, choreographer, actor, television producer, and television personality. In 2008, he finished in second place on the American version of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD).
2018 — Noah Klieger, Holocaust survivor who became an award-winning Israeli journalist (born 1926) ↗(8 years ago)more
Noah Klieger was an Israeli journalist and sports administrator. Klieger, a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz, Mittelbau-Dora and Ravensbruck, covered trials of Nazi criminals after the end of World War II, besides working as a sports journalist in Israel.
2016 — Alan Thicke, Canadian actor, songwriter, game and talk-show host (born 1947) ↗(10 years ago)more
Alan Willis Thicke was a Canadian-American actor, songwriter, and game/talk show host. He was the father of singer Robin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains on ABC. In 2013, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (348) | 2^2 × 3 × 29 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (18) | 2 × 3^2 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 13122026 · next palindrome year: 2131 |
| Sun declination | -23.28° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 7 days |