May 13th is

Baby Sitters Day

Frog Jumping Day *

Mother Ocean Day *

National Archery Day *

National Windmill Day

World Belly Dance Day

World Fair Trade Day *

World Migratory Bird Day *

Armed Forces Day Crossband Military/Amateur Radio Communications *
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MORE! Georges Braque, Daphne du Maurier and Pandit Nehru, click

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WORLD FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

Belgium – Izegem:
Univerz Music Festival

Brazil – Curitiba: Shinobi Spirit Fest

Cambodia – King’s Birthday

Canada – Coldwater ON:
Canadiana Maple Cycle

South Korea – Seoul:
World DJ Festival
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On This Day in HISTORY

609 – Pope Boniface I consecrates the Pantheon in Rome as St. Mary and the Martyrs Church, the first known conversion of a pagan temple in Rome into a church

1373 – English anchoress Julian of Norwich has visions which are later transcribed in her Revelations of Divine Love (circa 1395), the first book in English known to be written by a woman

1637 (traditional) – Cardinal Richelieu is credited with inventing the table knife, with a rounded end, to prevent guests from picking their teeth with a knife point; in 1669, French King Louis XIV banned pointed knives in the street and at his table, hoping to curb violence

1639 – Construction under the aegis of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan of the Red Fort at Delhi begins; it will take almost 9 years to complete

1767 – Mozart’s opera Apollo et Hyacinthus premieres in Salzburg

1777 – The University Library of Vienna is re-opened after being closed since 1756, available for the first time to the general public

1842 – Sir Arthur Sullivan born, English composer, partnered with W.S. Gilbert on 14 light operas, including The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado

1847 – Linda Gilbert, American prison reformer; her family home was opposite the Cook County jail in Chicago – when she was 11, she gave some books to prisoner at the jail; she spent most of an inheritance on philanthropy; incorporated the Gilbert Library and Prisoners’ Aid Society, and succeeded in placing libraries in 22 prisons in six states, and procured employment for 6,000 ex-convicts

1850 – Ellen Spencer Mussey born, American lawyer, educator and women’s rights advocate, she and Emma Gillett started the Women’s Law Class, which grew in two years to be the Washington College of Law, the first law school founded by women

1861 – Queen Victoria announces British neutrality in the American Civil War

1861 – Farmer and amateur observer John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, in Australia, is the first to report sighting the Great Comet of 1861 (C/1861 J1)

1865 – Private John Jefferson Williams of B Company, 34th Regiment Indiana Infantry is last man killed in the Civil War, ay the Battle of Palmito Ranch, near Brownsville TX

1876 – The Amersfoort-Zutphen railway line opens between Amsterdam and Zutphen

1882 – Georges Braque born, French Cubist painter

Landscape at L’Estaque Merzbacher0 – Georges Braque

1884 – Institute for Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) forms in New York

1888 – Lei Áurea (golden law), abolishing all slavery in Brazil, is signed by Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846–1921), an opponent of slavery, acting as regent to Emperor Dom Pedro II; previous laws had freed all children born to slave parents; and all slaves who reached the age of 60

1888 – Inge Lehmann born, Danish seismologist and geophysicist, discovered the Earth’s inner core

1907 – Daphne du Maurier, British novelist, short-story writer and playwright; Rebecca, Jamaica Inn

1912 – The Royal Flying Corps forms in Great Britain

1912 – Gil Evans born, Canadian Jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and orchestrator, collaborated with Miles Davis and other Jazz greats

1913 – Maiden flight of S-21 Russky Vityaz,  the first four-engine aircraft, built by Igor Sikorsky of Russia

1917 – Premier of Ernest Bloch’s rhapsody “Schelomo”

1918 – The first U.S. Air Mail stamps are issued

1938 – Louis Armstrong and his orchestra record “When the Saints Go Marching In”

1940 – Winston Churchill makes his first speech to the House of Commons as British Prime Minister: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”

1941 – Richie Valens born, American singer-songwriter, pioneer of Chicano rock

1942 – The Sikorsky R-4 two-seat helicopter makes its first cross-country flight

1950 – Premiere production of Lukas Foss’ mini-opera, The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, based on Mark Twain’s short story, is in the final week of rehearsals – the only connection I could find between the short-story which inspired somebody to start , Frog Jumping Day * and the date of May 13. The opera actually opened on May 18

1950 – Stevie Wonder born, American singer-songwriter, record producer

1951 – The first Armed Forces Day Crossband Military/Amateur Radio Communications Test * to test two-way communication between radio amateurs and military stations

1952 – Pandit Nehru becomes premier of India

1954 – The musical Pajama Game opens on Broadway

1958 – The trademark ‘Velcro’ is registered

1966 – Rolling Stones release “Paint it Black”

1966 – US Federal education funding is denied to 12 school districts in the South because of violations of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

1970 – The Beatles movie Let it Be premieres

1995 – Alison Hargreaves becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas

1998 – Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesian of Chinese descent are looted and women raped

2003 – The U.S. government unveils the colorized $20 bill, to thwart counterfeiters

2004 – The final episode of the TV series Frasier is watched by 33 million people

2006 – World Migratory Bird Day * is initiated as part of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP)

2013 – The first Mother Ocean Day * launched by the South Florida Kayak Fishing Club

2014 – World Fair Trade Day * is started by the ‘Be an Agent for Charge’ campaign and ‘Fair Trade and the Planet’

2015 – Steven Tyler’s single “Love is Your Name” is released to all digital platforms

2015 – National Archery Day * is launched by the National Archery in Schools Program
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