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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