A Day in the Past

On this day: 13 July

123 things happened on 13 July, from AD 574 to 2026. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 10

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1830 196 years ago

UK story

The General Assembly's Institution, now the Scottish Church College, one of the pioneering institutions that ushered the Bengali Renaissance, is founded by Alexander Duff and Raja Ram Mohan Roy, in Calcutta, India.

Find out more: Scottish Church College (Wikipedia)

Around the world 23

1787 239 years ago

The Congress of the Confederation enacts the Northwest Ordinance establishing governing rules for the Northwest Territory. It also establishes procedures for the admission of new states and limits the expansion of slavery.

Find out more: Congress of the Confederation (Wikipedia)
1831 195 years ago

Wallachian officials adopted the Regulamentul Organic, which engendered a period of reforms that provided for the westernization of the local society.

Find out more: Wallachia (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “English Civil War: Royalist forces defeated the Parliamentarians at the Battle”?

    1. 1841
    2. 1643
    3. 1586
    Show the answer

    B: 1643. 1643 — that’s 383 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “Anglo–Spanish War: A convoy of English ships from the Levant Company repelled”?

    1. 1249
    2. 1586
    3. 1919
    Show the answer

    B: 1586. 1586 — that’s 440 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. Anglo–Spanish War: A convoy of English ships from the Levant Company repelled
    2. In an unprecedented reshuffle, British prime minister Harold Macmillan
    3. English Civil War: Royalist forces defeated the Parliamentarians at the Battle
    Show the answer

    A: Anglo–Spanish War: A convoy of English ships from the Levant Company repelled. 1586: Anglo–Spanish War: A convoy of English ships from the Levant Company repelled · 1962: In an unprecedented reshuffle, British prime minister Harold Macmillan · 1643: English Civil War: Royalist forces defeated the Parliamentarians at the Battle Find it on the page

  4. “In an unprecedented reshuffle, British prime minister Harold Macmillan” happened in 1962. How many years ago was that?

    1. 74 years
    2. 64 years
    3. 54 years
    Show the answer

    B: 64 years. 2026 − 1962 = 64. Find it on the page

Born on this day 37

Famous people whose birthday is 13 July.

Remembering 22

Well-known people who died on 13 July.

Special days 12

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 13 July somewhere in the world.

For older readers 19 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “July 13” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.