May 13: Holidays, Historical Events, Famous Birthdays & Zodiac Sign
On May 13, 1888, Brazil's Golden Law wiped out slavery in the empire's final major act — and exactly 93 years later, a gunman's bullet nearly ended Pope John Paul II's life in St. Peter's Square.
About May 13
May 13 carries a remarkable duality: moments of liberation alongside brushes with mortality. When Brazil's Princess Isabel signed the Lei Áurea — the Golden Law — in 1888, she extinguished an institution that had shackled millions, making Brazil the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery. It was a watershed of freedom, yet the very same date in 1981 saw Mehmet Ali Ağca fire a handgun at Pope John Paul II in the heart of Vatican City. The pontist survived emergency surgery and went on to forgive his would-be assassin in person.
The day also pulses with quieter milestones of human courage. In 1862, an enslaved man named Robert Smalls commandeered the Confederate steamer Planter and navigated it past rebel lines, handing it to the U.S. Navy and becoming the first Black man to command an American ship. In 1995, British climber Alison Hargreaves reached the summit of Everest without supplemental oxygen and without sherpas — an astonishing feat of endurance that made her the first woman to do so.
Beyond grand geopolitical turns, May 13 has seen cultural firsts too. The inaugural Formula One World Championship race roared off the line at Silverstone in 1950, while the very first Giro d'Italia pedaled away from Milan in 1909. And in 1373, a woman gravely ill in Norwich, England, experienced a series of visions she would later record as Revelations of Divine Love — one of the foundational texts of Christian mysticism.
Holidays & Observances on May 13
- Abbotsbury Garland Day (Dorset, England)
- Rotuma Day (Rotuma)
Fun & National Days on May 13
- International Hummus Day — Grab pita bread and your favorite toppings — today the world unites in creamy, garlicky, chickpea-loving solidarity.
- Frog Jumping Day — Inspired by Mark Twain's famous jumping frog story, it's the perfect excuse to leap, ribbit, and celebrate amphibians.
- National Apple Pie Day — Warm up the oven, sprinkle the cinnamon, and honor America's most iconic dessert in all its buttery, flaky glory.
- Cough Drop Day
- Donate a Day's Wages to Charity Day
- International Receptionists' Day
- Leprechaun Day
- National Fruit Cocktail Day
- National Numeracy Day (UK)
- National Third Shift Workers Day
On This Day in History
- 1373 — Julian of Norwich, deathly ill, experienced visions of Jesus that became Revelations of Divine Love, a cornerstone of Christian mystical literature.
- 1612 — Legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi faced rival Sasaki Kojiro in a duel on Ganryū Island, killing him and cementing his own mythic status.
- 1830 — Ecuador formally broke away from Gran Colombia, establishing itself as an independent nation on the South American map.
- 1888 — Brazil's parliament passed the Lei Áurea, or Golden Law, abolishing slavery throughout the empire and freeing hundreds of thousands.
- 1909 — The first Giro d'Italia rolled out of Milan, launching what would become cycling's most beloved stage race; Luigi Ganna took the inaugural title.
- 1917 — Three shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal, reported the first apparition of the Virgin Mary, sparking one of Catholicism's most visited pilgrimage sites.
- 1940 — Germany's army crossed the Meuse River to begin the invasion of France, as Winston Churchill told Parliament he had nothing to offer but 'blood, toil, tears, and sweat.'
- 1950 — Silverstone Circuit hosted the first Formula One World Championship race, won by Italy's Giuseppe Farina, who claimed the season title.
- 1981 — Mehmet Ali Ağca shot and wounded Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square; the pontiff survived after emergency surgery and later visited his attacker in prison.
- 1995 — British mountaineer Alison Hargreaves became the first woman to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen or the assistance of sherpas.
- 1998 — India detonated two more nuclear devices at Pokhran, completing a test series that drew swift economic sanctions from the United States and Japan.
Famous Birthdays on May 13
- 1717 — Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Holy Roman Empress, the only woman to rule the Habsburg dominions and a towering reformer of the 18th century.
- 1842 — Arthur Sullivan, Half of the legendary Gilbert and Sullivan partnership, his comic operas like The Pirates of Penzance still delight audiences worldwide.
- 1883 — Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist who invented the Pap smear, a screening test credited with saving millions of women's lives from cervical cancer.
- 1888 — Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist who discovered that Earth has a solid inner core, revolutionizing our understanding of the planet's structure.
- 1907 — Daphne du Maurier, English novelist whose gothic tales Rebecca and 'The Birds' blended romance with suspense, later adapted into Hitchcock classics.
- 1914 — Joe Louis, The 'Brown Bomber' held the world heavyweight boxing title for a record 12 years and became an American icon.
- 1922 — Bea Arthur, Tall, dry-witted actress who starred in The Golden Girls and Maude, redefining what a leading lady could be on television.
- 1939 — Harvey Keitel, Protean American actor whose collaborations with Scorsese and Tarantino made him a fixture of bold, intense cinema.
- 1950 — Stevie Wonder, Musical prodigy signed to Motown at eleven, he became one of the most beloved singer-songwriters in history with Songs in the Key of Life.
- 1964 — Stephen Colbert, Satirist and talk show host whose razor-sharp political comedy reshaped late-night television.