April 13 in Pop Culture History
note: On April 13th, a Friday in 2029, 99942 Apophis, an asteroid more than 1,000 feet wide, will pass by Earth closer than the moon and should easily be observed with the naked eye.
1204 – Constantinople fell to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade.
1360 – On “Black Monday,” a hail storm killed 1,000 English soldiers and 6,000 horses. Edward III, fearing it a sign from God, paused the Hundred Years’ War.
1570 – Guy Fawkes was born (died in 1606)
1742 – Handel’s Messiah premiered in Dublin, Ireland.
1829 – The Roman Catholic Relief Act gave Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in the UK’s Parliament.
1869 – The first US Patent (#88,929) for an air brake was issued to George Westinghouse of Schenectady, N.Y., called an “Improvement in steam-power-brake devices”.
1870 – The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded.
1902 – James C. Penney (now Penneys) opened his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
1943 – The Jefferson Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC.
1957 – #1 Hit April 13, 1957 – June 7, 1957: Elvis Presley – All Shook Up
1957 – There was no Saturday mail delivery due to a budget crunch at the US Post Office. Additional funds insured Saturday mail continued by the following week.
1959 – #1 Hit April 13, 1959 – May 10, 1959: The Fleetwoods – Come Softly to Me
1968 – #1 Hit April 13, 1968 – May 17, 1968: Bobby Goldsboro – Honey
1970 – An oxygen tank exploded on Apollo13, but everyone survived. It was also the major plot for the 1995 film, Apollo 13.
1974 – Western Union, with NASA and Hughes Aircraft, launched the US’ first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1.
1976 – The United States Treasury Department reintroduced the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note.
1985 – #1 Hit April 13, 1985 – May 10, 1985: USA for Africa – We Are the World
1984 – Friday the 13th: Final Chapter, Iceman and Swing Shift were released in theaters.
1990 – The Gods Must Be Crazy II and Crazy People debuted in theaters.
1991 – #1 Hit April 13, 1991 – April 19, 1991: Londonbeat – I’ve Been Thinking About You
1994 – Serial Mom was released in theaters.
1997 – Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.
2001 – Bridget Jones’s Diary debuted in theaters.
2002 – My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Scorpion King and Murder By Numbers were released in theaters.
2007 – Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film, The Condemned and The Invisible debuted in theaters.
2012 – The Cabin in the Woods and The Three Stooges were released in theaters.
