12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for November 13, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1002 – St. Brice’s Day massacre ordered by King Æthelred the Unready in England.
- 1789 – Benjamin Franklin writes that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy.
- 1907 – Paul Cornu makes the first brief free flight of a manned helicopter in France.
- 1918 – Allied forces begin the occupation of Constantinople (Istanbul) following the Ottoman Empire’s armistice.
- 1927 – Holland Tunnel opens, linking New York City and New Jersey beneath the Hudson River.
- 1940 – Walt Disney’s Fantasia premieres in New York City, pioneering stereo “Fantasound.”
- 1942 – During the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the USS Juneau is sunk; the five Sullivan brothers are killed.
- 1956 – U.S. Supreme Court affirms Browder v. Gayle, ending bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama.
- 1974 – The Amityville murders occur in Long Island, later inspiring books and films.
- 1985 – Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupts in Colombia; the Armero tragedy kills more than 20,000 people.
- 1994 – Sweden votes in a referendum to join the European Union.
- 2001 – Northern Alliance forces enter Kabul as Taliban control collapses in Afghanistan.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1954 – Chris Noth, actor (Law & Order; Sex and the City) (71).
- 1955 – Whoopi Goldberg, actor/comedian/TV host (EGOT winner) (70).
- 1947 – Joe Mantegna, actor (Criminal Minds; Glengarry Glen Ross) (78).
- 1969 – Gerard Butler, actor/producer (300; Olympus Has Fallen) (56).
- 1979 – Metta World Peace (Ron Artest), NBA champion/All-Star (46).
- 1980 – Monique Coleman, actor/advocate (High School Musical; youth empowerment) (45).
- 1993 – Julia Michaels, singer-songwriter (“Issues”; hits for Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber) (32).
Today’s Deaths:
- 1868 – Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer (The Barber of Seville) (76).
- 1903 – Camille Pissarro, French Impressionist painter (73).
- 1974 – Karen Silkwood, American labor activist and whistleblower (28).
- 2005 – Eddie Guerrero, professional wrestler (WWE champion) (38).
- 2010 – Allan Sandage, American astronomer (Hubble constant, cosmic distance scale) (84).
- 2014 – Alexander Grothendieck, revolutionary mathematician (algebraic geometry) (86).
- 2016 – Leon Russell, American musician/songwriter (“A Song for You”) (74).
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