December 13
1642 - New Zealand was discovered by Dutch navigator Abel Tasman.
1862 - Union forces led by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside launched futile attacks against entrenched Confederate soldiers during the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg; the soundly defeated Northern troops withdrew two days later.
1918 - President Woodrow Wilson arrived in France, becoming the first U.S. president to visit Europe while in office.
1937 - During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese soldiers massacred an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 citizens, war prisoners and soldiers in the Chinese city of Nanjing.
1978 - The U.S. Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony silver dollar, the first U.S. coin honoring a woman.
1981 - The Polish government imposed martial law in an attempt to crush the Solidarity movement.
1989 - South African President F.W. de Klerk met with Nelson Mandela for the first time.
1996 - Kofi Annan of Ghana is selected secretary-general of the United Nations.
2000 - Republican George W. Bush claimed the presidency a day after the U.S. Supreme Court shut down further recounts of disputed ballots in Florida; Democrat Al Gore conceded, delivering a call for national unity.
2001 - The Pentagon publicly released a captured videotape of Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader said the deaths and destruction achieved by the Sept. 11 attacks exceeded his ''most optimistic'' expectations.
2003 - American forces capture Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein who was found hiding in a hole near his hometown of Tikrit.
2014 - Thousands of protesters marched in New York, Washington and other U.S. cities to call attention to the killing of unarmed Black men by white police officers.
2019 - The House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment accusing President Donald Trump of abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstruction of Congress in the investigation that followed.
2022 - President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act providing federal recognition and protection for same-sex and interracial marriages, saying "the law, and the love it defends, strike a blow against hate in all its forms."
Birthdays
21 - Maisy Stella (actress)
28 - Jana Craig (reality star)
29 - Emma Corrin (actress)
35 - Taylor Swift (singer)
35 - Katherine Schwarzenegger (author)
43 - Amy Lee (singer)
49 - Tom Delonge (singer)
50 - Ashley Hosbach (reality star)
55 - Sergei Federov (hockey player)
57 - NeNe Leakes (actress/reality star)
57 - Jamie Foxx (actor/comedian)
64 - Richard Dent (football player)
67 - Morris Day (singer)
67 - Steve Buscemi (actor)
70 - John Anderson (musician)
74 - Wendie Malick (actress)
75 - Randy Owen (singer)
76 - Ted Nugent (musician)
76 - Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (musician)
82 - Ferguson Jenkins (baseball player)
83 - John Davidson (singer/TV host)
99 - Dick Van Dyke (actor/comedian)
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Today in Sports History - December 13
1931 - The Green Bay Packers win the NFL Championship Game, defeating the New York Giants 27-0.
1936 - The Green Bay Packers defeat the Boston Redskins 21-6 to win the NFL Championship Game; the game marked the final for the Redskins in Boston, with the franchise moving to Washington, D.C. the following year.
1942 - The Washington Redskins defeat the Chicago Bears 14-6 to win the NFL Championship Game.
1949 - The American League rejected a revival of the spitball, which had been outlawed since 1920.
1956 - Jackie Robinson (Los Angeles Dodgers) was traded to the Giants for pitcher Dick Littlefield and $35,000. Robinson retired instead of accepting the trade.
1966 - The rights to the first four Super Bowls were sold to CBS and NBC for a total of $9.5 million.
1973 - Detroit became the first city to receive a franchise for the World Football League.
1977 - Fourteen members of the University of Evansville men's basketball team are killed in a plane crash.
1983 - An NBA record was set when the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets played a triple overtime that resulted in Pistons winning 186-184.
1995 - Paul Coffey (Detroit Red Wings) became the first NHL defenseman to reach 1,000 career points.
1997 - Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson wins the Heisman Trophy.
1998 - Gary Anderson (Minnesota Vikings) kicked six field goals against Baltimore. In the game Anderson set an NFL record for 34 straight field goals without a miss.
1998 - Marshall Faulk set a new Colts record for total yards from scrimmage in a season with 2,090. The record had been held by Eric Dickerson with 2,036.
1999 - Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne wins the Heisman Trophy.
2001 - Michael Frank Goodwin was arrested and booked on two counts of murder, one count of conspiracy and three special circumstances (lying in wait, murder for financial gain and multiple murder) in connection to the death of Mickey Thompson. Thompson and his wife Trudy were shot to death in their driveway on March 16, 1988. Thompson, known as the "Speed King," set nearly 500 auto speed endurance records including being the first person to travel more than 400 mph on land.
2003 - Oklahoma quarterback Jason White wins the Heisman Trophy.
2007 - Major League Baseball's Mitchell Report was released, identifying 85 names to differing degrees in connection with the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.
2010 - Auburn quarterback Cam Newton wins the Heisman Trophy.
2014 - Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota wins the Heisman Trophy.
2015 - Alabama running back Derrick Henry wins the Heisman Trophy.
2018 - Dirk Nowitzki takes the floor for a record 21st season with the Dallas Mavericks, surpassing Kobe Bryant's 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers.
