This Day in History on 13 August

The historical events hold a lot of value for aspirants who are sitting for UPSC competitive exams including the IAS Exam.

On this page, we will list all historical events that occurred on 13 August. The students can refer them while preparing for all competitive exams and banking exams.

Important Days

International Lefthanders Day (International)

Important Events

1784: East India Company was appointed as the centralised Regulatory Authority through India by Pitt’s India Act, which was accepted in British Parliament in England.

1898: Carl Gustave Vit discovered 433 Eros Asteroid near Earth.

1913: First production of Stainless Steel in the United Kingdom by Harry Brearly.

1928: Nationalists issue a draft constitution calling for dominion status and a two-chamber parliament.

1943: Chintamanrao Deshmukh was the first Indian to be appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank.

1951: First test flight of ‘Hindustan Trainer-2’ (H.T.2) which was indigenously designed and manufactured in India.

1953: Durgabai Deshmukh became the founder Chairperson of Central Social Welfare Board, which involved several voluntary organisations and workers carrying out programs like education, training and rehabilitation of needy women etc.

1954: Radio Pakistan broadcasted the ‘Qaumi Tarana’, the national anthem of Pakistan for the first time.

1954: Nehru says dispute over Portuguese colonies in India must be settled peacefully.

1956: National Highways Act was approved by the Parliament of India.

1960: Central African Republic declared its independence from France.

1960: Marmik’ weekly magzine published.

1961: Wall of Berlin started building.

1990: A mainland Chinese fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5202 is hit by a Taiwan’s naval vessel and sinks in a repatriation operation of mainland Chinese illegal immigrants, resulting in 21 deaths. This is the second tragedy less than a month after Min Ping Yu No. 5540 incident.

1997: Supreme Court lays down guidelines and norms for the effective enforcement of the basic human right of gender equality and guarantee against sexual harassment at work places.

1997: The contentious women’s reservation bill put on the back burner with PM Gujral saying govt. would not push through such a major social legislation until there was a consensus on it.

1998: India signs two agreements with the World Bank for concessional credit through the International Development Association for $115.4 million.

2000: The Government announces the opening up of the national long distance communication segment with no restriction on the number of players.

2004: One hundred fifty-six Congolese Tutsi refugees are massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.

2008: Russo-Georgian War: Russian units occupy the Georgian city of Gori.

2015: At least 76 people are killed and 212 others are wounded in a truck bombing in Baghdad, Iraq.

Birth/Birth Anniversary

1638: Durgadas Rathore, social reformer, was born at Salwa.

1848: Ramesh Chander Dutt. He was a historian, economist, writer, translator, civil servant, and politician from India.

1888: John Logie Baird, a Scottish engineer who invented Television.

Robin Jackman, Indian-English cricketer and sportscaster
Robin Jackman, Indian-English cricketer and sportscaster

1890: Tryambak Bapuji Thombre, an Indian Marathi poet.

1898: Acharya Atre, Indian writer, politician, editor, film producer, and poet.

1899: Alfred Hitchcock, British Filmmaker. English director who moved to Hollywood and directed such classics as Psycho and The Birds. 

1911: Guha Phulrenu, social worker, was born.

1913: Khawtin Khuma, politician, was born at Phuldungsei, Tripura.

1926: Fidel Alexandro Castro (American Spanish) was a Cuban communist revolutionary and politician. He governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then President from 1976 to 2008.

Sridevi, Indian actress
Sridevi, Indian actress

1936: Vyjayanti mala Bali, Indian actress, and Politician.

1945: Robin Jackman, Indian-English cricketer and sportscaster

1963: Shridevi, Indian actress. She was known as the female superstar of Indian cinema.

1975: Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistani cricketer.

1983: Sandip Chandra, 9th Grandmaster.

Death/ Death Anniversary

1795: Ahilyabai Holkar, the hereditary noble Sardar of the Maratha Empire, India. She passed away at the age of 70.

1826: Rene Laennec, French physician. The inventor of the Stethoscope.

Om Prakash Munjal, Indian businessman and philanthropist
Om Prakash Munjal, Indian businessman and philanthropist

1910: Nurse Florence Nightingale, ‘the Lady with the Lamp’. During the Crimean war, she transformed the appalling conditions in military hospitals and founded the Nursing profession. 

1936: Madam Bhikaji Rustum Kama, freedom fighter, Indian lady revolutionary and politician, passed away at Bombay.

1946: H. G. Wells, author of Time Machine and The shape of things to come. Sometimes called the Father of science fiction. 

1951: Acharya Kishoridas Vajpayee passed away.

1963: Sisir Kumar Mitra, Physics scientist, died at the age of 73.

1988: Gajanan Jagirdar, the first director of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). 

2000: Nazia Hussein, Pakistani pop singer. 

Pramukh Swami Maharaj
Pramukh Swami Maharaj

2015: Om Prakash Manjal, Founder of Hero Company of the bicycle. 

2018: Somnath Chatterjee, an Indian politician.

2015: Om Prakash Munjal, the Indian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Hero Cycles (b. 1928)

2016: Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian Hindu leader (b. 1921)

Further Reading

Month-wise This Day in History