Our front page for August 13 — written and set by The Yesterday Times from the events below. Not an archival document.
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In 2026 it falls on a
Thursday
Star sign
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Birthstone
Peridot
On August 13 in 1961, 65 years ago, Berlin Border Sealed. This page reports 9 stories from the date, 25 people born on this day and 15 who died on it.
The stories in full
Foreign Desk
1961 — Berlin Border Sealed
East German authorities close the sector border and begin building a wall through Berlin's heart, drawing Western outrage as the city becomes a stark symbol of division.
In the cold annals of the Cold War, few days have carried such swift and somber weight as this one, when the Iron Curtain became a physical barrier of concrete and wire through the heart of Berlin. At dawn, East German authorities closed the border between the eastern and western sectors, halting the steady flow of refugees fleeing to the West at thousands each week. Within hours, construction crews began laying the foundations of a wall that would sever streets, tram lines, and families. Barbed Wire Sunday, as it is already being called, has turned the city into a symbol of division. Western leaders have voiced outrage, but the barrier stands, a stark monument to the ideological rupture of our time. Armed guards now patrol the new frontier, and the customary routes of passage are barred. The world has awakened to a new and perilous chapter in the struggle between East and West.
Cold War: East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West, and construction of the Berlin Wall is started. The day is known as Barbed Wire Sunday.
National Desk
1969 — Apollo 11 Astronauts Honored With Parade, Medal
Hundreds of thousands lined lower Manhattan streets as Apollo 11 crew received the city's official gratitude.
Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins rode through a blizzard of ticker tape here today as the nation saluted the first men to walk on the moon.
Hundreds of thousands lined the canyon-like streets of lower Manhattan, cheering the three astronauts as they waved from an open car. The parade, the city's welcoming ritual for heroes, carried the men of Apollo 11 past City Hall, where they received the official gratitude of the metropolis.
The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker-tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.
Diplomatic Beat
2020 — Israel and UAE Establish Formal Diplomatic Ties
First Gulf nation to recognize Jewish state in historic accord
In a first for the Gulf, Israel and the United Arab Emirates formally established diplomatic relations on Thursday, marking the third Arab state to recognize the Jewish state and the first in over two decades.
The agreement, brokered with U.S. assistance, opens the door to direct flights, trade, and security cooperation.
Israel–United Arab Emirates relations are formally established.
Music and Drama
1876 — Wagner's Ring Opens at Bayreuth Festival
Das Rheingold premiere draws emperors and composers to new festival theater
Performers in the inaugural 1876 Bayreuth Festival production of Wagner's Das Rheingold — Wikimedia Commons
The first performance of Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold opened the inaugural Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festival this evening, drawing an audience of emperors and composers to the composer's own festival theater.
The work, the prologue to the four-opera cycle, unfolded against a backdrop of painted rocks and swirling mists, with the Rhine maidens' gold gleaming in the stage light.
A performance of Wagner's Das Rheingold (scene pictured) opened the first Ring cycle at the first Bayreuth Festival, attended by emperors and composers.
After a long siege, the Aztec capital falls to Spanish arms.
The great lake-city lies broken, its causeways choked with rubble and its temples silent. After a siege of many weeks, the forces of Hernán Cortés have taken Tenochtitlan, and the Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc is taken prisoner. The Emperor's capture, reported by captains returning to the Spanish camp, marks the end of Aztec resistance. The city, once the seat of a vast empire, is now in Christian hands. Cortés, the conquistador from Extremadura, has fulfilled his vow to the Crown. The streets run quiet, and the canals are still. The dominion of Mexico passes to Spain.
After an extended siege, forces led by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés capture Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc and conquer the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.
War Department Desk
1942 — Army Orders Building of Atomic Project Plants
Construction authorized for the secret 'Development of Substitute Materials' project.
Construction authorized for the secret 'Development of Substitute Materials' project. — Wikimedia Commons
The Manhattan Project, the Army's secret effort to harness atomic energy, moved a step forward today as Major General Eugene Reybold of the Corps of Engineers authorized construction of its facilities. The project, formally styled the 'Development of Substitute Materials,' will house work that officials say may prove decisive in the war effort.
Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project.
Home Front Chronicle
1918 — First Women Enlist in Marine Corps; Opha May Johnson Leads Way
In a war that demands every hand, the Corps opens its ranks to women for the first time.
The Great War, which has drawn millions of men to the trenches, now calls women to new service. On this day, the United States Marine Corps enlisted its first woman, Opha May Johnson, who signed her name to the rolls in Washington. Her enlistment opens a new chapter in the long history of the Corps, which until now had barred women from its ranks. The move, part of a broader effort to free men for combat, assigns women to clerical duties at headquarters. Johnson, a stenographer by trade, is the first of many expected to follow.
Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha May Johnson is the first woman to enlist.
National Desk
2014 — Eduardo Campos Killed in Plane Crash in Brazil
Presidential candidate dies along with six others when Cessna Citation Excel goes down in Santos.
Eduardo Campos, the Brazilian Socialist Party candidate for president, was killed today when the Cessna Citation Excel carrying him crashed in Santos, São Paulo, killing all seven aboard. Campos, 49, was a former governor of Pernambuco and a leading challenger in the October election. The crash occurred in a residential area of the coastal city, according to early reports. Authorities have not released a cause, and an investigation is under way. The Socialist Party confirmed the deaths in a brief statement. Vice presidential candidate Marina Silva, who was not on the plane, is expected to address the nation later.
A Cessna Citation Excel crashes in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil killing all seven people aboard, including Brazilian Socialist Party presidential candidate Eduardo Campos.
Commercial Register
1918 — Bayerische Motoren Werke Incorporated as Public Company
Munich aircraft engine maker reorganizes as stock corporation.
The first public offering of aircraft engine maker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG has been completed in Munich, incorporating the firm as a public company under German law. Founded originally to build aircraft engines, the company now assumes the formal structure of an Aktiengesellschaft, opening its shares to investors.
The reorganization, effective this month, places the company's management under a supervisory board and a board of directors, as required by German commercial code. The firm's works, located on the outskirts of Munich, have been engaged in the production of power plants for military aircraft throughout the war.
With the conflict entering its fifth year, the company's future orders depend heavily on the continued demand for aviation engines. The new corporate form is seen as a step to secure long-term capital for expansion.
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) is established as a public company in Germany.
What the papers printed that morning
Real front pages from 13 August 1961, scanned by the Library of Congress. These are archival documents, not our work.
1905 Norwegians vote overwhelmingly to end union with Sweden — 121 years agosource
1898 Carl Gustav Witt discovers asteroid 433 Eros — 128 years agosource
1624 Louis XIII appoints Cardinal Richelieu as prime minister — 402 years agosource
1913 First production of stainless steel in UK by Harry Brearley — 113 years agosource
1960 Central African Republic declares independence from France — 66 years agosource
1954 Pakistan national anthem broadcast for first time on Radio Pakistan — 72 years agosource
1889 Coin-operated telephone patent granted to William Gray — 137 years agosource
29 BC Octavian celebrates first triumph for Dalmatian victory
source
1900 SS Deutschland sets record eastward Atlantic passage — 126 years agosource
1724 Bach first performance of chorale cantata BWV 101 — 302 years agosource
1999 Japan adopts Act on National Flag and Anthem — 27 years agosource
1650 General George Monck founds predecessor to Coldstream Guards — 376 years agosource
582 Maurice crowned Byzantine emperor to succeed Tiberius II Constantine — 1444 years agosource
Famous birthdays on August 13
1899Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was an English filmmaker.
1963SrideviSridevi Kapoor, known mononymously as Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films.
1948Kathleen Battle(78 this year)Kathleen Deanna Battle is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone.
1949Bobby Clarke(77 this year)Robert Earle Clarke is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played his entire 15-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Philadelphia Flyers and is currently an executive with the team.
1990DeMarcus Cousins(36 this year)DeMarcus Amir Cousins is an American professional basketball player for the Selenge Bodons of the Mongolian Basketball League.
1993Johnny GaudreauJohn Michael Gaudreau was an American professional ice hockey player.
1592WilliamWilliam, Count of Nassau-Siegen, German: Wilhelm Graf von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Graf zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu Beilstein, was Count of Nassau-Siegen, a part of the County of Nassau from 1624 to 1642.
1662Charles SeymourCharles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, KG, PC,, known by the epithet "The Proud Duke", was an English aristocrat and courtier.
1717Louis FrançoisLouis François de Bourbon, or Louis François I, Prince of Conti, was a French nobleman who became the Prince of Conti from 1727 to his death, succeeding his father, Louis Armand II de Bourbon.
1823Goldwin SmithGoldwin Smith was a British-born academic and historian who was active in both Great Britain and North America.
1906Art ShiresCharles Arthur Shires was an American professional baseball player.
1921Jimmy McCracklinJames David Walker Jr., better known by his stage name Jimmy McCracklin, was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter.
1938Bill MastertonWilliam John Masterton was a Canadian–American professional ice hockey player who was a centre in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars in 1967–68.
1952Dave CarterDave Carter was an American folk music singer-songwriter who described his style as "post-modern mythic American folk music".
1952Suzanne Muldowney(74 this year)Suzanne Muldowney, nicknamed Underdog Lady or simply Underdog, is a performance artist known for her appearances in parades in various cities throughout the year in her elaborate homemade costumes.
1953Thomas Pogge(73 this year)Thomas Winfried Menko Pogge is a German philosopher and is the Director of the Global Justice Program and Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University, United States.
1958Feargal Sharkey(68 this year)Seán Feargal Sharkey is a singer and environmentalist from Derry, Northern Ireland.
1958David Feherty(68 this year)David William Feherty is a Northern Irish-born former professional golfer and current golf broadcaster.
1961Tom Perrotta(65 this year)Thomas R. Perrotta is an American novelist and screenwriter best known for his novels Election (1998) and Little Children (2004), both of which were made into Academy Award-nominated films.
1970Alan Shearer(56 this year)Alan Shearer is an English football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker.
1970Will Clarke(56 this year)Will Clarke is an American novelist who is the author of Lord Vishnu's Love Handles: A Spy Novel , The Worthy: A Ghost's Story,The Neon Palm of Madame Melançon and Marigold: The Secret to Manifestation.
1971Patrick Carpentier(55 this year)Patrick Carpentier is a Canadian former professional auto racing driver.
1974Joe Perry(52 this year)Joe Perry is an English retired professional snooker player and a current commentator and pundit.
1982Sarah Huckabee Sanders(44 this year)Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders is an American politician serving as the 47th governor of Arkansas since 2023.
1982Ibram X. Kendi(44 this year)Ibram Xolani Kendi is an American author, professor, anti-racism activist, and historian of race and discriminatory policy in the U.S. He is author of books including Stamped from the Beginning, How to Be an Antiracist, Antiracist Baby, and Chain of Ideas.
Died on August 13
2014Eduardo CamposEduardo Henrique Accioly Campos was a Brazilian congressman and governor.
908Al-MuktafiAbū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muktafī bi'Llāh, better known by his regnal name al-Muktafī bi-Llāh, was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 902 to 908.
1865Ignaz SemmelweisIgnaz Philipp Semmelweis was a Hungarian medical doctor and scientist of German descent who was an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures, known as the "saviour of mothers".
1900Collis Potter HuntingtonCollis Potter Huntington was an American industrialist and railway magnate.
1996António de SpínolaAntónio Sebastião Ribeiro de Spínola was a Portuguese military officer, author and conservative politician.
1998Julien GreenJulien Green, often Julian Green, was an American writer who lived most of his life in France and wrote primarily in French, although he also wrote some works in English.
2018Jim NeidhartJames Henry Neidhart was an American professional wrestler known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart, where he was a two-time WWF Tag Team Champion with his real-life brother-in-law Bret Hart in the Hart Foundation.
2001Jim HughesJames Robert Hughes was an American professional baseball player.
1986Helen MackHelen Mack was an American actress.
2012Johnny PeskyJohn Michael Pesky, nicknamed "the Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB).
2007Brian AdamsBrian Keith Adams was an American professional wrestler.
2021Nanci GriffithNanci Caroline Griffith was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter.
2006Tony JayTony Jay was a British actor.
2024Sergio DonatiSergio Donati was an Italian screenwriter.
1826René LaennecRené-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec was a French medical doctor and musician.
Holidays and observances
August 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Benedetto Sinigardi
Benildus Romançon
Blessed Jakob Gapp
Blessed Marco d'Aviano
Cassian of Imola
Clara Maass (Lutheran Church)
Florence Nightingale, Octavia Hill (Lutheran Church)
Hippolytus of Rome
Jeremy Taylor (Anglican Communion)
Nerses Glaietsi (Catholic Church)
Pope Pontian
Quote of the Day
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” — Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
August 13 History Quiz
Which city was divided by the Berlin Wall's construction on August 13, 1961?
Berlin
What did the Apollo 11 astronauts receive from President Nixon during their August 13, 1969 parade?
A ticker-tape parade
Who composed the opera 'Das Rheingold' featured in the first Bayreuth Festival Ring cycle?
Richard Wagner
August 13 leans National Desk: 2 of the 22 events we hold for this date come from it.
Every event on this page was picked by hand from the historical record, written up as a news report, and checked against its source. Photographs are matched to the event they illustrate and verified before they are used. Sources are linked on each story.
“Summer In The City”, 
Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann
“I Just Want To Be Your Everything”, 
The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough
“Every Breath You Take”, 
“Stay (I Missed You) (From "Reality Bites")”, 
Lifeguard, James Patterson and Andrew Gross
“Party Rock Anthem”, 
A Dance with Dragons, George R. R. Martin
Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
