July 13 History, Fun Facts, and Trivia

July 13 Observances

July 13 is Barbershop Music Appreciation Day, National French Fry Day, Embrace Your Geekness Day, Bean ‘n’ Franks Day, National Beef Tallow Day, Fool’s Paradise Day, Go West Day, and Gruntled Workers Day. Gruntled is the antonym of disgruntled, and is a perfectly legitimate word that nobody ever uses because it sounds made up. French Fry Day and Bean ‘n’ Franks Day on the same calendar date suggests July 13 has some thoughts about side dishes.

Barbershop Music Appreciation Day

Barbershop harmony has roots going back centuries, with records of informal group singing in barbershops as early as the 17th century. Samuel Pepys described amateur musical gatherings in barbershops in his famous diary. The style developed partly because barbershops served as community gathering places, particularly for men who had few other public social spaces.

After the Civil War, African American men developed a strong tradition of close-harmony quartet singing, sometimes called “cracking a chord,” in part because they were excluded from theaters and formal concert halls. The New York Age documented this tradition as early as 1882.

On July 13, 1945, Edna Mae Anderson of Tulsa, Oklahoma invited a group of women to her home. Their husbands were members of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA, now called the Barbershop Harmony Society). The women decided they wanted in on the fun and founded Sweet Adelines International that evening, which now has chapters in 25 countries.

Trivia: The SPEBSQSA acronym is one of the least pronounceable in organizational history. The group rebranded as the Barbershop Harmony Society in 2004, which was easier for everyone.

What Happened on July 13?

July 13 is the day the Northwest Ordinance was enacted, the day the first World Cup kicked off in Uruguay, the day Live Aid connected two continents for rock and roll, the day New York City went dark, and the birthday of Harrison Ford, Patrick Stewart, and Jean-Luc Picard, two of whom are real people. It is also the day a composer who was terrified of the number 13 died on the 13th. The universe has a sense of humor, and it is not always kind.

If you were born on July 13, you were likely conceived the week of October 20 of the prior year.

July 13 History Highlights

586 BC — The Babylonian siege of Jerusalem ended with the destruction of Solomon’s Temple by Nebuchadnezzar II, marking the beginning of the Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people. Historians debate whether the year was 586 or 587 BC depending on the calendar system used. Either way, the Temple had stood for roughly 400 years. It was never rebuilt in its original form. The Second Temple, built on the same site, was destroyed by Rome in 70 AD. The Western Wall is what remains.

1787 — The Continental Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance, establishing governing rules for the Northwest Territory, which covered what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It established a process for admitting new states, guaranteed basic civil rights to settlers, and included a prohibition on slavery in the territory, one of the earliest formal federal limits on slavery’s expansion.

1923 — The Hollywood Sign was officially dedicated in the hills above Los Angeles. It originally read “Hollywoodland” and was a real estate advertisement for a housing development, lit by 4,000 lightbulbs. The last four letters were removed during a 1949 renovation by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which took over maintenance of the sign. The sign has been rebuilt and restored multiple times. The current version dates from 1978.

1930 — The first FIFA World Cup was inaugurated in Montevideo, Uruguay. Uruguay was chosen as host partly because it was the reigning Olympic champion and partly because it offered to pay all travel and accommodation costs for visiting teams. Thirteen nations participated. Uruguay won the tournament, defeating Argentina 4-2 in the final. Only four European teams made the trip, because the ocean crossing took two weeks each way.

1951 — Composer Arnold Schoenberg died at age 76. Schoenberg had severe triskaidekaphobia, a fear of the number 13, and was reportedly dreading his 76th year because 7 plus 6 equals 13. He had also predicted that he might die at age 76. On July 13, 1951, a Friday the 13th, he lay in bed all day, anxious. His wife reported that at 11:47 PM, with 13 minutes left in the day, he uttered the word “harmony” and died. The universe, apparently, was listening.

1977 — A lightning strike on a Con Edison transmission line triggered the New York City Blackout of 1977, plunging most of the city into darkness for 25 hours. Unlike the 1965 blackout, which was met with relative calm, the 1977 blackout was accompanied by widespread looting, arson, and disorder. Over 1,600 stores were damaged or destroyed, more than 1,000 fires were set, and 3,776 people were arrested in a single night. The blackout is often cited as a reflection of New York City’s broader social and fiscal crisis at the time. The city was effectively bankrupt and had been for two years.

1985 — Live Aid was broadcast simultaneously from Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, reaching an estimated global television audience of 1.9 billion people across 150 countries. Organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in response to the Ethiopian famine, the concert featured performances by Queen, U2, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin (reunited), and dozens of others. It raised approximately $127 million for famine relief. Queen’s performance is widely regarded as one of the greatest live rock performances ever filmed.

2002 — Fox News Channel surpassed CNN in cable news ratings for the first time, ending CNN’s two-decade dominance of the cable news landscape. CNN had launched in 1980. Fox News had launched in 1996. The shift in viewership reflected and accelerated a broader fragmentation of American media along ideological lines.

Billboard Number One on July 13

1957: “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” — Elvis Presley (No. 1: July 13 through August 30, 1957). Seven weeks at the top. Featured in the film Loving You (1957). Elvis had an actual collection of teddy bears by this point; fans had been sending them since “Hound Dog.”
1959: “Lonely Boy” — Paul Anka (No. 1: July 13 through August 9, 1959). Anka wrote the song when he was 17 years old and performed it on American Bandstand. He had already written “Diana” two years earlier at age 15.
1974: “Rock Your Baby” — George McCrae (No. 1: July 13-26, 1974). Recorded in 45 minutes in Miami. The bass line was written by KC of KC and the Sunshine Band. McCrae was brought in at the last minute because the song’s intended artist was unavailable. It became one of the first disco No. 1 hits in American chart history.
1985: “A View to a Kill” — Duran Duran (No. 1: July 13-26, 1985). The theme from the James Bond film of the same name. The only Bond theme to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Live Aid happened the same day it held the top spot, which meant Duran Duran performed at Wembley while simultaneously sitting at the top of the American chart.

Born on July 13

John Jacob Astor IV (1864-1912) — American businessman, real estate developer, inventor, and at the time of his death the wealthiest person aboard the RMS Titanic. He helped his pregnant wife Madeleine into a lifeboat, reportedly asked if he could accompany her given her condition, was told no, stepped back, and was never seen alive again. His body was recovered. He was 47 years old. His son Vincent, born to Madeleine four months after the sinking, inherited his estate.
Dave Garroway (1913-1982) — American television personality and the original host of NBC’s Today show from its launch in 1952 until 1961. He ended every broadcast with his hand raised and the word “Peace.” He struggled with depression throughout his life and died by suicide in 1982.
Bob Crane (1928-1978) — American actor best known as Colonel Hogan on Hogan’s Heroes (1965-1971). He was found murdered in his apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona in June 1978. The case remained officially unsolved for decades. A suspect was tried in 1994 but acquitted. The murder has never been officially solved.
Jack Kemp (1935-2009) — American politician, former NFL quarterback (Buffalo Bills), and 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee alongside Bob Dole. As Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under George H.W. Bush, he was a consistent advocate for enterprise zones in underserved communities and was known for engaging with constituencies that Republicans rarely courted.
Patrick Stewart (1940) — English actor best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and spent years with the Royal Shakespeare Company before being cast in Star Trek. The RSC background is why Picard quotes Shakespeare. Stewart has also been a prominent advocate against domestic violence, drawing on his own childhood experiences.
Harrison Ford (1942) — American actor who played Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise and Indiana Jones in four films, making him arguably the most successful franchise actor in cinema history. He was working as a carpenter when George Lucas cast him in Star Wars (1977). He has been in more top-10 box office films than any other actor in history. He is also a licensed pilot who has been involved in multiple aircraft incidents and continues to fly.
Roger McGuinn (1942) — American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, founder and lead vocalist of The Byrds. His 12-string Rickenbacker guitar sound defined folk rock in the mid-1960s. The Byrds’ version of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965) is considered one of the most influential recordings of the decade.
Cheech Marin (1946) — American actor, comedian, and art collector. One half of Cheech and Chong, whose comedy albums and films defined a generation of counterculture humor in the 1970s. Less widely known: he is one of the foremost collectors of Chicano art in the world and opened the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture in Riverside, California in 2022.
Michael Spinks (1956) — American boxer and Olympic gold medalist (1976) who became the first light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title, defeating Larry Holmes in 1985. He was knocked out by Mike Tyson in 91 seconds in 1988 in one of the most stunning finishes in heavyweight title history. He retired immediately after.
Cameron Crowe (1957) — American director, producer, and screenwriter. He began writing for Rolling Stone magazine at age 15, going undercover at a San Diego high school to write about teenage life, an experience that became the basis for Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). He later wrote and directed Say Anything (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), and Almost Famous (2000), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Tom Kenny (1962) — American voice actor best known as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants since the show’s debut in 1999. He has also voiced the Ice King in Adventure Time, the Narrator in The Powerpuff Girls, and dozens of other characters. He is one of the most prolific voice actors in animation history.
Gerald Levert (1966-2006) — American R&B singer and son of O’Jays lead singer Eddie Levert. He recorded both as a solo artist and as part of the group LeVert. He passed away in November 2006 from an accidental prescription drug overdose at age 40.
Ken Jeong (1969) — American actor, comedian, and licensed physician. He practiced internal medicine before breaking into comedy and continues to hold his medical license. He is best known for his role as Mr. Chow in The Hangover trilogy and Ben Chang in Community. He used his medical training on set during The Hangover when a cast member experienced a seizure.

Birthday Quotes from July 13 Birthdays

“You can have all the tools in the world but if you don’t genuinely believe in yourself, it’s useless.”
— Ken Jeong

“If you wish a thing done, get someone to do it for you; but if you wish it done well, do it yourself.”
— John Jacob Astor IV

“People are always saying that I must have been the class clown, with all these voices. No, I was way too shy to be the class clown. I was a class clown’s writer.”
— Tom Kenny

“If there’s anyone in space, what they’ll learn about the human race will be from listening to us talking on the car phone.”
— Roger McGuinn

“If someone says ‘Give me one word of advice,’ I say ‘be fearless.’ Knowing without any shadow of a doubt that what they have to give, who they are, is totally unique and not shared by anybody else. And to believe in that uniqueness. It took me decades before I developed courage as an actor.”
— Patrick Stewart

“When people lack jobs, opportunity, and ownership of property, they have little or no stake in their communities.”
— Jack Kemp

Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts for July 13

Harry Potter’s father, James Potter, fits the exact profile of the villain from every teen comedy: popular, athletic, wealthy, and spent his school years bullying the awkward kid. The awkward kid grew up to be Voldemort. This reframes several things.
Clarke’s First Law: When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he says something is impossible, he is very likely wrong. Arthur C. Clarke wrote three such laws. All three are worth memorizing.
Every activity leads to weight loss if you add “instead of eating” at the end of it.
Legally Blonde was originally a novel based on author Amanda Brown’s actual experiences at Stanford Law School. The film version starring Reese Witherspoon (2001) was significantly more optimistic about the experience.
Nauru, the world’s smallest island nation, has no official capital city. Government offices are located in the Yaren District, which functions as the de facto capital. Nauru is also the only country in the world with no official capital.
Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting during his lifetime, “The Red Vineyard,” for 400 francs in 1890. He died four months later. His works now sell for tens of millions of dollars each. His brother Theo, who supported him financially throughout his life, died six months after Vincent.
There are a total of 3,863,484 unique Lego brick combinations used in The Lego Movie. The production team built and photographed real Lego sets for reference, then recreated everything digitally to make it look like stop-motion. It took four years.
A group of guinea fowl is called a Confusion. Anyone who has spent time around guinea fowl will confirm this is accurate.
The word “skunk” already appeared yesterday. Today’s animal fact: a group of flamingos is called a flamboyance. Whoever names animal groups is having more fun than the rest of us.
“I bought the world’s worst thesaurus earlier. Not only was it terrible, but it was also terrible.”
Duran Duran had the No. 1 song in America on the same day Live Aid was broadcast from London and Philadelphia. They performed at Wembley that afternoon. It was, by any measure, a very good Saturday.
Arnold Schoenberg feared the number 13 his entire life, worried about his 76th year because 7 plus 6 equals 13, and died at 11:47 PM on Friday, July 13, with 13 minutes left in the day. His last word was “harmony.” Even the universe could not resist the setup.