December 13th, 1939

Born on December 13th, 1939

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 31,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 402 days, exactly on July 24th, 2027, people who were born on December 13th, 1939 will be 32,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on December 13th, 1939?

December 13th, 1939

The Battle of the River Plate is fought off the coast of Uruguay; the first naval battle of World War II. The Kriegsmarine's Deutschland-class cruiser (pocket battleship) Admiral Graf Spee engages with three Royal Navy cruisers: HMS Ajax, HMNZS Achilles and HMS Exeter.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_River_Plate

What else happened on December 13th?

December 13th, 1577

Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.

December 13th, 1294

Saint Celestine V resigned the papacy after only five months to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.

December 13th, 2011

A man threw grenades and fired a rifle at crowds in Liège, Belgium, causing 6 deaths and injuring more than 120 others, before killing himself.

December 13th, 1989

The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army engaged in a fierce firefight with the King's Own Scottish Borderers at a vehicle checkpoint complex in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

December 13th, 1981

Polish prime minister Wojciech Jaruzelski (pictured) declared martial law.

December 13th, 1960

With Haile Selassie (pictured), Emperor of Ethiopia, out of the country, four conspirators staged a coup attempt to install Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen on the throne.

December 13th, 1937

Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces, capturing the Chinese city of Nanjing, began committing numerous atrocities over the next several weeks, including looting, rape and the execution of prisoners of war and civilians.

December 13th, 1928

An American in Paris, a jazz-influenced orchestral piece by George Gershwin, premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York.

December 13th, 1862

American Civil War: Union forces under Ambrose Burnside suffered severe casualties against entrenched Confederate defenders at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia.

December 13th, 1769

Dartmouth College (campus pictured) was established by royal charter in present-day Hanover, New Hampshire.

December 13th, 1643

First English Civil War: Roundhead forces under Sir William Waller led a successful surprise attack in Hampshire on a winter garrison of Cavalier infantry and cavalry.

December 13th, 2019

Jo Swinson (pictured) steps down as Leader of the Liberal Democrats after losing her seat in the 2019 general election making her tenure the shortest in the party's history.

December 13th, 2015

Beyoncé (pictured) released her fifth studio album without any prior announcement or promotion; it sold 2.3 million copies before the end of the year.

December 13th, 1991

Croatian War of Independence: The Croatian Army retreated after the failure of Operation Whirlwind, destroying their tanks to avoid their capture.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on December 13th

Same year
Born in 1939

87

Helga Piur

German actress and voice actress

*May 24th, 1939, Berlin

87

Hans Kloft

German historian of classical antiquity

*April 10th, 1939, Düsseldorf

83

Hans-Christian Ströbele

German lawyer and politician (1939–2022)

*June 7th, 1939, Halle (Saale) †August 29th, 2022, Moabit

83

Tina Turner

American-born Swiss singer and songwriter (1939–2023)

*November 26th, 1939, Brownsville †May 24th, 2023, Küsnacht

77

Dudley Storey

New Zealand rower

*November 27th, 1939, Wairoa †March 6th, 2017, Auckland

77

Bill White

Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach (1939-2017)

*August 26th, 1939, Toronto †May 21st, 2017, Toronto

78

Oscar Fulloné

Argentine association football player and manager (1939-2017)

*April 4th, 1939, La Plata †May 22nd, 2017, Casablanca

70

Dixie Carter

American actress (1939–2010)

*May 25th, 1939, McLemoresville †April 10th, 2010, Houston

84

Heinrich Messner

Austrian alpine skier

*September 1st, 1939, Obernberg am Brenner †October 19th, 2023

86

Margaret Atwood

Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, pépiniériste and inventor

*November 18th, 1939, Ottawa

86

Yves Meyer

French mathematician

*July 19th, 1939, Paris

87

Monika von Starck

German painter and sculptor

*February 3rd, 1939, Cologne

74

Karen Black

American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter (1939-2013)

*July 1st, 1939, Park Ridge †August 8th, 2013, Santa Monica

78

Irio De Paula

Brazilian composer (1939–2017)

*May 10th, 1939, Rio de Janeiro †May 23rd, 2017, Rome

87

Ian McKellen

British actor (born 1939)

*May 25th, 1939, Burnley

59

Dusty Springfield

British singer (1939–1999)

*April 16th, 1939, London †March 2nd, 1999, Henley-on-Thames

78

Peter Grünberg

German physicist, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (1939-2018)

*May 18th, 1939, Plzeň †April 7th, 2018, Jülich

80

Karel Gott

Czech singer and actor

*July 14th, 1939, Plzeň †October 1st, 2019, Prague

80

Ginger Baker

British drummer (1939–2019)

*August 19th, 1939, Lewisham †October 6th, 2019, Canterbury

86

Brenda Vaccaro

American actress

*November 18th, 1939, Brooklyn

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on December 13th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day) which are celebrated on December 13th.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Born on December 13th, 1939
Future birthdays

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1939 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
December 1939