| 13 December 1250 | Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Sicily, Kingdom of Jerusalem [political events] | Following the death of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (Stupor mundi, ‘wonder of the world’), his son Conrad IV, king of the Romans (king of Germany), succeeds as king of Sicily and (nominal) king of Jerusalem. |
| 13 December 1250 | Sicily, Germany, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Jerusalem [births and deaths] | Frederick II, king of Sicily 1197–1250, king of Germany 1212–50, and Holy Roman Emperor 1220–50, king of Jerusalem 1229–43, grandson of Frederick I Barbarossa, dies in Castel Fiorentino, Apulia, Italy (55). |
| 13 December 1516 | Spain, France, Holy Roman Empire, Venice, Italy [treaties] | The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I accedes to the Treaty of Noyon agreed in August between King Francis I of France and King Charles I of Spain, overturning an agreement with England reached in October in the Treaty of Brussels. He waives his claims in Italy for 200,000 ducats, handing over the city of Verona to Venice. |
| 13 December 1553 | France [births and deaths] | Henry IV, first Bourbon king of France 1589–1610, born in Pau, Béarn, France (–1610). |
| 13 December 1570 | Sweden, Denmark-Norway, Estonia [treaties] | In the Peace of Stettin, ending the ‘War of the Three Crowns’, Sweden retains Estonia and Elfsborg (present-day Gothenburg) for a stiff ransom; Denmark-Norway's increased Sund tolls are recognized, and Narva is opened to trade with Denmark-Norway and Lübeck. |
| 13 December 1784 | England [births and deaths] | Samuel Johnson, English essayist, critic, and lexicographer, author of the Dictionary of the English Language, dies in London, England (74). |
| 13 December 1789 | Austrian Netherlands, Belgium [political events] | The Austrian Netherlands declare their independence as ‘the United States of Belgium’. |
| 13 December 1837 | Canada [political events] | William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the revolt against British rule in Upper Canada, sets up a provisional government for Upper Canada from headquarters on Navy Island in the Niagara River, and prepares for an invasion of Canada. |
| 13 December 1862 | USA [American Civil War (1861–65)] | The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under the Confederate commander in chief General Robert E Lee, comprehensively defeats the attempt of the Union army of General Ambrose Burnside to cross the Rappahannock River into Virginia at Fredericksburg. Union casualties exceed 12,500, to fewer than 5,000 Confederates. |
| 13 December 1925 | Persia [political events] | The nationalist army officer Reza Khan becomes shah of Persia (modern Iran). |
| 13–17 December 1939 | UK, Germany, Uruguay [World War II (1939–45)] | The British heavy cruiser Exeter and light cruiser Ajax, and the New Zealand light cruiser Achilles engage the German ‘pocket battleship’ Graf Spee in the Battle of the Rio de la Plata (River Plate) in South America. It ends with the scuttling of the German warship off Montevideo, Uruguay. |
| 13 December 1970 | Poland [law and government] | The Polish government sharply increases food, fuel, and clothing prices. On 14 December strikes, riots, and arson begin in Gdansk, Poland, spreading to other Baltic ports. |
| 13 December 1973 | UK [law and government] | The British prime minister, Edward Heath, orders industry to work a three-day week from 31 December to save energy. |
| 13 December 1981 | Poland [political events] | Martial law is imposed in Poland, leading to mass detentions and imposing curbs on civil liberties and trade union activities. |
| 13 December 2000 | USA [elections] | Five weeks after the disputed US presidential election, a ruling by the Supreme Court effectively cancels recounts in Florida. This hands the White House to the Republican Party candidate George W Bush. |
| 13 December 2001 | [treaties] | US president George W Bush announces his intention to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia, which has been the cornerstone of nuclear deterrence since 1972. |
| 13 December 2007 | Portugal [international organizations] | European Union heads of government, with the exception of UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, gather in Lisbon, Portugal, to officially sign the controversial new treaty agreed in June on streamlining the institutional structure and operation of the enlarged EU. |
