December 13 in history — What Happened Today in History

In the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese forces launch their 1975 Spring Offensive (to 30 April 1975), which results in the final capitulation of South Vietnam.

Apollo program: Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or "Moonwalk" of Apollo 17. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon.

Brazilian President Artur da Costa e Silva issues AI-5 (Institutional Act No. 5), enabling government by decree and suspending habeas corpus.

Constantine II of Greece attempts an unsuccessful counter-coup against the Regime of the Colonels.

NASA launches Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit.

While Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Imperial Bodyguard seizes the capital and proclaims him deposed and his son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, Emperor.

Archbishop Makarios III becomes the first President of Cyprus.

The Mw 6.5 Farsinaj earthquake strikes Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII, causing at least 1,119 deaths and damaging over 5,000 homes.

The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

World War II: The Massacre of Kalavryta by German occupying forces in Greece.

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.

The Holocaust: The Neuengamme concentration camp opens in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, Germany.

Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking: The city of Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese. This is followed by the Nanking Massacre, in which Japanese troops rape and slaughter hundreds of thousands of civilians.

2-31 seconds before the epoch: The date at which all fixed-width 32-bit date processors will have overflown to and display; the year 2038 problem.

American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea: The Second Battle of Fort McAllister ends with the fort being seized by Union forces under General William B. Hazen, threatening the city of Savannah with investment.

American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee repulses attacks by Union Major General Ambrose Burnside on Marye's Heights, inflicting heavy casualties.

Cyril VI of Constantinople resigns from his position as Ecumenical Patriarch under pressure from the Ottoman Empire.

Dartmouth College is founded by the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, with a royal charter from King George III, on land donated by Royal governor John Wentworth.

The English transport ship Duke William sinks in the North Atlantic, killing over 360 people.

English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire.

Abel Tasman is the first recorded European to sight New Zealand.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians, a date now considered the founding of the National Guard of the United States.

The Plymouth Colony establishes the system of trial by 12-men jury in the American colonies.

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

The Council of Trent begins as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.

Fletcher Cox, American football player

Joseph Garrett, English YouTuber, actor, and author

Arantxa Rus, Dutch tennis player

Hellen Obiri, Kenyan runner

Katherine Schwarzenegger, American author

Taylor Swift, American singer-songwriter

Rickie Fowler, American golfer

James Holmes, American mass murderer

Santi Cazorla, Spanish footballer

Hanna-Maria Seppälä, Finnish freestyle swimmer

Laura Hodges, Australian basketball player

Dan Hamhuis, Canadian ice hockey player

Ricky Nolasco, American baseball player

Don E. Fehrenbacher, American historian, author, and academic (born 1920)

Edward Blishen, English author and educator (born 1920)

Ann Nolan Clark, American author and educator (born 1896)

Vanessa Duriès, French author (born 1972)

K. C. Irving, Canadian businessman (born 1899)

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1899)

Heather Angel, British-American actress (born 1909)

Ella Baker, American activist (born 1903)

Smita Patil, Indian actress and journalist (born 1955)

Alexander Schmemann, Estonian-American priest and theologian (born 1921)

Nichita Stănescu, Romanian poet and critic (born 1933)

Jon Hall, American actor and director (born 1915)

Behçet Necatigil, Turkish author, poet and translator (born 1916)