May 13

Baldwin I of Jerusalem captures Beirut from Fatimid forces with the assistance of a Genoese fleet.

Crusader King Baldwin I of Jerusalem, with crucial naval assistance from a Genoese fleet promised commercial trading privileges in return, captured the coastal city of Beirut from Fatimid Egyptian forces, expanding Crusader control along a strategically vital stretch of the eastern Mediterranean coastline.

Forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, are defeated at the Battle of Langside, effectively ending her attempt to reclaim the Scottish throne.

Forces loyal to the deposed Mary, Queen of Scots, were decisively defeated at the Battle of Langside near Glasgow by troops supporting her infant son's regency, ending her attempt to reclaim the Scottish throne after her earlier forced abdication and forcing her to flee across the border into what became decades of lifelong imprisonment in England.

The United States declares war on Mexico amid disputes over the Texas border, beginning the Mexican-American War.

The United States formally declared war on Mexico following a deadly skirmish along the disputed Rio Grande boundary in Texas, beginning the Mexican-American War, a conflict driven partly by the doctrine of Manifest Destiny that ultimately resulted in the U.S. acquiring vast southwestern territories stretching to California.

Brazil abolishes slavery through the Lei Áurea, or Golden Law, becoming the last country in the Americas to do so.

Brazil's parliament passed the Lei Áurea, or Golden Law, signed by Princess Isabel while serving as regent, immediately and unconditionally abolishing slavery throughout the country without compensation to former slaveholders. Brazil thereby became the last country in the Western Hemisphere to end the institution after centuries of dependence on enslaved labor.

Three shepherd children report the first of several apparitions of the Virgin Mary near Fátima, Portugal, later becoming a major Catholic pilgrimage site.

Three young shepherd children tending sheep near Fátima, Portugal, reported the first of what they described as six monthly apparitions of the Virgin Mary appearing over an oak tree, a series of reported visions that became a globally significant site of Catholic pilgrimage and devotion, drawing millions of visitors annually.

Winston Churchill delivers his "blood, toil, tears and sweat" speech to the House of Commons as Germany invades France.

Newly appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered his first, defiant speech to the House of Commons, famously offering the British people "nothing but blood, toil, tears and sweat" just as Nazi Germany's rapid invasion of Western Europe began, setting an unflinching tone for Britain's wartime leadership.

The inaugural Formula One World Championship race is held at Silverstone in England.

The inaugural race of the Formula One World Championship was held at the Silverstone circuit in England, a former Royal Air Force airfield, with Italian driver Nino Farina winning in an Alfa Romeo before King George VI, marking the beginning of what became the world's premier international auto racing series.

Pope John Paul II is shot and seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square.

Pope John Paul II was shot and critically wounded by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Ağca in a crowded St. Peter's Square in Rome, an assassination attempt he narrowly survived after emergency surgery and later famously visited his attacker in prison to personally forgive him.

Students occupying Beijing's Tiananmen Square begin a hunger strike, escalating pro-democracy protests.

Student demonstrators occupying Beijing's Tiananmen Square began a widespread hunger strike involving thousands of participants to intensify public pressure for political reform and dialogue with the government, dramatically escalating the weeks-long pro-democracy protests that would end tragically in a violent military crackdown weeks later.

An explosion at a coal mine in Soma, Turkey, kills 301 miners in one of the deadliest mining disasters in history.

An explosion and subsequent fire tore through an underground coal mine in Soma, western Turkey, trapping and killing 301 miners in the country's deadliest industrial disaster on record, prompting nationwide protests, government resignations calls, and intense scrutiny of lax mine safety standards and regulatory enforcement.