Sunday · September 27, 2026
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American history, reported as it happened
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On this day › July 13

What happened on July 13 in American history

July 13 is the 194th day of the year (the 195th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 5 stories from July 13 spanning 1787 to 1995. Among them: in 1787, Confederation Congress charts a path to statehood for the Ohio territory; slavery banned within its bounds; and in 1863, Mob torches the draft office on Third Avenue; four days of violence begin.

1787

Confederation Congress charts a path to statehood for the Ohio territory; slavery banned within its bounds

The Northwest Ordinance divides the vast British cession into future states and sets aside a township plot for public schools in every settlement.
1863Member story · 1776 Club

Mob torches the draft office on Third Avenue; four days of violence begin

Some 500 men, led by volunteer firemen, storm the provost marshal's post at 47th Street, furious that $300 buys a rich man's way out of the Union Army.
1973Member story · 1776 Club

Butterfield tells the Senate: every Oval Office word since 1971 has been on tape

The White House deputy assistant reveals 3,432 hours of recordings exist, and the Watergate case now turns on what is in them.
1985Member story · 1776 Club

Reagan signs over his powers before surgery; Bush is Acting President by mid-morning

Invoking Section 3 of the 25th Amendment for the first time, Reagan transfers the office ahead of anesthesia for a colon procedure at George Washington University Hospital.
1995

Discovery lifts off at last; woodpecker damage and a mid-count signal flag had held it back

Six hours after launch, the crew deploys TDRS-G, the last first-generation tracking satellite, raised toward geostationary orbit by the Inertial Upper Stage.