Once Upon A Time – August 13 – 1961 – Construction Of The Berlin Wall Begins In East Germany

1521 Spanish conquistadors under Hernán Cortés capture Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc in Tenochtitlan marking the end of the Aztec Empire

1642 Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovers Mars’ southern polar cap

1788 Prussia joins Anglo-Dutch alliance to form Triple Alliance to prevent spread of Russo-Swedish War of 1788-90

1937 Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces begin the Battle of Shanghai, a conflict that will last 3 months and involve 1 million troops

1942 The ‘Manhattan Project’ commences, under the direction of US General Leslie Groves: its aim – to deliver an atomic bomb

HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY

TODAY IN FILM & TV

1967 “Bonnie and Clyde” crime film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, is released

TODAY IN MUSIC

2013 “Crash My Party” 4th studio album by Luke Bryan is released (Billboard Album of the Year 2014)

TODAY IN SPORT

2008 American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins 3 gold medals, all in world record time, in the one day at the Beijing Olympics; 200m I/M (1:54.23), 200m butterfly (1.52.03) and 4 x 200m freestyle relay (6:58.56)

1961 Construction of the Berlin Wall begins in East Germany

MORE FACTS…

1913 Otto Witte, German acrobat and fantasist, is purportedly crowned King of Albania

FAMOUS WEDDINGS

1514 French King Louis XII (52) marries by proxy Mary Tudor (18), sister of Henry VIII, at Greenwich Palace, England

1868 Prime Minister of Canada Wilfrid Laurier (26) weds Zoé Lafontaine (27) in Montreal, Canada

1926 Comedian Stan Laurel (36) marries 1st wife actress Lois Neilson (30)