On June 13, 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette landed in South Carolina to join America’s struggle for independence. Lafayette was not yet 20 but had served in France’s army since 13. As a Continental Army general he fought in six major battles and was at Valley Forge and the victory at Yorktown. This monument is in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

Image by CaptJayRuffins, CCA-SA 4.0 International via Wikimedia Commons.

General Pershing arriving in France

June 13, 1917

via Shutterstock

On June 13, 1786, U.S. Minister to France, Thomas Jefferson, sent a scale model of a design for a Virginia state capitol (modeled after an ancient Roman temple in France) to the United States.

Image: Drawing of Virginia State Capitol in Richmond c. 1879 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On June 13, 1966, Chief Justice Earl Warren, who had served as a U.S. Army officer during World War I, delivered the Supreme Court’s ruling in “Miranda v. Arizona”, establishing that suspects must be informed of their rights before interrogation. Ernesto Miranda’s name became synonymous with this legal safeguard. After his initial conviction was overturned, he was retried, convicted again without using his original confession, and sentenced to 20–30 years in prison. Paroled in 1972, Miranda later sold autographed Miranda Warning cards for $1.50. In 1976, he was fatally stabbed in a Phoenix bar. It’s believed that the man charged in the case fled to Mexico and was never apprehended.

Image of Chief Justice Earl Warren via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

War of 1812, Mexican-American War and American Civil War Veteran Winfield Scott was born on June 13, 1786 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia.

Image: Lt. General Winfield Scott by Mathew Brady c. 1861-1865 via Wikimedia Commons, no known restrictions

A ticker-tape parade in New York City on June 13, 1927 to celebrate Charles Lindbergh’s solo trans-Atlantic flight that he accomplished the month prior

Image via Alamy

The abandonment of the USS Jeannette which sank on June 13, 1881 during her expedition to discover a navigable route through the North Pole. She was abandoned after being crushed by ice during a U.S. Arctic expedition.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On June 13, 1935, 10-to-1 underdog James J. Braddock defeated reigning heavyweight champion Max Baer to win the World Heavyweight Championship of boxing.

About 30,000 watched the 15 round fight at the outdoor Madison Square Garden Bowl in Queens, New York.

Image of Jim Braddock via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Step onto the swaying floor of 1911 Coney Island, where the “Cake Walk” ride turned balance into entertainment. Inspired by the cakewalk dance, this Luna Park favorite invited guests to navigate tilting platforms and shifting walkways beneath ornate arches and flickering signs like “The Witching Wave.” But while its charm lingers in sepia-toned snapshots, a ride like this would face major hurdles today: modern safety codes, liability laws, and accessibility standards demand far more than slapstick fun. In today’s era of amusement parks that are engineered for precision, the carefree chaos of the Cake Walk is a nostalgic reminder that the thrill once came from simply trying to stay on your feet.

Image taken on June 13, 1911
via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On June 13, 1691, Franciscan priest Damián Massanet and fellow explorers reached a Native American village known as Yanaguana. He renamed the area “San Antonio” in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua on the saint’s feast day.

Image of Mission San Francisco de la Espada in San Antonio, Texas which is considered the first Spanish Mission in Texas.
It was built in the year 1690 in Weches, Texas but was relocated to San Antonio, Texas (a distance of 262 miles) in 1731.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American stuntman, actor and Team Roping World Champion of rodeo, Ben Johnson, was born on June 13, 1918 in Foraker, Oklahoma.

Image of Ben Johnson in Wagon Master in 1950 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Elizabeth Montgomery and Paul Lynde from the TV show Bewitched c. 1968

Paul Lynde was born on June 13, 1926 in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American actress Kristine Miller was born on June 13, 1925.

Miller, who starred in numerous movies and TV shows, became a co-owner of a local TV station in Monterey, California in the late 1960s.

Image: Publicity photo of Kristine Miller for The Domino Kid in 1957 by Columbia Pictures via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On June 13, 1858, a paddle steamship traveling along the Mississippi called the Pennsylvania was destroyed after its boiler exploded. Over 250 lives were lost.
Among the victims was Mark Twain’s younger brother, Henry Clemens, who was severely burned and who died days later.

About a week before the incident, Mark Twain had been serving as an apprentice pilot on the ship.

Image of Mark Twain via LOC, no known restrictions

Photo of the USS Lexington underway taken from the back seat of a Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless Dive Bomber on June 13, 1944

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain