Opening day, August 13, 1915:

Crowds surged through the Braves Field Loop to witness the debut of what promoters called ‘the finest baseball park in the world.’ With a capacity over 40,000, Braves Field was the largest stadium in Major League Baseball until Yankee Stadium opened in 1923. Built for speed and strategy, its vast outfields made home runs rare and reshaped the rhythm of the game. Though rivals, the Red Sox played their 1915 and 1916 World Series home games here to accommodate larger crowds. The Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953, and Boston University later adapted the site—preserving the right-field bleachers and ticket office as part of Nickerson Field. More than a ballpark, Braves Field was a civic stage where sport, infrastructure, and urban identity converged.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

This photograph of Abraham Lincoln is believed to be the last photo of Abraham Lincoln without a beard.

Taken on August 13, 1860.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

The youngest daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, Ethel Roosevelt, was born on August 13, 1891 in Oyster Bay, New York.

Ethel served as a nurse in the same American hospital where her husband performed surgeries in France during WWI.

She lived until 1977.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US

Born August 13, 1860 Phoebe Ann Mosey, known as Annie Oakley, won worldwide acclaim for her phenomenal shooting abilities. She became fast friends with Lakota leader Sitting Bull when both traveled with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. It was Sitting Bull who dubbed her “Little Sure Shot.”

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US

On today’s date, August 13 1959: Construction of New York City’s Verrazano-Narrows Bridge began. The bridge opened in 1964. It has 13 lanes on its two decks.

Image of a five-cent stamp of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge that was issued in 1964 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Rosalynn Carter with American Cardinals who were in Rome for Pope Paul VI’s funeral that occurred a few days prior.

Photo dated August 13, 1978

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British-American movie director Alfred Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899.

In 1955 Hitchcock became an American Citizen.

In this photo Hitchcock makes a front page cameo appearance in his film “Lifeboat” – 1944

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On August 13, 1918 Opha May Johnson became the first woman to enlist in The United States Marine Corps.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Image of Thomas White who departed England in the 1720s and lived in Maryland before founding The Academy and College of Philadelphia along with Ben Franklin and others.

On August 13, 1751 The Academy and College of Philadelphia opened its secondary school for boys. The institution was merged and later became known as The University of Pennsylvania.

Image via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions

On August 13, 1889, Hanson Goodrich of Illinois received a U.S. patent for his “coffee pot” which is better known as the stove-top percolator.

Baby of Luther Walker, miner, the Walker family consisting of two adults and baby live in a three room house for which they pay $ 7.90 monthly. There is no running water in the house and there is no garbage or trash collection. Gilliam Coal and Coke Company, Gilliam Mine, Gilliam, McDowell County, West Virginia

August 13, 1946

WWI veteran Bert Lahr, who played the role of the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, was born in New York City on August 13, 1895.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Pat Harrington Jr. who played the role of building super Dwayne Schneider in the TV show One Day at a Time was born on August 13, 1929 in Manhattan, New York.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Danny Bonaduce was born on August 13, 1959 in Broomall, Pennsylvania.

Image: Danny Bonaduce in The Partridge Family 1970 by Screen Gems Television via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On August 13, 1682 the first Welsh Quakers arrived in Philadelphia. They established settlements in an area known as the Welsh Tract to the west of Philadelphia.

Image from a map from 1687 showing the “Welch Tract” via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

“Make the world better.”

Lucy Stone lived those words. Born August 13, 1818, she became the first Massachusetts woman to earn a college degree, helped organize the first national women’s rights convention, co-founded the American Woman Suffrage Association, and launched The Woman’s Journal to amplify reformist voices. A tireless abolitionist and suffragist, she stirred the conscience of a nation—and still does.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Neville Brand, born August 13, 1920, is known for roles in many films and television shows, especially “Laredo.” Not widely known is that Brand joined the US Army before WW2 and in combat was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry and a Purple Heart. He was also quite a reader with a 30,000 volume library.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, no known copyright, public domain in the US