The People's Republic of China and Taiwan agree to regular civil aviation flights across the Taiwan Strait for the first time since 1949 with flights limited to weekend charters. //www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7582549 (Reuters via "The Guardian")
At least 40 people are injured on Sagar Island in the Ganges delta in clashes between supporters of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and local Muslim villagers. //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7452132.stm (BBC News)
In Northern Ireland, the four main political parties begins talks on restoring self-government.
President of Turkey Turgut Özal appoints Mesut Yılmaz as Prime Minister of Turkey, replacing Yıldırım Akbulut, who had resigned.
End of voting in the Indian general election. The Indian National Congress wins the most seats but fails to secure a majority. On June 21, Congress leader P. V. Narasimha Rao becomes Prime Minister of India
U.S. President Zachary Taylor is exhumed to discover whether or not his death was caused by arsenic poisoning, instead of acute gastrointestinal illness no trace of arsenic is found.
In the Philippines, Mount Pinatubo erupts in the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century the final death toll tops 800.
June 17–30 ndash Nelson Mandela tours North America, visiting 3 Canadian and 8 U.S. cities.
June 1990 Mineriad: Fighting breaks out in Romania in the aftermath of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, between the supporters of Nicolae Ceauşescu and the Communist regime, and those of the new regime.
Tuesday, June 13, 1989
The wreck of the German battleship "Bismarck", which was sunk in 1941, is located west of Brest, France.
TWA Flight 847, carrying 153 passengers from Athens to Rome, is hijacked by a Hezbollah fringe group. One passenger, U.S. Navy Petty Officer Robert Stethem, is killed.
Monday, June 13, 1983
"Pioneer 10" becomes the first man-made object to leave the solar system.
Saturday, June 13, 1981
At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, Marcus Sarjeant fires 6 blank shots at Elizabeth II.
Sunday, June 13, 1976
Savage thunderstorms roll through the state of Iowa spawning several tornadoes, including an F-5 tornado that destroys the town of Jordan, Iowa.
WWII: Germany launches a V1 Flying Bomb attack on England.
Saturday, June 13, 1942
WWII: The United States opens its Office of War Information, a propaganda center.
Friday, June 13, 1941
TASS, the official Soviet news agency, denies reports of tension between Germany and the Soviet Union.
Soviet officials deport about 65,000 people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to Siberia.
All German and Italian assets in the United States are frozen.
Thursday, June 13, 1940
WWII: The Soviet Union annexes three Baltic States which are Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This is the most popular date to be said when the term Soviet Empire was coined.
WWII: The French government flees to Bordeaux and Paris falls under German occupation.
Charles Francis Jenkins achieves the first synchronized transmission of pictures and sound, using 48 lines, and a mechanical system. A 10-minute film of a miniature windmill in motion is sent across 5 miles from Anacostia to Washington, DC. The images are viewed by representatives of the National Bureau of Standards, the U.S. Navy, the Commerce Department, and others. Jenkins calls this the first public demonstration of radiovision.
In Hungary, a most devastating tornado called Wildkansas struck, and left a 500-1500m wide and 70 km long path of destruction, landed at Bia, and after 3 hours it ended near Vác, destroyed a village called Páty completely, and left many people homless, killed 9 people, and 50 people got wounded. This was one of the strongest tornadoes ever not only in Hungary but in Europe also. It was estimated to be an F4.
Wednesday, June 13, 1923
President Li of China abandons his residence because a warlord has commanded forces to surround the mansion and cut off its water and electric supplies, in order to force him to abandon his post.
Wednesday, June 13, 1917
WWI: The first major German bombing raid on London leaves 162 dead and 432 injured.
Queen Victoria becomes the first reigning British monarch to travel by train, on the Great Western Railway between Slough and London Paddington station.
Thursday, June 13, 1805
Lewis and Clark Expedition: Scouting ahead of the expedition, Meriwether Lewis and four companions sight the Great Falls of the Missouri River, confirming they are heading in the right direction.