U.S. military drops "Mother of All Bombs" on ISIS tunnel complex
On April 13, 2017, American forces in Afghanistan drop one of the largest non-nuclear weapons ever used by the U.S. ...read more
In Amritsar, India’s holy city of the Sikh religion, British and Gurkha troops massacre at least 379 unarmed demonstrators meeting at the Jallianwala Bagh, a city park. Most of those killed were Indian nationalists meeting to protest the British government’s forced conscription of Indian soldiers and the heavy war tax imposed against the Indian people.
A few days earlier, in reaction to a recent escalation in protests, Amritsar was placed under martial law and handed over to British Brigadier General Reginald Dyer, who banned all meetings and gatherings in the city. On April 13, the day of the Sikh Baisakhi festival, tens of thousands of people came to Amritsar from surrounding villages to attend the city’s traditional fairs. Thousands of these people, many unaware of Dyer’s recent ban on public assemblies, convened at Jallianwala Bagh, where a nationalist demonstration was being held. Dyer’s troops surrounded the park and without warning opened fire on the crowd, killing several hundred and wounding more than a thousand. Dyer, who in a subsequent investigation admitted to ordering the attack for its “moral effect” on the people of the region, had his troops continue the murderous barrage until all their artillery was exhausted. British authorities later removed him from his post.
The massacre, also called the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, stirred nationalist feelings across India and had a profound effect on one of the movement’s leaders, Mohandas Gandhi. During World War I, Gandhi had actively supported the British in the hope of winning partial autonomy for India, but after the massacre he became convinced that India should accept nothing less than full independence. To achieve this end, Gandhi began organizing his first campaign of mass civil disobedience against Britain’s oppressive rule.
READ MORE: When Gandhi’s Salt March Rattled British Colonial Rule
On April 13, 2017, American forces in Afghanistan drop one of the largest non-nuclear weapons ever used by the U.S. ...read more
On April 13, 1978, opening day at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees give away thousands of Reggie! bars to fans, who ...read more
On April 13, 1870 the Metropolitan Museum of Art is officially incorporated in New York City. The brainchild of American ...read more
German pilot Hermann Köhl, Irish aviator James Fitzmaurice and Baron Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld, the ...read more
During World War II, representatives from the Soviet Union and Japan sign a five-year neutrality agreement. Although ...read more
On April 13, 1970, disaster strikes 200,000 miles from Earth when oxygen tank No. 2 blows up on Apollo 13, the third ...read more
On April 13, 1997, 21-year-old Tiger Woods wins the prestigious Masters Tournament by a record 12 strokes in Augusta, ...read more
On April 13, 1945, Adolf Hitler proclaims from his underground bunker that deliverance was at hand from encroaching ...read more
Future President Thomas Jefferson, drafter of the Declaration of Independence and the nation’s preeminent political ...read more
Nowadays, the performance of George Frideric Handel's Messiah oratorio at Christmas time is a tradition almost as deeply ...read more
On April 13, 1964, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his ...read more
On so-called “Black Monday” in 1360, a hail storm kills an estimated 1,000 English soldiers in Chartres, France. The ...read more
Christopher Wilder dies after a month-long crime spree involving at least 11 young women who have disappeared or been ...read more
The Soviet government officially accepts blame for the Katyn Massacre of World War II, when nearly 5,000 Polish military ...read more
After a 33-hour bombardment by Confederate cannons, Union forces surrender Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston ...read more
On April 13, 2009, former Major League Baseball all-star pitcher Mark “The Bird” Fidrych is found dead at the age of 54 ...read more