13 August 1741

After being boarded by Canadian authorities, MV Sun Sea docked in British Columbia and the 492 Sri Lankan Tamil refugee claimants on board were placed into detention.

Merely 22 hours after Tropical Storm Bonnie struck the U.S. state of Florida, Hurricane Charley inflicted further damage to the region (example pictured).

The Act on National Flag and Anthem was adopted, formally establishing the Hinomaru and "Kimigayo" as the Japanese national flag and anthem, respectively.

World War II: The German Luftwaffe launched an air operation, codenamed Adlertag, to destroy the British Royal Air Force; its failure indefinitely postponed the German invasion of the United Kingdom.

Opha May Johnson became the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.

Members of the U.S. Army's all-black 25th Infantry Regiment were accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer in Brownsville, Texas, despite exculpatory evidence.

A performance of Wagner's Das Rheingold (scene pictured) opened the first Ring cycle at the first Bayreuth Festival, attended by emperors and composers.

A major earthquake near Arica, Peru (now in Chile), caused an estimated 25,000 casualties; the subsequent tsunami caused considerable damage as far away as Hawaii and New Zealand.

Anglo-Spanish War: The United Kingdom captured Havana after a five-week siege, holding it until the Treaty of Paris the following year.

Bach led the Thomanerchor in Leipzig in the first performance of the chorale cantata, Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott, BWV 101.

War of the Spanish Succession: The Duke of Marlborough led Allied forces to a crucial victory at the Battle of Blenheim.

General George Monck founded the predecessor to the Coldstream Guards, the oldest regular regiment of the British Army in continuous active service.

Maurice was crowned Byzantine emperor to succeed Tiberius II Constantine.

Israel–United Arab Emirates relations are formally established.

A Cessna Citation Excel crashes in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil killing all seven people aboard, including Brazilian Socialist Party presidential candidate Eduardo Campos.

Russo-Georgian War: Russian units occupy the Georgian city of Gori.

One hundred fifty-six Congolese Tutsi refugees are massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.

One hundred fifty Palestinians in Beirut are killed in a terrorist attack during the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War.

Members of the British National Front (NF) clash with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, London, resulting in 214 arrests and at least 111 injuries.

Aviaco Flight 118 crashes on approach to A Coruña Airport in A Coruña, Spain, killing all 85 people on the plane and one other one the ground.

The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker-tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.

Alexandros Panagoulis attempts to assassinate the Greek dictator Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos in Varkiza, Athens.

Two young women became the first fatal victims of grizzly bear attacks in the 57-year history of Montana's Glacier National Park in separate incidents.

Cold War: East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West, and construction of the Berlin Wall is started. The day is known as Barbed Wire Sunday.