Nicosia, Cyprus. Major events recorded on July 13 include the opening of the first soccer World Cup in Uruguay in 1930, the conclusion of the Battle of Kursk in 1943 and the Live Aid concerts in 1985.
The date also marks political agreements, leadership changes, the deaths of prominent cultural figures and a major U.S. corporate fraud sentencing.
Sport and war
In 1930, the first soccer World Cup began in Montevideo, Uruguay, with 13 teams taking part.
In 1943, the Battle of Kursk, described as the greatest tank battle in history, ended south of Moscow with the Soviet Red Army defeating German forces. Almost 6,000 tanks took part, and at least 230,000 people were killed, wounded or reported missing.
Music and politics
In 1985, Live Aid, a rock concert organized by Bob Geldof, was held in London and Philadelphia and raised more than $60 million for famine relief in Africa.
In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became Israeli prime minister and offered to travel to the capitals of Israel’s Arab adversaries in pursuit of Middle East peace.
In 2000, Vietnam signed a trade agreement with the United States, clearing the way for normal trade relations between the former enemies for the first time since the Vietnam War.
Deaths and business
In 2002, Armenian-born American photographer Yousuf Karsh died at the age of 93. His 1941 portrait of Winston Churchill became a symbol of Britain’s war effort, and his subjects included Fidel Castro, Ernest Hemingway, John F. Kennedy and Albert Einstein.
In 2004, Austrian-Argentine conductor Carlos Kleiber died at the age of 74. He was regarded as one of the leading and most demanding conductors of his time.
In 2005, Bernard Ebbers, who built WorldCom Inc. into a telecommunications company, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for business fraud linked to what was then the largest U.S. corporate bankruptcy.
Cultural event
In 2013, the world’s first vintage French carnival opened to the public in New York.