July 13
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1930: The first World Cup begins
On this day in 1930, 13 teams across Europe and the Americas took the field in Montevideo, Uruguay, for the start of the first FIFA World Cup. The two opening matches kicked off simultaneously, and French forward Lucien Laurent scored the first goal in World Cup history—reportedly in falling snow. Uruguay would go on to defeat Argentina to become the first World Cup champions.
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© Hulton Picture Library/Allsport—Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Photo Illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Featured Event
© Jabin Botsford—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, survived an assassination attempt after a gunman opened fire during a campaign event in Pennsylvania; the former U.S. president suffered a wound to his ear. [Learn about political violence in the U.S. in the 21st century]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Vernon L. Smith
Some people think the Nobel Prize makes you bulletproof. I never had that illusion.
Nigerian playwright, poet, and novelist Wole Soyinka, born this day in 1934, wrote of modern West Africa in a satiric style and with a tragic sense of the obstacles of progress, winning the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Famous Birthdays
More on July 13
© Joseph Prezioso—AFP/Getty Images
2026
Joan Sebastian Guerrero was shot and killed by ICE agents in Maine. Guerrero, a Colombian national who had the right to work in the United States, was 26 and a father. It was the second time in a week federal agents had killed people in their communities. In both cases, ICE agents were trying to serve arrest warrants. Neither victim was the subject of the warrants.
VOA
2017
Chinese writer and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, who advocated for democratic reforms and was the first Chinese citizen to be awarded (2010) the Nobel Peace Prize, died at age 61. [Take our quiz about the Nobel Prize.]
UK Home Office (CC BY 2.0)
2016
Theresa May, the Conservative Party leader, became the second woman prime minister of the United Kingdom, replacing David Cameron, who resigned after the country voted to leave the European Union. [Test your knowledge of British culture and politics.]
Mediapunch/Shutterstock.com
2010
American businessman George Steinbrenner—who, while principal owner of the New York Yankees, became one of the most controversial personalities in major league baseball—died at age 80. [How much do you know about baseball?]
© Sebastian Gollnow—picture alliance/Getty Images
2007
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to address colony collapse disorder, which had been first reported several months earlier. A disorder affecting honeybees, it represents a serious threat to American agriculture. [Learn why bees, along with wasps and ants, are one of the most ecologically important animal groups on Earth.]
Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy
1985
The benefit concert Live Aid was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the event drew an estimated 1.5 billion television viewers and raised millions of dollars for famine relief in Ethiopia. [Take our music quiz.]
© 1989 Lucasfilm with Paramount Pictures Corporation
1942
American actor Harrison Ford, who was perhaps best known for playing charismatic rogues in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film franchises, was born. [Test your knowledge of actors and acting.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-GLB13-0779)
1939
Backed by trumpeter Harry James, American singer Frank Sinatra recorded his first single, From the Bottom of My Heart. [How much do you know about Frank Sinatra?]
© VCG Wilson/Fine Art—Corbis/Getty Images
1793
Jean-Paul Marat, a leader of the radical Montagnard faction during the French Revolution, was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, a young Girondin supporter who was subsequently guillotined. [How much do you know about French history?]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1713
Spain and Britain signed one of the treaties of Utrecht, this one giving Gibraltar and Minorca to Britain. [How much do you know about European history?]