Today in History, July 13th
On July 13, 1985, the Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia raised famine relief for Africa. Plus the Northwest Ordinance and the first World Cup.
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July 13 is best known for 1985, when the Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia raised money for famine relief in Africa before a global TV audience. The date also saw Congress pass the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 and the first World Cup matches kick off in Uruguay in 1930.
The big story: Live Aid rocks two continents (1985)
Bob Geldof, singer of the Irish band the Boomtown Rats, was moved by news reports of a famine in Ethiopia that had killed hundreds of thousands. He first co-wrote “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” with Midge Ure for an all-star British group called Band Aid, and the single raised more than $10 million. Then he went bigger. In just 10 weeks, he put together Live Aid, a 16-hour “superconcert” held on July 13, 1985. Prince Charles and Princess Diana opened the show at London’s Wembley Stadium before 70,000 people, while 100,000 more packed JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. More than 75 acts played, from Madonna and U2 to Run DMC and the Who. Freddie Mercury led Queen through a 20-minute set that became the standout of the day, and Phil Collins played both cities, hopping the Atlantic on the Concorde. Thirteen satellites beamed the show to an audience of more than a billion in 110 countries. Live Aid raised more than $100 million, and Geldof was later knighted.
More events on July 13
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1713 | Spain and Britain signed one of the treaties of Utrecht, handing Gibraltar and Minorca to Britain. |
| 1787 | Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, setting up government for the Northwest Territory and a path for its lands to become states. |
| 1793 | Charlotte Corday, a Girondin supporter, assassinated French revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat in his bath. |
| 1832 | Henry Rowe Schoolcraft identified Minnesota’s Lake Itasca as the source of the Mississippi River. |
| 1863 | Draft riots broke out in New York City in protest of the federal Enrollment Act. |
| 1878 | The Treaty of Berlin was signed, replacing the Treaty of San Stefano that had ended the latest Russo-Turkish war. |
| 1930 | The first World Cup matches were played in Montevideo, Uruguay, with France beating Mexico and the U.S. beating Belgium. |
| 1960 | Democrats nominated Senator John F. Kennedy for president at their convention. |
| 1977 | Lightning strikes knocked out power across much of New York City, and a night of looting and arson led to nearly 4,000 arrests. |
| 2013 | The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter first appeared on Facebook, helping spark a movement. |
| 2016 | Theresa May became the United Kingdom’s second woman prime minister, succeeding David Cameron after the Brexit vote. |
| 2024 | Former President Donald Trump was shot and wounded in the ear in an assassination attempt, and survived. |
Born on July 13
- 1934: Wole Soyinka, Nigerian playwright and 1986 Nobel Prize winner in literature, born in Abeokuta, Nigeria.
- 1940: Patrick Stewart, British actor best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, born in Mirfield, England.
- 1942: Harrison Ford, actor known for the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, born in Chicago.
Sources
- Live Aid concert, History.com
- This Day in History: July 13, History.com
- On This Day: July 13, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Wole Soyinka: Facts, The Nobel Prize
- Patrick Stewart, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Harrison Ford, Encyclopaedia Britannica
