Sunday · September 27, 2026
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American history, reported as it happened
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On this day › August 13

What happened on August 13 in American history

August 13 is the 225th day of the year (the 226th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from August 13 spanning 1889 to 2020. Among them: in 1889, Hartford inventor patents a telephone that takes coins; and in 1898, Spain surrenders Manila after a battle both sides agreed to fake.

1889Member story · 1776 Club

Hartford inventor patents a telephone that takes coins

William Gray's device gives the public phone network a way to charge for calls without an operator standing guard.
1898

Spain surrenders Manila after a battle both sides agreed to fake

Governor-General Jáudenes chose defeat by Americans over capture by Filipino rebels camped at the city walls.
1918

First in line, a 39-year-old Washington clerk enlists in the Marine Corps

Opha May Johnson signs up five days after the Marine Corps opens its reserve to women.
1961Member story · 1776 Club

Before dawn, East German troops string barbed wire across Berlin

Sunday shoppers wake to find their city cut in two, with soldiers standing where the streetcars used to cross.
1969

New York buries three astronauts in paper; Nixon pins on the nation's highest civilian honor

The same day, hundreds of miles away in Los Angeles, a state dinner turns into a medal ceremony.
2020Member story · 1776 Club

Israel and the UAE agree to normalize relations, brokered from Washington

A phone call among Trump, Netanyahu, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed makes the UAE the third Arab state to recognize Israel.