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August 13
5 moments across history
Israel-UAE Normalization Announced
On August 13, 2020, Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced a U.S.-brokered agreement to normalize diplomatic relations. The accord mattered because the UAE became the first Gulf Arab state—and the third Arab country after Egypt and Jordan—to establish formal ties with Israel. Later formalized under the Abraham Accords, it marked a regional shift toward Arab-Israeli cooperation despite the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Event 1
Britain Conducts Its Final Executions
Britain Conducts Its Final Executions
Year: 1964
On August 13, 1964, Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans were hanged in separate prisons for the murder of John Alan West. Their deaths were the final judicial executions carried out in the United Kingdom. Britain suspended the death penalty for murder in 1965, made the change permanent in 1969, and abolished its remaining capital statutes in 1998.
Construction of the Berlin Wall Begins
Construction of the Berlin Wall Begins
Year: 1961
On August 13, 1961, East German forces closed the border between East and West Berlin and began erecting barbed wire and other barriers that became the Berlin Wall. The wall largely halted the mass flight of East Germans to the West, divided families and communities, and became a powerful symbol of political repression and Germany’s division. Its construction intensified Cold War tensions between the Soviet-backed Eastern bloc and the Western powers, and the barrier remained until it was opened in November 1989.
Central African Republic Gains Independence
Central African Republic Gains Independence
Year: 1960
On August 13, 1960, the Central African Republic gained independence from France after decades of colonial rule. Independence established it as a sovereign state, with David Dacko serving as its first president. The event came during the “Year of Africa,” when many African territories won independence from European empires.
Battle of Shanghai Begins
Event 5
Year: 1937
On August 13, 1937, Chinese and Japanese forces began fighting in Shanghai, launching a brutal battle that lasted nearly three months. The battle caused enormous casualties and ended with Japan capturing the city, despite determined Chinese resistance. It marked a major escalation of the Second Sino-Japanese War, which had expanded into full-scale conflict after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.