On Aug. 13, 1521, Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured what is now Mexico City from the Aztecs.
In 1624 French King Louis XIII named Cardinal Richelieu his first minister.
In 1846 the American flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles.
In 1860 sharpshooter Annie Oakley was born in Darke County, Ohio.
In 1899 filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was born in London.
In 1910 Florence Nightingale, modern nursing’s founder, died in London; she was 90.
In 1932 Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vice-chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out “for all or nothing.”
In 1934 the satirical comic strip “Li’l Abner,” created by Al Capp, made its debut.
In 1942 Walt Disney’s animated feature “Bambi” premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
In 1946 author H.G. Wells died in London; he was 79.
In 1948 opera star Kathleen Battle was born in Portsmouth, Ohio.
In 1960 the first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1.
In 1961 East Germany closed the border between East and West Berlin to halt the flight of refugees from the East. (Two days later, work began on the Berlin Wall.)
In 1981 President Ronald Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions.
In 1993 a body found in a South Carolina creek was identified as that of James Jordan, 57, father of basketball superstar Michael Jordan. (Two teenagers would be convicted in his murder.)
In 1995 baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died in Dallas; he was 63.
In 1999, at age 30, tennis player Steffi Graf retired from the sport that she had dominated for two decades.
In 2000 Somalia swore in legislators for its first central government after almost a decade of internecine warfare.
In 2003 Libya agreed to set up a $2.7 billion fund for the families of 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Am bombing.
In 2004 television chef Julia Child died in Montecito, Calif.; she was 91.
In 2006 Israel’s Cabinet became the final party to sign on to a UN cease-fire deal with Hezbollah.
