August 13
Saints Days : Ponciano, Hipólito, Casiano, Juan Berchmans and Wigberto
International Lefthanders Day
1516 - The Treaty of Noyon between France and Spain is signed. Francis I of France recognizes Charles's claim to Naples, and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, recognizes Francis's claim to Milan.
Alfonso XI of Castile - commons.wikimedia.org
1659 - Talks start on peace for the Pyrenees between Spain and France
1704 - War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Blenheim – was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, thus preventing the collapse of the reconstituted Grand Alliance.
Louis XIV of France sought to knock the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold, out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement. The dangers to Vienna were considerable: Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, and Marshall Ferdinand de Marsin's forces in Bavaria threatened from the west, and Marshal Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme's large army in northern Italy posed a serious danger with a potential offensive through the Brenner Pass. Vienna was also under pressure from Rákóczi Hungarian revolt from its eastern approaches. Realising the danger, the Duke of Marlborough resolved to alleviate the peril to Vienna by marching his forces south from Bedburg to help maintain Emperor Leopold within the Grand Alliance.
A combination of deception and skilled administration – designed to conceal his true destination from friend and foe alike – enabled Marlborough to march 400 km unhindered from the Low Countries to the River Danube in five weeks. After securing Donauwörth on the Danube, Marlborough sought to engage Maximilian's and Marsin's army before Marshall Camille d'Hostun, duc de Tallard, could bring reinforcements through the Black Forest. The Franco-Bavarian commanders proved reluctant to fight until their numbers were deemed sufficient, and Marlborough failed in his attempts to force an engagement. When Tallard arrived to bolster Maximilian's army, and Prince Eugene of Savoy arrived with reinforcements for the Allies, the two armies finally met on the banks of the Danube in and around the small village of Blindheim, from which the English "Blenheim" is derived.
Blenheim was one of the battles that altered the course of the war, which until then was favouring the French and Spanish Bourbons. Although the battle did not win the war, it prevented a potentially devastating loss for the Grand Alliance and shifted the war's momentum, ending French plans of knocking Emperor Leopold out of the war. The French suffered catastrophic casualties in the battle including their commander-in-chief, Tallard, who was taken captive to England. Before the 1704 campaign ended, the Allies had taken Landau, and the towns of Trier and Trarbach on the Moselle in preparation for the following year's campaign into France itself. This offensive never materialised as the Grand Alliance's army had to depart the Moselle to defend Liège from a French counter-offensive. The war raged on for another decade before ending in 1714.
1898 - Spanish–American War: Spanish and American forces engaged in a mock battle for Manila, after which the Spanish commander surrendered in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.
1924 - In Morocco, in areas invaded by Spanish and French troops, the nationalist rebellion of the leader of the Rifle Abd el-Krim began, until 1927.
1963 - Two anarquistas, Francisco Granados and Joaquín Delgado are sentenced to death accused of carrying out the attacks the previous July 29
1973 - 85 die when an Aviaco plane crashes in thick fog while trying to land in La Coruña
1991 - Spanish swimmer Martin Lopez-Zubero beat the world record for the 200 meter backstroke with a time of 1 min 57.3s.
Births
1311 - Alfonso XI of Castile and León born in Salamanca (d. 1350)
1710 - Andrés Luis López-Pacheco y Osorio, noble (d. 1746)
1797 - Casiano del Prado, engineer and geologist (d. 1866)
1898 - Blas Pérez González, judge and politician (d. 1978)
1913 - Antoni Bonet i Castellana, Catalan architect, urban planner, designer (d. 1989)
1914 - Luis Mariano, Basque operetta singer, born in Irun (d. 1970)
1926 - Manuel Rodríguez Barros, cyclist (d. 1997)
1926 - José Sazatornil, actor.
1944 - Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, businessman, 34.º president of the Real Betis Football Club.
1944 - Divina Galica, sportswoman and formula one driver.
1947 - Juan Antonio Barranco Gallardo, politician.
1951 - Luis Miguel Santillana, basketball player.
1953 - Carmen Posadas, writer.
1962 - Gracia Querejeta, film maker.
1980 - Álex González, actor.
Deaths
1382 - Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Castile (b. 1358)
1934 - Ignacio Sánchez Mejías, bullfighter (b. 1891)
1981 - José Baviera, actor (b. 1906)
2001 - Manuel Alvar, philologist and academic. (b. 1923)
2002 - Gonzalo Payo Subiza, politician, geographer, surveyor and mathematician. (b. 1931)