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August 13
1521. Herman Cortes captures Tenochtitlan (Mexico City).
1831. Slave Nat Turner sees a solar eclipse, which he believe is a sign from God. A week later he will lead a slave uprising that will result in the deaths of 55 whites in Virginia.
1918. Women enlist in the US Marine Corps for the first time.
1937. The Battle of Shanghai, between China and Japan, and involving nearly 1,000,000 troops and nearly a quarter-million casualties. Eventually, the Chinese are routed.
1961. The GDR (East Germany) closes the border between Eastern and Western Berlin to prevent the flight of its citizens to the West.
1969. After returning from the moon, the Apollo 11 astronauts are released from a three week quarantine and attend a ticker tape parade in New York, and a dinner in Los Angeles where President Nixon gives them all a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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