Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on May 13th?

The U.S. Congress passes the 17th Amendment, modifying Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution by allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S. senators. Prior to its passage, senators were chosen by state legislatures. The amendment was ratified on April 8, 1913. More

The Socialist Party nominates Eugene V. Debs as its candidate for president in the upcoming November election. It was the fifth nomination for the 64-year-old, Indiana-born labor leader. At the time Debs was in jail, serving a 10-year sentence at a federal penitentiary in Atlanta. He was convicted of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918, controversial laws pushed through Congress by President Woodrow Wilson to silence critics of U.S. involvement World War I. He wasn't due to get out until 1928. Debs had promised to pardon himself if elected. Harding, the newly elected President, pardoned Debs. More

Vice President Nixon’s motorcade was attacked in Caracas by angry Venezuelans during his goodwill trip through Latin America. The trip was characterized by Latin American anger over the U.S. Cold War policies. Earlier on the trip Nixon had engaged in loud and bitter debates with student groups during his travels through Peru and Uruguay.

Pope John Paul II was shot four times by Mehmet Ali Agca in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.