There is no year without one Friday the 13th, and no year with more than three. This day is considered the unluckiest of days in many superstitions, unless you were born on Friday the 13th, in which case it is your lucky day. “Friggatriskaidekaphobia” is the fear of Friday the 13th. Some people don’t like the number 13, whether it’s a Friday or not. The fear of the number 13 is called “triskaidekaphobia.” Quite a few skyscrapers and hotels do not have a 13th floor (or a room 13, for that matter), and many buildings substitute 12 1/2 for 13 in their addresses. Winston Churchill wouldn’t travel on Friday the 13th, considering it too unlucky.” Discover more fun and freaky facts about Friday the 13th!
Daily Calendar for Friday, August 13, 2027
Explore Other Dates on the Calendar
Daily Calendar
View daily calendar information including holidays, advice, and daily features.
Friday, August 13, 2027
Born
- William Caxton (printer) –
- Lucy Stone (women’s rights activist) –
- Goldwin Smith (historian & journalist) –
- Annie Oakley (sharpshooter) –
- Alfred Hitchcock (filmmaker) –
- Sir Basil Spence (architect) –
- Fidel Castro (politician) –
- Don Ho (musician) –
- John Slattery (actor) –
- Debi Mazar (actress) –
Died
- Eugene Delacroix (painter) –
- Florence Nightingale (pioneer of modern nursing) –
- Herbert George ["H. G."] Wells (English writer) –
- Mickey Mantle (baseball player) –
- Julia Child (chef and author) –
- Sandy Allen (world’s tallest woman, 7 foot, 7 inches tall) –
- Les Paul (guitar pioneer) –
- Johnny Pesky (baseball player) –
Events
- Canada first used to indicate region –
- Oregon Institute (later named Willamette University) opened in Salem, Oregon –
- Andrew Campbell discovered the Luray Caverns in Virginia, when cold air from a sinkhole on a large hill extinguished his candle –
- Last spike driven for first stage of Esquimalt-Nanaimo Railway in Cliffside, B.C. –
- Samuel Leeds Allen granted patent for Flexible Flyer sled –
- L’il Abner comic strip debuted –
- The Walt Disney classic, Bambi, opened this day at Radio City Music Hall in New York City –
- Canso Causeway, linking Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island, opened –
- A plane flew into a hurricane for the first series of bumpy flights for the National Hurricane Research Project, then part of the U.S. Weather Bureau –
- The East German government closed the border between east and west sectors of Berlin with barbed wire fencing to discourage further population movement to the west. Later in the week a concrete wall was erected to strengthen the barrier between official crossing points –
- 3-year-old Jamie Gavin became the youngest heart/lung transplant patient –
- American swimmer Michael Phelps won his 10th and 11th Olympic gold medals making him the most decorated Olympian in history –
Weather
- Blue sun observed widely in the South, thought to presage Nat Turner slave uprising: phenomenon continued for several days –
- Hurricane Connie hit the North Carolina coast with winds up to 87 miles per hour –
- Nine people were injured after a lightning strike at a day camp in Pelham, New Hampshire –
- Four people were injured when lightning hit and shattered a utility pole in Belmont, New Hampshire –
- A small tornado hit Meredith, New Hampshire –
- Hurricane Charley struck Florida –