Today in History: August 13, East Germany closes Berlin border

Today is Thursday, Aug. 13, the 225th day of 2026. There are 140 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 13, 1961, on what would become known as Barbed Wire Sunday, East Germany sealed the border between Berlin’s eastern and western sectors before building a wall that would divide the city for the next 28 years.

Also on this date:

In 1521, Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured Tenochtitlan (teh-natch-teet-LAHN’), present-day Mexico City, from the Aztecs.

In 1792, French revolutionaries arrested and imprisoned King Louis XVI; he would be executed by guillotine the following January.

In 1889, William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut, received a patent for the first coin-operated telephone.

In 1918, Opha May Johnson became the first woman to join the U.S. Marine Corps.

In 1952, Big Mama Thornton first recorded the song “Hound Dog,” four years before Elvis Presley’s famous version was released.

In 1969, New York City held a ticker-tape parade for Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins.

In 1995, Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died at a Dallas hospital of rapidly spreading liver cancer at age 63.

In 2011, seven people were killed when a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair during a powerful storm just before a concert was to begin.

In 2020, Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced the establishment of full diplomatic relations under a U.S.-brokered deal that required Israel to halt its contentious plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by the Palestinians.

Today’s Birthdays: Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders is 93. Opera singer Kathleen Battle is 78. High wire aerialist Philippe Petit is 77. Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke is 77. Golf Hall of Famer Betsy King is 71. Movie director Paul Greengrass is 71. Actor Danny Bonaduce is 67. TV weather forecaster Sam Champion is 65. Actor Dawnn Lewis is 65. Actor John Slattery is 64. Actor Debi Mazar is 62. Figure skater Midori Ito is 57. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is 44. Actor Sebastian Stan is 44. Actor Lennon Stella is 27. Actor Corey Fogelmanis is 27.