November 13 in History

Patriot forces led by Col. Ethan Allen stormed the undefended Fort St. John's and seized Montreal, only to find their advance halted when British General Guy Carleton regrouped his defenses at St. Johns. This failed invasion forced American commanders to abandon plans for a northern conquest of Canada, effectively ending hopes of drawing Quebec into the radical cause and leaving the colonies to fight a two-front war.

Surgeon James Braid attended a demonstration of animal magnetism by Charles Lafontaine and concluded the trance states were genuine but had no magnetic cause. His scientific investigation of the phenomenon led him to coin the term "hypnosis" and establish it as a legitimate subject of medical study, separating it from centuries of mystical quackery.

Philippine House Speaker Manny Villar rammed through articles of impeachment against President Joseph Estrada on corruption charges, triggering a constitutional crisis that gripped the nation. The impeachment trial's collapse months later sparked the People Power II uprising that drove Estrada from office and installed Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Five people. One sentence. Done. Thomas Cranmer had literally crowned Edward VI, shaped England's Protestant identity, and written the Book of Common Prayer — and now Queen Mary needed him gone. Lady Jane Grey hadn't even wanted the throne she'd briefly held. But Mary couldn't afford mercy. Cranmer's execution wouldn't come until 1556, and he'd famously thrust his "unworthy hand" into the flames first. The real story isn't treason. It's what happens when a country tries rewriting itself and runs out of room for the people who wrote the last draft.

Royalist forces under King Charles I retreated from Turnham Green when they encountered a Parliamentarian army of 24,000 London-trained band militia blocking the road to the capital. The bloodless standoff saved London from capture and proved that civilian volunteers could deter a professional royalist army, sustaining the Parliamentary cause through its most vulnerable period.

British troops block the Jacobite advance at Sheriffmuir, compelling James Francis Edward Stuart to retreat to France and effectively ending his immediate bid for the throne. This tactical stalemate preserves Hanoverian control over Scotland while shattering the momentum of the 1715 uprising before it can spread further south.

James Braid watches Charles Lafontaine demonstrate animal magnetism and immediately pivots to dissecting the phenomenon himself. He coins the term "hypnotism" to replace the mystical claims surrounding the practice, establishing a scientific framework that transforms mesmerism into a legitimate field of medical study.

Confederate forces under Major General John C. Breckinridge shattered Union lines at the Battle of Bull's Gap, chasing retreating troops all the way to Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. This decisive rout secured Confederate control over East Tennessee and forced Union commanders to abandon their offensive ambitions in the region for months.

Léon Léauthier stabs a target on November 13, 1893, igniting the Ère des attentats and launching a wave of political violence that redefined modern terrorism. This assassination attempt forced governments worldwide to establish dedicated counter-terrorism units and rethink public security protocols for decades to come.

A magazine went after one of the most powerful men in America. Collier's didn't whisper it — they printed charges that Richard Ballinger had quietly helped private interests grab Alaskan coal lands meant for public protection. The accusation lit a firestorm. President Taft defended Ballinger. Conservation hero Gifford Pinchot didn't. Pinchot got fired. Congress investigated for months. Ballinger eventually resigned in 1911. But here's the twist — he was largely cleared. The real casualty wasn't Ballinger. It was Taft's presidency.

Billy Hughes didn't just lose his party — he kept his job. Expelled from Labor over his fierce push for military conscription during WWI, Australia's Prime Minister refused to resign. He'd campaigned twice for conscription referendums. Australians rejected both. And still Hughes governed, cobbling together a new Nationalist Party in 1917. The man who couldn't convince his own voters or his own colleagues somehow stayed in power until 1923. The Labor Party expelled him for betrayal. He outlasted nearly everyone who did it.