This Day in History: February 13

1258: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, ending the Islamic Golden Age

After a siege that lasted for more than a month, the city of Baghdad, which was then one of the most important centers of learning and culture in the Islamic world, fell to the Mongol Empire. Tens of thousands of people were slaughtered in the process, and the Abbasid Caliphate, which had ruled the region for more than five centuries, came to an end.

1601: First voyage of the British East India Company

A fleet of five ships, led by Sir James Lancaster commanding the "Red Dragon," departed from London on the first voyage of the British East India Company. The journey took nearly 16 months and marked the beginning of Britain's extensive trade with India and other parts of Asia.

1689: Adoption of the Bill of Rights in England

The Parliament of England adopted the Bill of Rights, which established the rights of parliament and placed limits on the power of the monarch. It is considered to be one of the most important documents in the history of British constitutional law.

1942: Cancellation of Hitler's Operation Sealion

Adolf Hitler's plan to invade England, known as Operation Sealion, was cancelled due to a combination of factors, including the German failure to gain air superiority during the Battle of Britain and the success of the British intelligence in intercepting German communications.

1945: Allied bombing of Dresden and capture of Budapest

Allied planes began bombing the German city of Dresden, resulting in a firestorm that killed over 22,000 people. Meanwhile, in Hungary, Soviet forces captured the city of Budapest after a 49-day battle with Nazi Germany, in which an estimated 159,000 people died.

1960: France becomes a nuclear nation

France exploded its first atomic bomb, known as "Gerboise Bleue," in the Algerian Sahara desert. This made France the fourth country to possess nuclear weapons, after the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom.