This Day in History | July 13th

On July 13, 1787, the Congress of the Confederation adopted the Northwest Ordinance, which established a government in the Northwest Territory, an area corresponding to the present-day Midwest.

In 1863, deadly rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City. (The insurrection was put down three days later.)

In 1939, Frank Sinatra made his first commercial recording, “From the Bottom of My Heart” and “Melancholy Mood,” with Harry James and his Orchestra for the Brunswick label.

In 1955, the last woman was hanged for murder in Great Britain.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to be U.S. Solicitor General, the first Black jurist appointed to the post. (Two years later, he was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court.)

In 1985, “Live Aid,” an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, took place to raise money for Africa’s starving people.

In 2013, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter first appears, sparking a movement.