Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/May 13
- 1497 - Girolamo Savonarola of Florence was excommunicated by Pope Alexander VI.
- 1848 - Maamme, the national anthem of Finland, was performed for the first time.
- 1888 - The Lei Áurea (Golden Law) was passed, legally ending slavery in Brazil.
- 1969 - The May 13 Incident: Chinese-Malay race riots left at least 184 people dead in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- 1981 - Mehmet Ali Ağca shot and critically wounded Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City.