Today in History: August 13

1521: The Aztec imperial capital of Tenochtitlán falls to a coalition of Spaniards and rebel tribes led by Hernán Cortés.

1899: Felix Heinrich Wankel is born at Lahr, Germany.  Almost entirely self-educated, he’ll get the idea for his rotary engine in 1924, but won’t get a chance to develop it until he’s working for NSU Motorenwerke AG in 1957.

1913: Circus acrobat Otto Witte, impersonating the nephew of the Sultan, has himself crowned king of newly independent Albania.  He’ll rule for five days and declare war on Montenegro before the ruse is discovered, and then flee with much of the treasury.

1913: Harry Brearley of Sheffield, England, produces the first batch of a new alloy that he calls “rustless steel” but will become better known under the snappier “stainless steel.”

1918: Opha Mae Johnson becomes the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.  Some 300 are inducted the same day.

1923: The first ocean-going vessel arrives at the new port complex at Gdinya, built as a Polish rival to the Free City of Gdansk.

1942: RKO Radio Pictures releases Walt Disney’s newest animated film, Bambi.

1946: Herbert George Wells dies at London.  He won’t be the last person who thinks that being really famous makes you an expert on everything.

2004: Julia Child, the most famous American cook since Hector Boiardi (Chef Boyardee) dies at Santa Barbara, California.