On December 13, 1577, Sir Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.
In 1623 on this date, the Plymouth Colony in North America established a system of trial by 12-men jury.
On December 13, 1972, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt began the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or “Moonwalk” of Apollo 17. To this date in 2025 they remain the last humans to set foot on the Moon.