January 13Birthdays & History

On this day: January 13 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 27 BCOctavian transfers the state to the free disposal of the Roman Senate and the people. He receives Spain, Gaul, and Syria as his province for ten years.EuropeMiddle East
2. 532The Nika riots break out, during the racing season at the Hippodrome in Constantinople, as a result of discontent with the rule of the Emperor Justinian I.Middle East
3. 1435Sicut Dudum, forbidding the enslavement by the Spanish of the Guanche natives in Canary Islands who had converted, or were converting to, Christianity, is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV.Europe
4. 1547Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, is sentenced to death for treason, on the grounds of having quartered his arms to make them similar to those of the King, Henry VIII of England.Europe
5. 1793Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville, representative of Revolutionary France, is lynched by a mob in Rome.Europe
6. 1797French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany ends with the French vessel running aground, resulting in over 900 deaths.Europe
7. 1815War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state.Europe
8. 1822The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.Europe
9. 1833United States President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President elect Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina's defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.North America
10. 1840The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.North America
11. 1842Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.EuropeAsia
12. 1847The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican–American War in California.Latin AmericaNorth America
13. 1849Second Anglo-Sikh War: Battle of Chillianwala: British forces retreat from the Sikhs.Europe
14. 1849Establishment of the Colony of Vancouver Island.North America
15. 1888The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.North America
16. 1893The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom holds its first meeting.Europe
17. 1893U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.North America
18. 1895First Italo-Ethiopian War: The war's opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory.AfricaEurope
19. 1898Émile Zola's J'accuse…! exposes the Dreyfus affair.Europe
20. 1900To combat Czech nationalism, Emperor Franz Joseph decrees German will be language of the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces.Europe
21. 1908The Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people.North America
22. 1915The 6.7 Mw Avezzano earthquake shakes the Province of L'Aquila in Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 29,978 and 32,610.Europe
23. 1920The Reichstag Bloodbath of January 13, 1920, the bloodiest demonstration in German history.Europe
24. 1935A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to no more being a "region occupied and governed by the United Kingdom and France".Europe
25. 1939The Black Friday bushfires burn 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.Oceania
26. 1942World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.Europe
27. 1942Henry Ford patents a soybean car, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.North America
28. 1950Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.EuropeAsia
29. 1950British submarine HMS Truculent collides with an oil tanker in the Thames Estuary, killing 64 men.Europe
30. 1951First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins.Asia
31. 1953An article appears in Pravda accusing some of the most prestigious and prominent doctors, mostly Jews, in the Soviet Union of taking part in a vast plot to poison members of the top Soviet political and military leadership.Europe
32. 1958The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.AfricaEurope
33. 1963Coup d'état in Togo results in the assassination of president Sylvanus Olympio.Africa
34. 1964Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, in response to anti-Hindu riots in East Pakistan. About one hundred people are killed.Asia
35. 1964In Manchester, New Hampshire, fourteen-year-old Pamela Mason is murdered. Edward Coolidge is tried and convicted of the crime, but the conviction is set aside by the landmark Fourth Amendment case Coolidge v. New Hampshire (1971).North America
36. 1966Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.AfricaNorth America
37. 1968Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison.North America
38. 1972Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.Africa
39. 1977Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045, a Douglas DC-8 jet, crashes onto the runway during takeoff from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, killing five.Asia
40. 1978United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled "paid" or "volunteer" donors.North America
41. 1982Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet, crashes into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists.North America
42. 1985A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.Africa
43. 1986A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.Middle East
44. 1988Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China.Asia
45. 1990Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.AfricaNorth America
46. 1991Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1,000 others.Europe
47. 1993Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.North America
48. 1993Operation Southern Watch: U.S.A.F., U.S.N., R.A.F. and French Air Force jets attack AAA and SAM sites in Southern Iraq.EuropeMiddle East
49. 1993The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is signed.World
50. 1998Alfredo Ormando sets himself on fire in St. Peter's Square, protesting against homophobia.Europe
51. 2000A Short 360 aircraft chartered by the Sirte Oil Company crashes off the coast of Brega, Libya, killing 21.Africa
52. 2001An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.Latin America
53. 2003208996 Achlys was discovered by Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown at Palomar Observatory.Africa
54. 2004Uzbekistan Airways Flight 1154 crashes while landing at Tashkent International Airport, killing 37.Asia
55. 2012The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino's negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.Europe
56. 2018A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii causes widespread panic in the state.North America
57. 2020The Thai Ministry of Public Health confirms the first case of COVID-19 outside China.Asia
58. 2021Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump is impeached for a second time on a charge of incitement of insurrection following the January 6 United States Capitol attack one week prior.North America

Source: Wikipedia "January 13" / CC BY-SA 4.0