13 January

Events

• 888 - Odo, Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks
• 1847 - The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican-American War in California.
• 1854 - The accordion is patented by Anthony Faas.
• 1893 - The Independent Labor Party of the UK has its first meeting.
• 1898 - Emile Zola's J'accuse exposes the Dreyfus affair.
• 1910 - The first radio broadcast. Inventor Lee De Forest broadcasts a live performance of Enrico Caruso from the Metropolitan Opera
• 1935 - A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany
• 1942 - Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car
• 1953 - Marshal Josip Broz Tito chosen President of Yugoslavia
• 1957 - Wham-O Company produces the first Frisbee
• 1966 - Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member by being appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
• 1972 - Prime Minister of Ghana, Dr Kofi Busia's ousted in bloodless military coup
• 1982 - Shortly after takeoff, an Air Florida jumbojet crashes into Washington, DC's 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78.
• 1990 - L. Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
• 1992 - Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
• 1998 - ABC and ESPN negotiate a $1.15 billion a season contract to keep Monday Night Football.
• 1999 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls basketball team announces his retirement (for the second time -- he has since rescinded his retirement)
• 2001 - An earthquake hits El Salvador. More than 5,000 deaths.

Births

• 1596 - Jan van Goyen, painter, (d. 1656)
• 1653 - Philipp Jakob Spener, theologian, (d. 1705)
• 1749 - Friedrich Müller, painter, narrator, lyricistand dramatist, also known as Maler Müller, (d. 1825)
• 1808 - Salmon Chase, Secretary of the Treasury under Abraham Lincoln, Chief Justice, (d. 1873)
• 1832 - Horatio Alger, Jr., Unitarian minister, author, (d. 1899)
• 1859 - Karl Bleibtreu, critic, (d. 1928)
• 1866?- G. I. Gurdjieff, Greek-Armenian mystic. He stated he was born at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve Julian calendar, (d. 1949)
• 1867 - Francis Everett Townsend, American physician and social reformer
• 1864 - Wilhelm Wien, physicist, (d. 1928)
• 1879 - Melvin Jones, founder of Lions Clubs International, (d. 1961)
• 1884 - Sophie Tucker, singer, comedienne, vaudeville performer, (d. 1966)
• 1919 - Army Archerd, Hollywood journalist
• 1919 - Robert Stack, actor, (d. 2003)
• 1922 - Albert Lamorisse, film director, (d. 1970)
• 1925 - Gwen Verdon, actress, dancer, (d. 2000)
• 1926 - Carolyn Gold Heilbrun (Amanda Cross) - feminist author, (d. 2003)
• 1930 - Frances Sternhagen, actress
• 1931 - Charles Nelson Reilly, actor
• 1942 - Richard Moll, actor
• 1949 - Brandon Tartikoff, television executive, (d. 1997)
• 1955 - Jay McInerney, writer
• 1960 - Kevin Anderson, actor
• 1961 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus, actress
• 1964 - Penelope Ann Miller, actress
• 1966 - Patrick Dempsey, actor
• 1977 - Orlando Bloom, actor
• 1981 - James Stevens, film director and actor

Deaths

• 858 - Ethelwulf, king of Wessex, (b. c. 800)
• 1599 - Edmund Spenser, poet, (b. 1552)
• 1864 - Stephen Foster, composer of Camptown Races, Oh! Susannah, (b. 1826)
• 1929 - Wyatt Earp, Western legend, (b. 1848)
• 1941 - James Joyce, writer, (b. 1882)
• 1962 - Ernie Kovacs, actor, comedian, (b. 1919)
• 1978 - Hubert H. Humphrey - Vice President of the United States and former Senator from Minnesota, (b. 1911)
• 1978 - Joe McCarthy, baseball manager, (b. 1908)
• 1988 - Chiang Ching-kuo, President of the Republic of China, (b. 1910)
• 2002 - Ted Demme film and television director, (b. 1963)
• 2004 - Harold Shipman, British serial killer, found dead in his cell, (b. 1946)
• 2004 - Arne Næss jr., Norwegian mountaineer and businessman, (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances

• Catholicism - Baptism of the Lord.
• National Vocation Awareness Week.
• Lovers of Life International - Day of Orgiastic Life

January 12 - January 14 - December 13 - February 13 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Referenced By