On This Day in History — January 13

Highlights of January 13

• 2012 — The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia (pictured) ran aground on a reef and capsized off Isola del Giglio, Tuscany. Read more
• 2003 — The trans-Neptunian object 208996 Achlys was discovered by Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown at Palomar Observatory, California. Read more
• 2001 — The first of two large earthquakes in the span of a month struck El Salvador, killing at least 944 people and destroying over 100,000 homes. Read more
• 2000 — Steve Ballmer replaced Bill Gates as the chief executive officer of Microsoft. Read more
• 1972 — Ghanaian military officer Ignatius Kutu Acheampong led a coup to overthrow Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo. Read more
• 1972 — Bernice Gera won a sex-discrimination lawsuit against the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, allowing her to become the first female professional baseball umpire. Read more
• 1969 — British rock band Led Zeppelin released their first album, Led Zeppelin, in the United States. Read more
• 1968 — American singer Johnny Cash recorded his landmark album At Folsom Prison live at Folsom State Prison in California. Read more
• 1963 — Togo's first president, Sylvanus Olympio (pictured), was assassinated by military officers in a coup d'état led by Emmanuel Bodjollé, Étienne Eyadéma, and Kléber Dadjo. Read more
• 1953 — Nine Moscow doctors were accused of a plot to poison members of the Soviet political and military leadership. Read more
• 1949 — In the first recorded instance of strike action by Catholic laity against the clergy, gravediggers at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York City, went on strike. Read more
• 1916 — The first Feminist Congress of Yucatán (delegates pictured) began in Mérida, Mexico, to propose reforms for women's social, educational, and legal rights. Read more
• 1915 — About 30,000 people were killed when an earthquake struck the Province of L'Aquila in Italy. Read more
• 1884 — Welsh physician William Price (pictured) was arrested for attempting to cremate his deceased infant son; this eventually led to the passing of the Cremation Act 1902 by Parliament. Read more
• 1847 — The Treaty of Cahuenga was signed, informally ending the fighting of the Mexican–American War in California. Read more
• 1842 — First Anglo-Afghan War: William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British Army, was the sole European of the 14,000 people retreating from Kabul to Jalalabad who evaded capture or death. Read more
• 1815 — British troops captured Fort Peter in St. Marys, in the only battle of the War of 1812 to take place in the state of Georgia. Read more
• 1797 — French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle off the coast of Brittany between two British frigates and a French ship of the line ended with hundreds of deaths when the latter ran aground. Read more
• 1435 — Pope Eugene IV promulgated the papal bull Sicut dudum, forbidding the enslavement of the native Guanche of the Canary Islands by the Spanish. Read more

Events

• 2021 — Outgoing 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. Read more
• 2020 — The Thai Ministry of Public Health confirms the first case of COVID-19 outside China. Read more
• 2018 — A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii causes widespread panic in the state. Read more
• 2012 — The 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. Read more
• 2004 — Uzbekistan Airways Flight 1154 crashes while landing at Tashkent International Airport, killing 37. Read more
• 2003 — 208996 Achlys was discovered by Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown at Palomar Observatory. Read more
• 2001 — An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800. Read more
• 2000 — A Short 360 aircraft chartered by the Sirte Oil Company crashes off the coast of Brega, Libya, killing 21. Read more
• 1998 — Alfredo Ormando sets himself on fire in St. Peter's Square, protesting against homophobia. Read more
• 1993 — Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center. Read more
• 1993 — The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is signed. Read more
• 1993 — Operation 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. Read more
• 1991 — Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1,000 others. Read more
• 1990 — Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. Read more
• 1988 — Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China. Read more
• 1986 — A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties. Read more
• 1985 — A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa. Read more
• 1982 — Shortly 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. Read more
• 1978 — United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled "paid" or "volunteer" donors. Read more
• 1977 — Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045, a Douglas DC-8 jet, crashes onto the runway during takeoff from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, killing five. Read more
• 1972 — Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong. Read more
• 1968 — Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison. Read more
• 1966 — Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Read more
• 1964 — Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, in response to anti-Hindu riots in East Pakistan. About one hundred people are killed. Read more
• 1964 — In 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). Read more
• 1963 — Coup d'état in Togo results in the assassination of president Sylvanus Olympio. Read more
• 1958 — The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera. Read more
• 1953 — An 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. Read more
• 1951 — First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins. Read more
• 1950 — British submarine HMS Truculent collides with an oil tanker in the Thames Estuary, killing 64 men. Read more
• 1950 — Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Read more
• 1942 — Henry Ford patents a soybean car, which is 30% lighter than a regular car. Read more
• 1942 — World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter. Read more
• 1939 — The Black Friday bushfires burn 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people. Read more
• 1935 — A 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". Read more
• 1920 — The Reichstag Bloodbath of January 13, 1920, the bloodiest demonstration in German history. Read more
• 1915 — The 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. Read more
• 1908 — The Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people. Read more
• 1900 — To combat Czech nationalism, Emperor Franz Joseph decrees German will be language of the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces. Read more
• 1898 — Émile Zola's J'accuse…! exposes the Dreyfus affair. Read more
• 1895 — First Italo-Ethiopian War: The war's opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory. Read more
• 1893 — The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom holds its first meeting. Read more
• 1893 — U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution. Read more
• 1888 — The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C. Read more
• 1849 — Establishment of the Colony of Vancouver Island. Read more
• 1849 — Second Anglo-Sikh War: Battle of Chillianwala: British forces retreat from the Sikhs. Read more
• 1847 — The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican–American War in California. Read more
• 1842 — Dr. 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. Read more
• 1840 — The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives. Read more
• 1833 — United 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. Read more
• 1822 — The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus. Read more
• 1815 — War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state. Read more
• 1797 — French 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. Read more
• 1793 — Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville, representative of Revolutionary France, is lynched by a mob in Rome. Read more
• 1547 — Henry 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. Read more
• 1435 — Sicut 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. Read more
• 532 — The 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. Read more
• 27 BC — Octavian 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. Read more

Born on January 13

• 2005 — Iker Bravo, Spanish footballer Read more
• 2003 — Oksana Selekhmeteva, Russian tennis player Read more
• 2000 — Harley Smith-Shields, Australian rugby league player Read more
• 1997 — Douglas Augusto, Brazilian footballer Read more
• 1997 — Egan Bernal, Colombian cyclist Read more
• 1997 — Luis Díaz, Colombian footballer Read more
• 1997 — Henry Ellenson, American basketball player Read more
• 1997 — Connor McDavid, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 1997 — Ivan Provorov, Russian ice hockey player Read more
• 1995 — Natalia Dyer, American actress Read more
• 1995 — Maxim Mamin, Russian ice hockey player Read more
• 1995 — Eros Vlahos, English actor and comedian Read more
• 1994 — Vasilije Micić, Serbian basketball player Read more
• 1993 — Max Whitlock, English artistic gymnast Read more
• 1992 — Adam Matthews, Welsh footballer Read more
• 1992 — Dinah Pfizenmaier, German tennis player Read more
• 1992 — Austin Watson, American ice hockey player Read more
• 1991 — Rob Kiernan, English-Irish footballer Read more
• 1991 — Kyle Clifford, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 1990 — Vincenzo Fiorillo, Italian footballer Read more
• 1990 — Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor Read more
• 1989 — Morgan Burnett, American football player Read more
• 1989 — Heath Hembree, American baseball player Read more
• 1989 — Doug Martin, American football player (died 2025) Read more
• 1989 — Beau Mirchoff, Canadian-American actor Read more
• 1988 — Josh Freeman, American football player Read more
• 1987 — Stefano Del Sante, Italian footballer Read more
• 1987 — Jack Johnson, American ice hockey player Read more
• 1987 — Florica Leonida, Romanian gymnast Read more
• 1987 — Steven Michaels, Australian rugby league player Read more
• 1987 — Daniel Oss, Italian cyclist Read more
• 1987 — Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 1986 — Joannie Rochette, Canadian figure skater Read more
• 1984 — Matteo Cavagna, Italian footballer Read more
• 1984 — Kamghe Gaba, German sprinter Read more
• 1984 — Nick Mangold, American football player (died 2025) Read more
• 1983 — Ender Arslan, Turkish basketball player Read more
• 1983 — Sebastian Kneißl, German footballer Read more
• 1983 — Julian Morris, English actor Read more
• 1983 — Mauricio Romero, Argentinian footballer Read more

Died on January 13

• 2026 — Scott Adams, American author and illustrator (born 1957) Read more
• 2026 — David Webb, British activist shareholder (born 1965) Read more
• 2025 — Oliviero Toscani, Italian photographer (born 1942) Read more
• 2024 — Joyce Randolph, American actress (born 1924) Read more
• 2020 — Bryan Monroe, American journalist and educator, (born 1965) Read more
• 2020 — Philip Tartaglia, Scottish prelate, Catholic archbishop of Glasgow (born 1951) Read more
• 2019 — Phil Masinga, South African footballer (born 1969) Read more
• 2017 — Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, English photographer and a former member of the British royal family (born 1930) Read more
• 2017 — Dick Gautier, American actor (born 1931) Read more
• 2017 — Magic Alex, Greek electronics engineer (born 1942) Read more
• 2016 — Brian Bedford, English-American actor and director (born 1935) Read more
• 2016 — Giorgio Gomelsky, Georgian-American director, producer, songwriter, and manager (born 1934) Read more
• 2016 — Lawrence Phillips, American football player (born 1975) Read more
• 2015 — Mark Juddery, Australian journalist and author (born 1971) Read more
• 2015 — Robert White, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Paraguay (born 1926) Read more
• 2014 — Bobby Collins, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1931) Read more
• 2014 — Randal Tye Thomas, American journalist and politician (born 1978) Read more
• 2014 — Waldemar von Gazen, German general and lawyer (born 1917) Read more
• 2013 — Diogenes Allen, American philosopher and theologian (born 1932) Read more
• 2013 — Rodney Mims Cook, Sr., American lieutenant and politician (born 1924) Read more
• 2013 — Chia-Chiao Lin, Chinese-American mathematician and academic (born 1916) Read more
• 2012 — Rauf Denktaş, Turkish-Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (born 1924) Read more
• 2012 — Guido Dessauer, German physicist and engineer (born 1915) Read more
• 2012 — Miljan Miljanić, Serbian footballer and manager (born 1930) Read more
• 2011 — Albert Heijn, Dutch businessman (born 1927) Read more
• 2010 — Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (born 1950) Read more
• 2009 — Dai Llewellyn, Welsh socialite and politician (born 1946) Read more
• 2009 — Patrick McGoohan, Irish-American actor, director, and producer (born 1928) Read more
• 2009 — Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese poet, composer, and producer (born 1925) Read more
• 2009 — W. D. Snodgrass, American poet (born 1926) Read more
• 2009 — Nancy Bird Walton, Australian pilot (born 1915) Read more
• 2008 — Johnny Podres, American baseball player and coach (born 1932) Read more
• 2007 — Michael Brecker, American saxophonist and composer (born 1949) Read more
• 2007 — Danny Oakes, American race car driver (born 1911) Read more
• 2006 — Frank Fixaris, American journalist and sportscaster (born 1934) Read more
• 2006 — Marc Potvin, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (born 1967) Read more
• 2005 — Earl Cameron, Canadian journalist (born 1915) Read more
• 2005 — Nell Rankin, American soprano and actress (born 1924) Read more
• 2004 — Arne Næss, Jr., Norwegian businessman and mountaineer (born 1937) Read more
• 2003 — Norman Panama, American director and screenwriter (born 1914) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Blessed Veronica of Milan; Christian feast day: Elian; Christian feast day: Hilary of Poitiers; Christian feast day: Mungo; Christian feast day: St. Knut's Day or Tjugondag Knut, the last day of Christmas. (Sweden and Finland); Christian feast day: January 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Constitution Day (Mongolia); Democracy Day (Cape Verde); Gluten-free diet day; Liberation Day (Togo); Old New Year's Eve (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska, North Macedonia), and its related observances: Malanka (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus); Sidereal winter solstice's eve celebrations in South and Southeast Asian cultures; the last day of the six-month Dakshinayana period (see January 14): Bhogi (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu); Sidereal winter solstice's eve celebrations in South and Southeast Asian cultures; the last day of the six-month Dakshinayana period (see January 14): Lohri (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh); Sidereal winter solstice's eve celebrations in South and Southeast Asian cultures; the last day of the six-month Dakshinayana period (see January 14): Uruka (Assam); Stephen Foster Memorial Day (United States); Yennayer (Berbers)

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