January 13

It is still celebrated as New Year's Eve by those on the Julian calendar (Old New Year).

Events

*532 - Nika riots in Constantinople.
*888 - Odo, Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks.
*1328 - Edward III of England marries Philippa of Hainault, daughter of the Count of Hainault.
*1547 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey is sentenced to death.
*1559 - Elizabeth I crowned queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
*1605 - The controversial play "Eastward Hoe" by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John Marston is performed, landing two of the authors in prison.
*1607 - The Bank of Genoa fails after announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain.
*1610 - Galileo Galilei discovers Callisto, 4th moon of Jupiter.
*1733 - James Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrive in Charleston, South Carolina.
*1785 - John Walter publishes the first issue of the "Daily Universal Register" (later renamed "The Times").
*1822 - The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
*1830 - The Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana begins.
*1832 - President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina's defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
*1840 - The steamship "Lexington" burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
*1842 - Dr. William Brydon, a surgeon in the British Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 16,500 when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad.
*1847 - The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican-American War in California.
*1869 - National convention of black leaders meets in Washington D.C.
*1893 - The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting.
* 1893 - U.S. Marines land in Honolulu from the U.S.S. Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
*1898 - Emile Zola's "J'accuse" exposes the Dreyfus affair.
*1908 - Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, PA killing 171 people.
*1913 - Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated was founded on the campus of Howard University as the second Black Greek Letter Organization for Women. The mission was to make a move towards social activism.
*1915 - An earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800.
*1934 - The Candidate of Science degree is established in the USSR.
*1935 - A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
*1938 - The Church of England accepts the theory of evolution.
*1939 - The Black Friday bush fires burn 20,000 square kilometres of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
*1942 - Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
* 1942 - World War II: First use of aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
*1953 - Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen as President of Yugoslavia.
*1958 - Moroccan Liberation Army ambushes Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
*1964 - Hindu-Muslim rioting breaks out in the Indian city of Calcutta - now Kolkata - resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.
*1964 - Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, is appointed archbishop of Krakow, Poland.
*1966 - Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member by being appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
*1968 - Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom Prison
*1972 - Prime Minister Kofi Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Col. Ignatius Kutu Acheamphong.
*1974 - Seraphim is elected Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.
*1982 - Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90 737 jet crashes into Washington, DC's 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists. Coincidentally, a Washington DC Metro Rail train is derailed, killing 3 people.
*1985 - A passenger train plunged into a ravine at Ethiopia, killing 428, where accident is the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
*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.
*1990 - L. Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
*1991 - Soviet Union military troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius.
*1992 - Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
*2001 - An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
*2007 - Two thirds of the Venus's southern hemisphere suddenly brightened as something triggered aerosols to form at a furious rate.

Births

*1334 - King Henry II of Castile (d. 1379)
*1505 - Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1571)
*1562 - Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet (d. 1601)
*1596 - Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter (d. 1656)
*1610 - Maria Anna of Austria, Electress of Bavaria (d. 1665)
*1616 - Antoinette Bourignon, Flemish mystic (d. 1680)
*1635 - Philipp Jakob Spener, German theologian (d. 1705)
*1651 - Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English politician (d. 1694)
*1683 - Christoph Graupner, German composer (d. 1760)
*1720 - Richard Hurd, English bishop and writer (d. 1808)
*1749 - Friedrich Müller, painter and dramatist (d. 1825)
*1777 - Elisa Bonaparte, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte (d. 1820)
*1787 - John Davis, 14th and 17th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1854)
*1804 - Paul Gavarni, French caricaturist (d. 1866)
*1805 - Thomas Dyer, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
*1808 - Salmon P. Chase, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1873)
*1812 - Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (d. 1883)
*1832 - Horatio Alger, Jr., American minister and author (d. 1899)
*1845 - F%C3%A9lix Tisserand, French Astronomer (d. 1896)
*1858 - Oskar Minkowski, Biologist (d.1931)
*1859 - Kostis Palamas, Greek poet (d. 1943)
*1861 - Max Nonne, German neurologist (d. 1959)
*1864 - Wilhelm Wien, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
*1865 - Princess Marie of Orléans (d. 1908)
*1866 - Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian composer (d. 1901)
*1869 - Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat (d. 1931)
*1870 - Ross Granville Harrison, American biologist (d.1959)
*1878 - Lionel Groulx, Canadian nationalist (d. 1967)
*1881 - Essington Lewis, Australian industrialist (d. 1961)
*1884 - Sophie Tucker, Russian-born singer and performer (d. 1966)
*1885 - Alfred Fuller, Canadian businessman, The "Fuller Brush Man" (d. 1973)
*1886 - Art Ross, Canadian ice hockey player and executive (d. 1964)
*1887 - George Gurdjieff, Armenian-Greek mystic (d. 1949)
*1890 - Jüri Uluots, Estonian Prime Minister (d. 1945)
*1893 - Roy Cazaly, Australian rules footballer (d. 1963)
* 1893 - Clark Ashton Smith, American writer (d. 1961)
*1898 - Kai Munk, Danish playwright and Lutheran pastor, martyr (d. 1944)
* 1898 - Carlo Tagliabue, Italian baritone (d. 1978)
*1899 - Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)
*1901 - A. B. Guthrie, American novelist, historian (d. 1991)
* 1901 - Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish historian and priest (d. 1978)
*1904 - Richard Addinsell, British composer (Warsaw Concerto) (d. 1977)
*1909 - Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch communist (d. 1934)
*1910 - Yannis Tsarouchis, Greek painter (d. 1989)
*1911 - Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland (d. 2005)
*1913 - Jeff Morrow, American actor (d. 1993)
*1914 - Lord Ted Willis, British television dramatist (d. 1992)
*1919 - Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)
*1921 - Dachine Rainer, British writer (d. 2000)
*1922 - Albert Lamorisse, French film director and producer (d. 1970)
*1923 - Daniil Shafran, Russian cellist (d. 1997)
*1924 - Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1994)
* 1924 - Roland Petit, French choreographer
*1925 - Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
*1926 - Michael Bond, British writer
* 1926 - Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American feminist author (d. 2003)
*1927 - Brock Adams, American politician (d. 2004)
* 1927 - Sydney Brenner, British Nobel Laureate
*1929 - Joe Pass, U.S. jazz guitarist (d. 1994)
*1930 - Liz Anderson, American singer
* 1930 - Frances Sternhagen, American actress
*1931 - Ian Hendry, English actor (d. 1984)
* 1931 - Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor (d. 2007)
*1934 - Rip Taylor, American actor
*1935 - Mauro Forghieri, Italian automotive & mechanical engineer (Scuderia Ferrari)
* 1935 - Elsa Martinelli, Italian actress
*1936 - Renato Bruson, Italian operatic baritone
*1938 - William B. Davis, Canadian actor
* 1938 - Tord Grip, Swedish football manager
*1939 - Jacek Gmoch, Polish footballer and coach
* 1939 - Cesare Maniago, Canadian ice hockey player
*1940 - Edmund White, American author
*1941 - Pasqual Maragall, Spanish politician
*1943 - Carol Cleveland, English actress
* 1943 - Richard Moll, American actor
*1946 - Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish musician
*1947 - Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of Kraków
* 1947 - Carles Rexach, former Spanish-Catalan footballer and coach
*1948 - Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur
*1949 - Brandon Tartikoff, American television executive (d. 1997)
*1949 - Rakesh Sharma, first Indian and 138th man to visit space
*1950 - Bob Forsch, American baseball player
* 1950 - John McNaughton, American film director
*1954 - Trevor Rabin, South African guitarist (Yes)
*1955 - Paul Kelly, Australian singer
* 1955 - Jay McInerney, American writer
*1957 - Lorrie Moore, American writer
* 1957 - Mark O'Meara, Major winning American Golfer
*1959 - James Lomenzo, American musician (Megadeth)
*1960 - Takis Lemonis, Greek footballer and coach
*1961 - Wayne Coyne, American singer (The Flaming Lips)
* 1961 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress
* 1961 - Suggs, English singer
*1962 - Trace Adkins, American country music singer-songwriter
* 1962 - Paul Higgins, Canadian hockey player
* 1962 - Kevin Mitchell American baseball player
*1963 - Kevin McClatchy, American businessman
*1964 - Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
* 1964 - Ronan Rafferty, Northern Irish golfer
*1966 - Patrick Dempsey, American actor
*1967 - Annie Jones, Australian actress
* 1967 - George Paterson, Scottish singer/songwriter DMP
*1968 - Traci Bingham, American actress
* 1968 - Mike Whitlow, English footballer
* 1968 - Chara, Japanese singer and actress
*1969 - Stefania Belmondo, Italian cross-country skier
* 1969 - Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player
*1970 - Keith Coogan, American actor
* 1970 - Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
* 1970 - Shonda Rhimes, American screenwriter/creator Grey's Anatomy
*1971 - John Mallory Asher, American film actor/director
*1972 - Mark Bosnich, Australian footballer
* 1972 - Nicole Eggert, American actress
* 1972 - Atoosa Rubenstein, Iranian-born American magazine editor
* 1972 - Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast
*1973 - Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian ice hockey player
*1973 - Gloria Yip, Hong Kong actor
*1974 - Sergei Brylin, Russian ice hockey player
*1976 - Michael Peña, American actor
* 1976 - Tania Vicent, Canadian short track speed skater
*1977 - Orlando Bloom, English actor
* 1977 - James Posey, American basketball player
*1979 - Jill Wagner, American Actor
*1980 - Krzysztof Czerwinski, Polish conductor and organist
* 1980 - Nils-Eric Johansson, Swedish footballer
* 1980 - Akira Kaji, Japanese footballer
* 1980 - Michael Rupp, American ice hockey player
*1981 - Reggie Brown, American football player
* 1981 - Shad Gaspard, American professional wrestler, bodyguard, and actor
* 1981 - Jason James, Welsh musician (Bullet for My Valentine)
* 1981 - Darrell Rasner, American baseball player
*1982 - Guillermo Coria, Argentine tennis player
*1983 - Julian Morris, English actor
* 1983 - William Hung, American Idol contestant
* 1983 - Ronny Turiaf, French basketball player
*1986 - Joannie Rochette, Canadian figure skater
*1989 - Bryan Arguez, American soccer player
* 1989 - Triinu Kivilaan, Estonian singer
*1995 - Qaasim Middleton,American musician and actor

Deaths

*86 BC - Gaius Marius, Roman general and politician (b. 157 BC)

* 703 - Empress Jitō of Japan (b. 645)
* 858 - King Ethelwulf of Wessex (b. 795)
* 888 - Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 839)
*1138 - Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
*1151 - Abbot Suger, French statesman and historian (b. 1081)
*1177 - Henry II of Austria (b. 1107)
*1330 - Frederick I of Austria (b. 1286)
*1363 - Meinhard III of Gorizia-Tyrol (b. 1344)
*1599 - Edmund Spenser, English poet (b. 1552)
*1625 - Jan Brueghel the Elder, Flemish painter (b. 1568)
*1630 - Yuan Chonghuan, Chinese military commander (b. 1584)
*1658 - Edward Sexby, English Puritan soldier (b. 1616)
*1691 - George Fox, English founder of the Quakers (b. 1624)
*1766 - King Frederick V of Denmark (b. 1723)
*1775 - Johann Georg Walch, German theologian (b. 1693)
*1790 - Luc Urbain de Bouexic, comte de Guichen, French admiral (b. 1712)
*1796 - John H. D. Anderson, Scottish scientist and inventor (b. 1726)
*1797 - Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern, wife of Frederick II of Prussia (b. 1715)
*1832 - Thomas Lord, English cricketer, founder of Lord's cricket ground (b. 1755)
*1838 - Ferdinand Ries, German composer (b. 1784)
*1853 - Theophilos Kairis, Greek priest, humanist and revolutionary (b. 1783)
*1860 - William Mason, American politician (b. 1786)
*1864 - Stephen Foster, American composer (b. 1826)
*1882 - Wilhelm Mauser, German weapon designer and manufacturer (b. 1834)
*1885 - Schuyler Colfax,American politician (b.1823)
*1889 - Solomon Bundy, American politician (b. 1823)
*1894 - Nadezhda von Meck, Russian patroness of Pyotr Tchaikovsky (b. 1831)
*1905 - George Thorn, Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
*1906 - Alexander Popov, Russian physicist (b. 1859)
*1915 - Mary Slessor, Scottish missionary (b. 1848)
*1923 - Alexandre Ribot, French statesman (b. 1842)
*1924 - Georg Hermann Quincke, German phsycist (b. 1834)
*1929 - Wyatt Earp, American Western lawman (b. 1848)
* 1929 - H. B. Higgins, Australian politician and judge (b. 1851)
*1932 - Sophia of Prussia, consort of Constantine I of Greece (b. 1870)
*1934 - Paul Ulrich Villard, French physicist (b. 1860)
*1941 - James Joyce, Irish writer (b. 1882)
*1943 - Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss artist (b. 1889)
*1958 - Jesse L. Lasky, U.S. film producer (b. 1880)
*1962 - Ernie Kovacs, American actor and comedian (b. 1919)
*1967 - Anatole de Grunwald, British film producer and screenwriter (b. 1910)
*1971 - Robert Still, English composer (b. 1910)
*1974 - Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor (b. 1906)
* 1974 - Salvador Novo, Mexican writer and poet (b. 1904)
*1976 - Margaret Leighton, English actress (b. 1922)
*1978 - Hubert H. Humphrey, 38th Vice President of the United States (b. 1911)
* 1978 - Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (b. 1887)
*1979 - Donny Hathaway, American musician (b. 1945)
* 1979 - Marjorie Lawrence, Australian soprano (b. 1907)
*1980 - Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-born popular music conductor and arranger (b. 1901)
*1982 - Marcel Camus, French film director (b. 1912)
*1988 - Chiang Ching-kuo, President of the Republic of China (b. 1910)
*1993 - Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer (b. 1907)
*1995 - Max Harris, Australian poet, critic, columnist, commentator, publisher and bookseller (b. 1921)
*2001 - Michael Cuccione, Canadian actor and singer (b. 1985)
*2002 - Ted Demme, American film director (b. 1963)
* 2002 - Gregorio Fuentes, Cuban fisherman, reputed model for Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" (b. 1897)
* 2002 - Frank Shuster, Canadian comedian (b. 1916)
*2003 - Norman Panama, American screenwriter and director (b. 1914)
*2004 - Arne Næss Jr., Norwegian mountain climber (b. 1937)
* 2004 - Harold Shipman, British serial killer (b. 1946)
*2005 - Earl Cameron, Canadian broadcaster (b. 1915)
* 2005 - Nell Rankin, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1924)
*2006 - Frank Fixaris, American sportscaster (b. 1934)
* 2006 - Marc Potvin, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1967)
*2007 - Michael Brecker, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1949)
* 2007 - Danny Oakes, racecar driver (b. 1911)
*2008 - Sergei Larin, Lithuanian tenor (b. 1956)
* 2008 - Johnny Podres, American baseball player (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances

* In Sweden, Christmas ends on the 20th day, St. Knut's Day or Tjugondag Knut. Children celebrate a party throwing out the Christmas tree ("julgransplundring").
* In Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, in various Russophone communities, and in the Republic of Macedonia the Old New Year is celebrated (the New Year by the Old Style calendar) on the night of January 13/14.
*Hilary of Poitiers
*January 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/13 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Jan&day=13 On This Day in Canada] ----