Did you know
The Mexican–American War was sparked by the United States' annexation of Texas in 1845, which Mexico still considered its territory.
January 13 in History
1847 — The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican–American War in California
January 13 spans 58 recorded events across recorded history, from 27 BC to 2021. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
58 events
27 BC – 2021
Today in history
More major events on January 13
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1990 Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. Source
- 2000 A Short 360 aircraft chartered by the Sirte Oil Company crashes off the coast of Brega, Libya, killing 21. Source
- 1942 World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter. Source
Did you know
The Treaties of Velasco, signed in 1836, were refused recognition by Mexico, leading to ongoing tensions with the Republic of Texas.
Did you know
The Republic of Texas was a de facto independent country from 1836 to 1845, with most of its Anglo-American citizens seeking annexation by the United States.
Did you know
President Antonio López de Santa Anna was captured by the Texian Army during the 1836 Texas Revolution, leading to the signing of the Treaties of Velasco.
Did you know
The Mexican–American War resulted in the United States gaining control of a significant amount of new territory, including present-day California, Arizona, and New Mexico.
-27
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.
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.
532 Byzantine revolt against Justinian I
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.
1435 papal bull forbidding enslavement of Christian natives of the Canary Islands
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.
English poet (1516/17–1547)
1793
Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville, representative of Revolutionary France, is lynched by a mob in Rome.
French journalist and diplomatist (1743–1793)
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.
1792–1802 wars
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.
1822
The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
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.
President of the United States from 1829 to 1837
1840
The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
American paddlewheel steamboat (1835–1840)
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.
1849
1849
Second Anglo-Sikh War: Battle of Chillianwala: British forces retreat from the Sikhs.
1849 battle of the Second Anglo-Sikh War
1888
The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.
American scientific organization
1893
The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom holds its first meeting.
British political party
1893
U.S.
Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
1895
First Italo-Ethiopian War: The war's opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory.
1895–1896 war between the Ethiopia and Italy
1900
To combat Czech nationalism, Emperor Franz Joseph decrees German will be language of the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces.
Ideology promoting the nation and cultural unity of the Czech people
1908
The Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people.
1908 fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania
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.
Earthquake in Italy
1920
The Reichstag Bloodbath of January 13, 1920, the bloodiest demonstration in German history.
1920 riots against passage of the Works Councils Act in Berlin, Germany
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".
1935 referendum
1939
The Black Friday bushfires burn 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
Series of bushfires in Australia in 1939
1942
Henry Ford patents a soybean car, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
American business magnate (1863–1947)
1942
World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1950
British submarine HMS Truculent collides with an oil tanker in the Thames Estuary, killing 64 men.
T-class submarine of the Royal Navy, in service from 1942 to 1950
1950
Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
Bilateral relations
1951
First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins.
1946–1954 French colonial war in Indochina
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.
Russian newspaper founded in 1912
1958
The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
Organisation of militias fighting for Moroccan independence from France and Spain
1963
Coup d'état in Togo results in the assassination of president Sylvanus Olympio.
Coup that assassinated President Sylvanus Olympio
1964
Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, in response to anti-Hindu riots in East Pakistan.
About one hundred people are killed.
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).
1966
Robert C.
Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
1968
Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison.
American country singer (1932–2003)
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.
Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972
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.
1977 plane flight which crashed in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
1978
United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled "paid" or "volunteer" donors.
Federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
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.
1982 aircraft accident in Washington, D.C.
1985
A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
1985 railway disaster in Ethiopia
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.
Temporary capital of Yemen
1988
Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China.
President of the Republic of China from 1988 to 2000
1990
Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
American politician (born 1931)
1991
Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1,000 others.
1991 violent confrontations between Lithuanian civilians and Soviet military
1993
Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
1972–2011 United States human spaceflight program
1993
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is signed.
Multilateral treaty prohibiting the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons
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.
1998
Alfredo Ormando sets himself on fire in St.
Peter's Square, protesting against homophobia.
2000
A Short 360 aircraft chartered by the Sirte Oil Company crashes off the coast of Brega, Libya, killing 21.
1981 airliner family
2003
208996 Achlys was discovered by Chad Trujillo and Michael E.
Brown at Palomar Observatory.
2004
Uzbekistan Airways Flight 1154 crashes while landing at Tashkent International Airport, killing 37.
2004 aviation accident
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.
2018
A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii causes widespread panic in the state.
False alarm sent over all communications media in the U.S. state of Hawaii
2020
The Thai Ministry of Public Health confirms the first case of COVID-19 outside China.
Government ministry of Thailand
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.