January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 352 days remaining until the end of the year (353 in leap years).

It is sometimes celebrated as New Year's Eve (at least in the 20th & 21st centuries) by countries and organisations still using the thirteen-days-adrift Julian calendar (Old New Year).

Events[link]

• 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.
• 1435 – Sicut Dudum, forbidding the enslavement of black natives in Canary Islands by Spanish natives, is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV.
• 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey is sentenced to death.
• 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.
• 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).
• 1793 – Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville, representative of Revolutionary France, lynched by a mob in Rome
• 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 ashore, resulting in the death of over 900.
• 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.
• 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, 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.
• 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 United Kingdom holds its first meeting.
• 1893 – U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
• 1898 – Émile Zola's J'accuse exposes the Dreyfus affair.
• 1908 – The Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people.
• 1910 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the opera Cavalleria rusticana is sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, New York.
• 1913 – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated was founded on the campus of Howard University.
• 1915 – An earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800.
• 1934 – The Candidate of Sciences degree is established in the Soviet Union.
• 1935 – A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
• 1939 – The Black Friday bush fires burn 20,000 square kilometers 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 an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
• 1951 – First Indochina War: The Battle of Vinh Yen begins, which will end in a major victory for France.
• 1953 – Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen as President of Yugoslavia.
• 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.
• 1958 – The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
• 1964 – Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, resulting in 100 deaths.
• 1964 – Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, is appointed archbishop of Kraków, Poland.
• 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
• 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.
• 1974 – Seraphim is elected Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.
• 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.
• 1985 – A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in 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 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
• 1991 – Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding 1000.
• 1993 – Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
• 2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
• 2012 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy. There are 32 deaths (and a few people still missing) amongst the 4232 passengers and crew.

Births[link]

• 1434 – 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)
• 1698 – Metastasio, Italian poet and librettist (d. 1782)
• 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 – Félix 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)
• 1883 – Prince Arthur of Connaught (d. 1938)
• 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 – Gabriel Gabrio, French actor (d. 1946)
• 1887 – George Gurdjieff, Georgian-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)
• 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)
• 1905 – Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)
• 1906 – Zhou Youguang, Chinese linguist
• 1909 – Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch communist (d. 1934)
• 1910 – Yannis Tsarouchis, Greek painter (d. 1989)
• 1911 – Sir Johannes "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)
• 1923 – Willem Slijkhuis, Dutch athlete (d. 2003)
• 1924 – Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1994)
• 1924 – Roland Petit, French choreographer (d. 2011)
• 1925 – Georgi Kaloyanchev, Bulgarian actor
• 1925 – Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
• 1926 – Shakti Samanta, Indian film director and producer (d. 2009)
• 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, American jazz guitarist (d. 1994)
• 1930 – Liz Anderson, American singer (d. 2011)
• 1930 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress
• 1931 – Ian Hendry, English actor (d. 1984)
• 1931 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Chris Wiggins, British actor
• 1932 – Barry Bishop, American mountaineer (d. 1994)
• 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 – Richard Anthony (French singer), French singer of Egyptian descent
• 1938 – Tord Grip, Swedish football manager
• 1938 – Shivkumar Sharma, santoor player, Indian music composer
• 1939 – Jacek Gmoch, Polish footballer and coach
• 1939 – Edgardo Cozarinsky, Argentinian writer and film director
• 1939 – Cesare Maniago, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1940 – Edmund White, American author
• 1941 – Pasqual Maragall, Spanish politician
• 1942 – Carol Cleveland, English actress
• 1943 – Richard Moll, American actor
• 1946 – Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish musician
• 1947 – John Lees, English Musician (Barclay James Harvest)
• 1947 – Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of Kraków
• 1947 – Carles Rexach, former Spanish-Catalan footballer and coach
• 1948 – Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur
• 1949 – Klaus Brandner, German politician
• 1949 – Rakesh Sharma, first Indian and 138th person to visit space
• 1949 – Brandon Tartikoff, American television executive (d. 1997)
• 1950 – Bob Forsch, American baseball player
• 1950 – John McNaughton, American film director
• 1951 – Frank E. Peretti, author of Christian fiction
• 1954 – Trevor Rabin, South African guitarist (Yes)
• 1955 – Paul Kelly, Australian singer-songwriter
• 1955 – Jay McInerney, American writer
• 1956 – Janet Hubert-Whitten, American actress
• 1957 – Lorrie Moore, American writer
• 1957 – Mark O'Meara, American golfer
• 1958 – Ton du Chatinier, Dutch retired footballer and football manager
• 1959 – Ernie Irvan, retired NASCAR driver and Daytona 500 champion
• 1959 – James Lomenzo, American musician (Megadeth, White Lion and Black Label Society)
• 1960 – Takis Lemonis, Greek footballer and coach
• 1961 – Wayne Coyne, American singer (The Flaming Lips)
• 1961 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress
• 1961 – Kelly Hrudey, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1961 – Suggs, English singer (Madness)
• 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 – Bill Bailey, British comedian
• 1964 – Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
• 1964 – Ronan Rafferty, Northern Irish golfer
• 1966 – Patrick Dempsey, American actor, Race car driver
• 1966 – Shelagh Fogarty, British radio presenter
• 1966 – Leo Visser, Dutch speed skate champion
• 1967 – Annie Jones, Australian actress
• 1968 – Traci Bingham, American actress
• 1968 – Chara, Japanese singer and actress
• 1968 – Mike Whitlow, English footballer
• 1968 – Antonio Tartaglia, Italian bobsledder
• 1969 – Stefania Belmondo, Italian cross-country skier
• 1969 – Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player
• 1970 – Keith Coogan, American actor
• 1970 – Frank Kooiman, Dutch football goalkeeper
• 1970 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
• 1970 – Shonda Rhimes, American screenwriter
• 1971 – John Mallory Asher, American film actor/director
• 1971 – Phil Whyman, English paranormal researcher, television personality, writer and musician
• 1972 – Mark Bosnich, Australian footballer
• 1972 – Nicole Eggert, American actress
• 1972 – James O'Brien, British radio presenter and journalist
• 1972 – Atoosa Rubenstein, Iranian-born American magazine editor
• 1972 – Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast
• 1972 – Park Jin-Young, Korean singer
• 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
• 1976 – Mario Yepes, Colombian footballer
• 1977 – Orlando Bloom, English actor
• 1977 – James Posey, American basketball player
• 1977 – William Ash (actor), British actor
• 1978 – Ashmit Patel, Indian actor
• 1978 – Nate Silver, American journalist and statistician
• 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
• 1980 – Mirko Soltau, German footballer
• 1981 – Reggie Brown, American football player
• 1981 – Shad Gaspard, American professional wrestler, bodyguard, and actor
• 1981 – Jason James, Welsh bassist (Bullet for My Valentine)
• 1981 – Darrell Rasner, American baseball player
• 1982 – Kamran Akmal, Pakistan cricketer
• 1982 – Guillermo Coria, Argentine tennis player
• 1982 – Constantinos Makrides, Cypriot football player
• 1983 – William Hung, TV personality and singer
• 1983 – Sebastian Kneißl, German footballer
• 1983 – Julian Morris, English actor
• 1983 – Ronny Turiaf, French basketball player
• 1983 – Imran Khan, Indian actor
• 1984 – Matteo Cavagna, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Nathaniel Motte, American musician (3OH!3)
• 1984 – Lourdes Arévalos, Paraguaian beauty model
• 1985 – Qi Hui, Chinese swimmer
• 1986 – Laura Ludwig, German beach volleyball player
• 1986 – Josefine Preuß, German actress
• 1986 – Joannie Rochette, Canadian figure skater
• 1987 – Stefano Del Sante, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Lee Seung Gi, South Korean singer
• 1987 – Daniel Oss, Italian cyclist
• 1987 – Alexandre Pliuschin, Moldovan cyclist
• 1987 – Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Sven Wetzel, German rugby player
• 1988 – Josh Freeman, American football player
• 1988 – Daniel Scheinig, German footballer
• 1989 – Bryan Arguez, American footballer
• 1989 – James Berrett, English footballer
• 1989 – Triinu Kivilaan, Estonian singer (Vanilla Ninja)
• 1989 – Tim Matavž, Slovenian footballer
• 1990 – Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
• 1991 – Goo Ha-ra, South Korean singer/actress/MC (Kara)
• 1992 – Adam Matthews, Welsh footballer
• 1992 – Dinah Pfizenmaier, German tennis player
• 1995 – Qaasim Middleton, American musician and actor (The Naked Brothers Band)