History of 13 January
- 1984 – Wayne Gretzky extended his NHL consecutive scoring streak to 45 games.
- 1986 – The NCAA adopted the controversial “Proposal 48,” which set standards for Division 1 freshman eligibility.
- 1986 – “The Wall Street Journal” printed a real picture on its front page. The journal had not done this in nearly 10 years. The story was about artist, O. Winston Link and featured one of his works.
- 1990 – L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, the nation’s first elected black governor, took the oath of office in Richmond.
- 1992 – Japan apologized for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
- 1997 – Debbie Reynolds received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- 1998 – NBC agreed to pay almost $13 million for each episode of the TV show E.R. It was the highest amount ever paid for a TV show.
- 1998 – ABC and ESPN negotiated to keep “Monday Night Football” for $1.15 billion a season.
- 1998 – One of the 110 missing episodes of the British TV show “Doctor Who” was found in New Zealand.
- 1999 – Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) announced his retirement from the NBA.
- 2002 – The exhibit “In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” opened at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. More than 100 artists supplied the collection of 120 works of art.
- 2002 – Japan and Singapore signed a free trade pact that would remove tariffs on almost all goods traded between the two countries.
- 2002 – U.S. President George W. Bush fainted after choking on a pretzel.
- 2009 – Ethiopian military forces began pulling out of Somalia, where they had tried to maintain order for nearly two years.
- 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 caused widespread panic in the state.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Reggie Brown, American football player
- 1981 – Darrell Rasner, American baseball player
- 1981 – Yujiro Takahashi, Japanese wrestler
- 1982 – Kamran Akmal, Pakistan cricketer
- 1982 – Guillermo Coria, Argentinian tennis player
- 1982 – Constantinos Makrides, Cypriot footballer
- 1982 – Ruth Wilson, English actress
- 1983 – Ender Arslan, Turkish basketball player
- 1983 – Sebastian Kneißl, German footballer
- 1983 – Mauricio Martín Romero, Argentinian footballer
- 1984 – Matteo Cavagna, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Kamghe Gaba, German sprinter
- 1984 – Nick Mangold, American football player
- 1985 – Luke Robinson, American wrestler
- 1986 – Joannie Rochette, Canadian figure skater
- 1987 – Stefano Del Sante, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Florica Leonida, Romanian gymnast
- 1987 – Steven Michaels, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Daniel Oss, Italian cyclist
- 1987 – Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Sven Wetzel, German rugby player
- 1988 – Josh Freeman, American football player
- 1989 – Morgan Burnett, American football player
- 1989 – Doug Martin, American football player
- 1990 – Vincenzo Fiorillo, Italian footballer
- 1990 – Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
- 1991 – Rob Kiernan, English-Irish footballer
- 1992 – Adam Matthews, Welsh footballer
- 1992 – Dinah Pfizenmaier, German tennis player
- 1993 – Max Whitlock, English artistic gymnast
- 1997 – Micah Hart, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1997 – Connor McDavid, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1997 – Ivan Provorov, Russian ice hockey player