On This Day: 13 January

13 January in Indian history

• 1964Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, in response to anti-Hindu riots in East Pakistan. About one hundred people are killed.India
• 1849Second Anglo-Sikh War: Battle of Chillianwala: British forces retreat from the Sikhs.India

13 January in world history

• 2012The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef and capsized off Isola del Giglio, Tuscany.
• 2003The trans-Neptunian object 208996 Achlys was discovered by Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown at Palomar Observatory, California.
• 1993Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
• 1991Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1,000 others.
• 1982Shortly 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.
• 1969British rock band Led Zeppelin released their first album, Led Zeppelin, in the United States.
• 1963Togo's first president, Sylvanus Olympio, was assassinated by military officers in a coup d'état led by Emmanuel Bodjollé, Étienne Eyadéma, and Kléber Dadjo.
• 1953An 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.
• 1949In 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.
• 1900To combat Czech nationalism, Emperor Franz Joseph decrees German will be language of the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces.
• 1895First Italo-Ethiopian War: The war's opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory.
• 1893U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
• 1842First 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.
• 1833United 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.
• 1815British troops captured Fort Peter in St. Marys, in the only battle of the War of 1812 to take place in the state of Georgia.
• 1797French 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.

Born on 13 January

• 1978Mohit Sharma, Indian soldier (died 2009)India
• 1949Rakesh Sharma, Indian commander, pilot, and cosmonautIndia
• 1948Gaj Singh, Indian lawyer and politicianIndia
• 1946Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish saxophonist, composer, and conductor
• 1932Barry Bishop, American mountaineer, photographer, and scholar (died 1994)
• 1810Ernestine Rose, American suffragist, abolitionist, and freethinker (died 1892)

Died on 13 January

• 1979Donny Hathaway, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (born 1945)
• 1978Joe McCarthy, American baseball player and manager (born 1887)
• 1956Lyonel Feininger, German-American painter and illustrator (born 1871)
• 1949Aino Aalto, Finnish architect and designer (born 1894)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 13 January in history?

2012: The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef and capsized off Isola del Giglio, Tuscany. 2003: The trans-Neptunian object 208996 Achlys was discovered by Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown at Palomar Observatory, California. 1993: Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center. 1991: Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1,000 others.

What happened on 13 January in Indian history?

1964: Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, in response to anti-Hindu riots in East Pakistan. About one hundred people are killed. 1849: Second Anglo-Sikh War: Battle of Chillianwala: British forces retreat from the Sikhs.

Which famous people were born on 13 January?

Mohit Sharma, Indian soldier (died 2009) (1978); Rakesh Sharma, Indian commander, pilot, and cosmonaut (1949); Gaj Singh, Indian lawyer and politician (1948); Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish saxophonist, composer, and conductor (1946).

Which day is observed on 13 January?

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.