January 13th
1733
James Oglethorpe and some 120 English colonists arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, while enroute to settle in present-day Georgia.
1794
President Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union.
1864
Composer Stephen Foster died in New York.
1865
Allen Eppard died on this date during the Civil War.
1879
Daniel M. Burcoy died on this date.
1893
Britain's Independent Labor Party held its first meeting.
1898
Emile Zola's famous defense of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, "J'accuse" was published in Paris, France.
1910
Opera was experimently broadcast on radio for the first time as Lee De Forest transmitted a performance of
"Pagliacci" from the stage of New York's Metropolitan Opera.
1941
Novelist James Joyce died in Zurich, Switzerland.
1945
During World War Two, Soviet forces began a huge successful offensive against the Germans in Eastern Europe.
1962
Comedian Ernie Kovacs died in a car crash in West Los Angeles, California.
1966
Robert C. Weaver became the first black Cabinet member as he was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Johnson.
1978
Former Vice-President Hubert Humphrey died in Waverly, Minnesota at age 66.
1982
An Air Florida 737 crashed into Washington D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge after takeoff and fell into the Potomoc River killing 78 people.
1990
L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation's first elected black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond, Virginia.
2000
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates stepped aside as Chief Executive and promoted Steve Ballmer to that position.
2002
The off-Broadway musical "The Fantasticks" was performed for the last time, ending a run of nearly 42 years and 17,162 shows.
2005
Major League Baseball adopted a tougher steroid-testing program that suspended first-time offenders for 10 days and randomly tested players year round.