January 13: What Happened on This Day in History (High_school Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 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.
2. 1830 - The Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana begins.
3. 1847 - The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican-American War in California.
4. 1869 - National convention of black leaders meets in Washington, D.C.
5. 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.
6. 1942 - Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
7. 1942 - World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
8. 1966 - Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
9. 1990 - Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
10. 1993 - Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
11. Famous Birthdays: Félix Tisserand (French astronomer), Wilhelm Wien (German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate), Ross Granville Harrison (American biologist), Sydney Brenner (South African biologist, Nobel Prize laureate), Barry Bishop (American mountaineer, photographer, and scholar)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: January 12

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: January 14

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.