On This Day: January 13

Updated January 12, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Jan. 13, 1990, Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation’s first elected black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond.
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On Jan. 13, 1870, Ross Granville Harrison , the American zoologist and pioneer in embryonic transplantation , was born. Following his death on Sept. 30, 1959, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date By The Associated Press

1794 President George Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union.

1808 Salmon P. Chase, U.S. senator, secretary of the treasury and chief justice of the Supreme Court, was born in Cornish, N.H.

1893 Britain’s Independent Labor Party, a precursor to the Labor Party, first met.

1898 Novelist Emile Zola’s “J’accuse” – a defense of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jew falsely convicted of treason – was published in a Paris newspaper.

1964 Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was appointed archbishop of Krakow, Poland, by Pope Paul VI.

1966 Robert C. Weaver became the first black Cabinet member as he was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

1968 Country musician Johnny Cash recorded a live concert at Folsom Prison in California.

1982 An Air Florida 737 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., after takeoff and fell into the Potomac River, killing 78 people.

1989 New York City subway gunman Bernhard H. Goetz was sentenced to one year in prison for possessing an unlicensed gun that he used to shoot four youths he said were about to rob him.

1990 L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, the nation’s first elected black governor, took the oath of office in Richmond.

2000 Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stepped aside as chief executive.

2002 The off-Broadway musical “The Fantasticks” ended a run of nearly 42 years and 17,162 performances.

Current Birthdays By The Associated Press

Actor Patrick Dempsey (“Grey’s Anatomy”) turns 46 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Country singer Trace Adkins turns 50 years old today.

AP Photo/Peter Kramer

1930 Frances Sternhagen, Actress, turns 82

1934 Rip Taylor, Comedian, turns 78

1938 Billy Gray, Actor (“Father Knows Best”), turns 74

1943 Richard Moll, Actor (“Night Court”), turns 69

1954 Trevor Rabin, Rock musician (Yes), turns 58

1961 Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Actress (“Seinfeld,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine”), turns 51

1964 Penelope Ann Miller, Actress, turns 48

1972 Nicole Eggert, Actress, turns 40

1977 Orlando Bloom, Actor (“Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Lord of the Rings” movies), turns 35

Historic Birthdays

Ross Granville Harrison 1/13/1870 – 9/30/1959 American zoologist.Go to obituary »

60 Jan van Goyen 1/13/1596 – 4/27/1656
Dutch artist

77 Christoph Graupner 1/13/1683 – 5/10/1760
German composer

81 Sir Isaac Goldsmid 1/13/1778 – 4/27/1859
English financier

65 Salmon Chase 1/13/1808 – 5/7/1873
American politician/lawyer

67 Horatio Alger 1/13/1832 – 7/18/1899
American author

51 Felix Tisserand 1/13/1845 – 10/20/1896
French astronomer

82 Sophie Tucker 1/13/1884 – 2/9/1966
American entertainer

68 Elmer Davis 1/13/1890 – 5/18/1958
American broadcaster/writer

90 A.B. Jr. Guthrie 1/13/1901 – 4/26/1991
American novelist

1794	President George Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union.
1808	Salmon P. Chase, U.S. senator, secretary of the treasury and chief justice of the Supreme Court, was born in Cornish, N.H.
1893	Britain’s Independent Labor Party, a precursor to the Labor Party, first met.
1898	Novelist Emile Zola’s “J’accuse” – a defense of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jew falsely convicted of treason – was published in a Paris newspaper.
1964	Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was appointed archbishop of Krakow, Poland, by Pope Paul VI.
1966	Robert C. Weaver became the first black Cabinet member as he was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
1968	Country musician Johnny Cash recorded a live concert at Folsom Prison in California.
1982	An Air Florida 737 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., after takeoff and fell into the Potomac River, killing 78 people.
1989	New York City subway gunman Bernhard H. Goetz was sentenced to one year in prison for possessing an unlicensed gun that he used to shoot four youths he said were about to rob him.
1990	L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, the nation’s first elected black governor, took the oath of office in Richmond.
2000	Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stepped aside as chief executive.
2002	The off-Broadway musical “The Fantasticks” ended a run of nearly 42 years and 17,162 performances.

1930	Frances Sternhagen, Actress, turns 82
1934	Rip Taylor, Comedian, turns 78
1938	Billy Gray, Actor (“Father Knows Best”), turns 74
1943	Richard Moll, Actor (“Night Court”), turns 69
1954	Trevor Rabin, Rock musician (Yes), turns 58
1961	Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Actress (“Seinfeld,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine”), turns 51
1964	Penelope Ann Miller, Actress, turns 48
1972	Nicole Eggert, Actress, turns 40
1977	Orlando Bloom, Actor (“Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Lord of the Rings” movies), turns 35

60	Jan van Goyen 1/13/1596 – 4/27/1656 Dutch artist
77	Christoph Graupner 1/13/1683 – 5/10/1760 German composer
81	Sir Isaac Goldsmid 1/13/1778 – 4/27/1859 English financier
65	Salmon Chase 1/13/1808 – 5/7/1873 American politician/lawyer
67	Horatio Alger 1/13/1832 – 7/18/1899 American author
51	Felix Tisserand 1/13/1845 – 10/20/1896 French astronomer
82	Sophie Tucker 1/13/1884 – 2/9/1966 American entertainer
68	Elmer Davis 1/13/1890 – 5/18/1958 American broadcaster/writer
90	A.B. Jr. Guthrie 1/13/1901 – 4/26/1991 American novelist