What Happened On
Bush vs. Pretzel
January 13, 2002
U.S. President George W. Bush passes out after choking on a pretzel while watching a football game. After fainting, the President tumbled to the floor from a couch, bruising his lower lip and suffering an abrasion the size of a half dollar on his left cheek.
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Photo Credit: Aude
Bill Masterton Memorial TrophyPhoto Credit: Aude
NHL Player Mortally Wounded During Game
January 13, 1968
Bill Masterton is mortally injured when he strikes his head on the ice; he died two days later. He is the only National Hockey League (NHL) player to die as a direct result of injuries suffered during a game.
He was playing for the Minnesota North Stars against the Oakland Seals when he was carrying the puck up the ice at full speed and two Seals players converged on him, knocking him backwards with him landing on his head. Witnesses said he lost consciousness before hitting the ice. He was not wearing a helmet, as few players wore helmets at the time. He died two days later at the hospital without regaining consciousness. It is believed a previous concussion may have contributed to his death and that he suffered second-impact syndrome, where a concussion happens on top of previous untreated concussion causing rapid and often fatal brain swelling.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy was created in 1968 under the trusteeship of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and is presented annually to the "National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey". It is often awarded to a player who has come back from career or even life-threatening illness or injury.
The NHL made helmets mandatory for the 1979-80 season.
Heinkel He 280
Heinkel He 280
First Emergency Use of an Airplane Ejection Seat
January 13, 1942
By a German test pilot as his plane was about to crash. German test pilot Helmut Schenk was testing a Heinkel He 280 prototype jet-engine fighter. It was the first plane outfitted with an ejection seat. The ejection seat was powered by compressed air. While testing the plane, Schenk's control surfaces iced up and he lost control of the plane, so he ejected, making him the first person to do so in an emergency situation. Schenk's ejection was successful and he survived the incident.
The Heinkel He 280 was the first turbojet-powered fighter aircraft in the world, although only nine were ever built, and none were ever used in combat.
Mickey Mouse Comic Strip
January 13, 1930
After the success of the animated classic Steamboat Willie, the newspaper comic strip Mickey Mouse debuts.
Space Flight Impossible
January 13, 1920
A New York Times editorial mocks Robert Goddard, stating that rockets will never fly in space and saying that "…he only seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools." Goddard's response was, "Every vision is a joke until the first man accomplishes it; once realized, it becomes commonplace."
They issued an apology in 1969 after the Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. (One might say they had to "Apollo-gize"). Unfortunately, Goddard had died in 1945.
American Flag of 15 Stripes
January 13, 1794
Two stars and stripes (Kentucky and Vermont) are added, making 15 stars and stripes.
The practice of adding a stripe for each new state entering the Union was eventually deemed impractical and the Flag Act of 1818 specified a flag of 13 stripes, one for each of the original colonies, and 20 stars, one for each state currently in the union, with new stars to be added as new states entered the Union.
Jupiter
January 13, 1610
Galileo Galilei discovers another of Jupiter's moons; he had discovered three others six days earlier. At first believing them to be distant stars, subsequent observations over the next several months led him to the realization that these were moons of Jupiter. His findings were met with much skepticism as the concept of heavenly bodies orbiting anything other than the Earth violated current astronomical thinking. These discoveries helped support his belief that the Earth revolved around the Sun, leading to his prosecution by the Catholic Church.
There are 79 known moons orbiting Jupiter.
Birthdays
Euzhan Palcy
Born January 13, 1958
French filmmaker. She was the first black woman to direct a mainstream Hollywood full-length feature film, A Dry White Season (1989). Marlon Brando was so moved by the project about South African apartheid that he offered to act in it for free.
Palcy's first feature film Sugar Cane Alley (1983) received numerous awards including the César Award for Best First Feature Film.
Fred White
Born January 13, 1955 d. 2023
American drummer, with Earth, Wind & Fire. Music: Best of My Love (1977, #1), and After the Love has Gone (1979, #2, Grammy).
Brandon Tartikoff
Born January 13, 1949 d. 1997
American broadcast executive, head of programming at NBC.
Richard Moll
Born January 13, 1943 d. 2023
American actor. TV: Night Court (1984-92, bailiff Bull Shannon).
In 1983, the 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) tall Moll shaved his head for the role of Hurok in the science fiction B movie Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn. He auditioned for Night Court with his shaved head and the producers liked the look so much that they asked him to keep it.
Photo Credit: Angela George
Photo Credit: Angela George
Rip Taylor (Charles Elmer Taylor, Jr.)
Born January 13, 1931 d. 2019
American comic. Known for his confetti-throwing TV personality. He was a regular throughout the 1970s as a celebrity guest panelist on television game shows such as Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth, and The Gong Show.
Charles Nelson Reilly and as Horatio J. Hoodoo
Charles Nelson Reilly and as Horatio J. Hoodoo
Charles Nelson Reilly
Born January 13, 1931 d. 2007
American Tony-winning actor, comedian, game-show celebrity. When he was 13-years-old, he survived the circus disaster known as The Day the Clowns Cried, in which 168 people died when a circus tent caught fire. He could never sit in an audience again after that. But, he was in the 1999 movie The First of May, about a small traveling circus.
Reilly went public with his homosexuality in his theatrical one-man show Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly (2000).
Stage: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961, Bud Frump, Tony Award), and Hello, Dolly! (1964, Cornelius Hackl). TV: The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968-70, Claymore Gregg), Lidsville (1971-72, Horatio J. Hoodoo), and was a regular such shows as The Match Game and The Hollywood Squares.
Robert Stack (Charles Langford Modini Stack)
Born January 13, 1919 d. 2003
American actor. Film: Bwana Devil (1952, the first full-length color 3-D movie). TV: The Untouchables (1959-63, Eliot Ness) and Unsolved Mysteries (host). He placed 2nd in the National Skeet Shooting Championship (1935).
Morrow as Exeter in This Island Earth
Morrow as Exeter in This Island Earth
Jeff Morrow (Irving Morrow)
Born January 13, 1907 d. 1993
American actor. Film: The Robe (1953, black-hearted centurion), This Island Earth (1955, Exeter the alien), and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956, the scientist).
Last Of The Red Hot Mamas
Sophie Tucker (Sonya Kalish-Abuza)
Born January 13, 1887 d. 1966
Ukrainian-born American cabaret singer. Music: I'm The Last Of The Red Hot Mamas (1929, which became her billing for the rest of her life).
Alfred Carl Fuller
Born January 13, 1885 d. 1973
Canadian-born American businessman, "The Fuller Brush Man." He founded the Fuller Brush Co. (1906) utilizing door-to-door salesmen.
Horatio Alger Jr.
Born January 13, 1832 d. 1899
American boy's author. His characters overcame adversity through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty.
Salmon Portland Chase
Born January 13, 1808 d. 1873
American jurist. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1861-64) and 6th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1864-73). His portrait appears on the U.S. $10,000 bill.
Deaths
Hubert Horatio Humphrey
Died January 13, 1978 b. 1911
American politician. 38th U.S. Vice-President (1965-69).
Leader of the O.K. Corral Gunfight
Wyatt Earp
Died January 13, 1929 b. 1848
American gunfighter. He led the gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1881) in Tombstone, Arizona.
Quote: "That nothing's so sacred as honor, and nothing so loyal as love!"
Schuyler Colfax
Died January 13, 1885 b. 1823
American politician. 17th U.S. Vice-President (1869-73), 25th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1863-69), U.S. House of Representatives (1855-69, Indiana). Colfax was known for his opposition to slavery while serving in Congress, and was a founder of the Republican Party.
Siegfried (right) & Roy
Siegfried (right) & Roy
Siegfried Fischbacher
Died January 13, 2021 b. 1939
German-born American magician with Siegfried and Roy. Their magic act, known for its flash and use of animals, was the highest-grossing production in Las Vegas history. His partner, Roy Horn, was severely injured in 2003 by a white tiger during one of their performances. In Texas Hold'em, two queens as hole cards are referred to as a "Siegfried & Roy."
Dick Gautier
Died January 13, 2017 b. 1931
American actor. TV: Get Smart (Hymie the robot). He was also known for his caricatures of celebrities, and wrote several instructional books on caricature, drawing, and cartooning.
Teddy Pendergrass
Died January 13, 2010 b. 1950
American singer. He was severely injured in an auto accident (1982), which paralyzed him from the chest down. Music: Never Knew Love Like This Before (1980).
Patrick McGoohan
Died January 13, 2009 b. 1928
American-born Irish Emmy-winning actor. Luckily for Sean Connery, in 1962 McGoohan turned down the role of James Bond. Later, he also turned down the roles of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings and Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films. TV: Danger Man (1964-67, secret agent John Drake - retitled Secret Agent in U.S.), The Prisoner (1967-68, Prisoner Number 6), The Man in the Iron Mask (1977, Fouquet). Film: Escape From Alcatraz (1969) and Braveheart (1995, King Edward "Longshanks").
Ernie Kovacs
Died January 13, 1962 b. 1919
American comedian. TV: The Tonight Show (1956-57, host) and The Ernie Kovacs Show (1961-62).
Kovacs died when he lost control of his Chevrolet Corvair and crashed into a power pole in West Los Angeles. He died almost instantly from chest and head injuries. Pictures of Kovacs' body with an unlit cigar on the pavement near his outstretched hand appeared in newspapers across the United States.
First edition cover and James Joyce (1922)
First edition cover and James Joyce (1922)
James Joyce
Died January 13, 1941 b. 1882
Irish novelist. Although his novel Ulysses (1922) was banned in the U.S. until 1933, it is considered one of the greatest works of 20th-century fiction. Ulysses was declared obscene and throughout the 1920s, the United States Post Office Department burned copies of the novel it found in the mail.
It had been previously serialized in the American journal The Little Review (1918-1920).
The Great Masticator
Horace Fletcher
Died January 13, 1919 b. 1849
American dietician. Known as "The Great Masticator." He founded "Fletcherism," the belief that each bite of food must be chewed thoroughly.
Stephen Foster
Died January 13, 1864 b. 1826
American songwriter. Music: Oh! Susanna (1848), My Old Kentucky Home (1853), Camptown Races (1850), Swanee River (1851), My Old Kentucky Home (1852), Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (1854), and Beautiful Dreamer (1862).
Due to the popularity of his song Oh! Susanna, the publishing firm Firth, Pond & Company offered him a royalty rate of two cents per copy of sheet music sold, making him what is considered the first fully professional songwriter in the United States.