TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2018

On this day in history:

532 - Nika riots in Constantinople.

1128 - Pope Honorius II granted a papal sanction to the military order known as the Knights Templar. He declared it to be an army of God.

1205 - The “Great Frost” begins in England.

1797- French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany ends with the French vessel running aground, resulting in over 900 deaths. 1893 - Britain’s Independent Labor Party, a precursor to the current Labor Party, met for the first time.

1900 - In Austria-Hungary, Emperor Franz Joseph decreed that German would be the language of the imperial army to combat Czech nationalism. 1935 - A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.

1939 - 71 people die in Victoria in bushfires on ‘Black Friday’. 1982 - Shortly 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.

1992 - Japan apologised for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

1998 - One of the 110 missing episodes of the British TV show Doctor Who was found in New Zealand.

1999 - Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) announced his retirement from the NBA. 2001 - An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.

2002 - Japan and Singapore signed a free trade pact that would remove tariffs on almost all goods traded between the two countries.

2004 - The Spirit of Tasmania III makes the first Sydney to Tasmania voyage.

2009 - Ethiopian military forces began pulling out of Somalia, where they had tried to maintain order for nearly two years.

2012 - The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain’s negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.