Today In History

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 13, the 13th day of 2021. There are 352 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1982: An Air Florida 737 crashed into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and fell into the Potomac River while trying to take off during a snowstorm, killing a total of 78 people, including four motorists on the bridge; four passengers and a flight attendant survived.

ON THIS DATE

› 1733: James Oglethorpe and some 120 English colonists arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, while en route to settle in present-day Georgia.

› 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. (The number of stripes was later reduced to the original 13.)

› 1941: A new law went into effect granting Puerto Ricans U.S. birthright citizenship.

› 2005: Major League Baseball adopted a tougher steroid-testing program that would suspend first-time offenders for 10 days and randomly test players year-round.

› 2018: A false alarm that warned of a ballistic missile headed for Hawaii sent the islands into a panic, with people abandoning cars on a highway and preparing to flee their homes; officials apologized and said the alert was sent when someone hit the wrong button during a shift change.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Frances Sternhagen is 91. TV personality Nick Clooney is 87. Comedian Charlie Brill is 83. Actor Billy Gray is 83. Actor Richard Moll is 78. Actor Kevin Anderson is 61. Actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus is 60. Rock singer Graham “Suggs” McPherson (Madness) is 60. Country singer Trace Adkins is 59. Actor Penelope Ann Miller is 57. Actor Patrick Dempsey is 55. Actor Suzanne Cryer is 54. Actor Traci Bingham is 53. Actor Keith Coogan is 51. TV producer-writer Shonda Rhimes is 51. Actor Nicole Eggert is 49. Actor Ross McCall is 45. Actor Michael Pena is 45. Actor Orlando Bloom is 44. Meteorologist Ginger Zee (TV: “Good Morning America”) is 40. Actor Julian Morris is 38. Actor Beau Mirchoff is 32. Actor Liam Hemsworth is 31. NHL center Connor McDavid is 24.