ON THIS DAY, JANUARY 13

1653 The first wheat planted at the Cape is harvested.

1662 Joanna van Riebeeck, daughter of Jan and Maria van Riebeeck, is born at the Cape. 1772 French explorer Marion du Fresne discovers Marion and Prince Edward islands – which are part of South Africa, in the Southern Ocean.

1797 A battle between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off Brittany,

France, ends with the French vessel running aground, resulting in over 900 deaths.

1842 Assistant surgeon William Brydon reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He is the sole survivor of the slaughter by Afghan tribesmen of a British army of 4 500 men and 12 000 camp followers. 1849 British forces retreat in defeat at the Battle of Tooele, in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. 1911 Roald Amundsen anchors at Walvis Bay,

South-West Africa, while on his way to leading the first expedition to reach the South Pole. 1915 An earthquake in the Italian province of L’Aquila kills between 30 000 and 33 000. 1915 South African troops occupy Swakopmund, in German South-West Africa. 1930 The comic strip Mickey Mouse debuts. 1942 Henry Ford patents a plastic car, which is 30% lighter than a regular one.

1942 A German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter is the first to use an ejection seat. 1950 The submarine HMS Truculent hits an oil tanker in the Thames Estuary, killing 64 men. 1951 A De Havilland Dove of United Airways crashes near Ixopo, killing 12 occupants.

1964 Riots in Calcutta cause 100 deaths.

1991 At least 40 soccer fans die in fighting at a stadium near Orkney.

1992 US serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer pleads guilty to the rape, murder and dismemberment of 17 men and boys.

2004 British doctor Harold Shipman, who is believed to have killed more than 200 of his patients in Manchester, is found hanged in a prison cell.

2012 The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia capsizes off Italy due to negligence. There were 32 deaths.

2018 A false alert about a missile strike causes panic in Hawaii. |