Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Jan. 13, the 13th day of 2015. There are 352 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 13, 1915, a magnitude-7 earthquake centered in Avezzano, Italy, claimed some 30,000 lives.

On this date:

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

In 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.)

In 1864, American songwriter Stephen Foster died in poverty in a New York hospital at age 37.

In 1883, the Henrik Ibsen play "An Enemy of the People" was first performed in Christiania (Oslo), Norway.

In 1898, Emile Zola's famous defense of Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, "J'accuse," was published in Paris.

In 1941, a new law went into effect granting Puerto Ricans U.S. birthright citizenship. Novelist and poet James Joyce died in Zurich, Switzerland, less than a month before his 59th birthday.

In 1962, comedian Ernie Kovacs died in a car crash in west Los Angeles 10 days before his 43rd birthday.

In 1964, Roman Catholic Bishop Karol Wojtyla (the future Pope John Paul II) was appointed Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, by Pope Paul VI.

In 1978, former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey died in Waverly, Minnesota, at age 66.

In 1982, an Air Florida 737 crashed into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge and fell into the Potomac River after taking off during a snowstorm, killing a total of 78 people; four passengers and a flight attendant survived.

In 1990, L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation's first elected black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond.

In 2000, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stepped aside as chief executive and promoted company president Steve Ballmer to the position.

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

Five years ago: Haitians piled bodies along the devastated streets of their capital a day after a powerful earthquake, while in Washington, President Barack Obama pledged an all-out rescue and relief effort. During the first hearing of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, top Wall Street bankers apologized for risky behavior that led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, but still declared it seemed appropriate at the time. Rhythm-and-blues singer Teddy Pendergrass died in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, at age 59.

One year ago: A shooting at a Wesley Chapel, Florida, movie theater left Chad Oulson, 43, dead; retired Tampa police captain Curtis Reeves, 71, is accused of killing Oulson during what authorities said was an argument over Oulson's texting just before a showing of the movie "Lone Survivor." Two Fullerton, California, police officers who were videotaped in a violent struggle with a homeless man, Kelly Thomas, during an arrest were acquitted by a jury in Santa Ana of killing him.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Frances Sternhagen is 85. TV personality Nick Clooney is 81. Actor-comedian Charlie Brill is 77. Actor Billy Gray is 77. Actor Richard Moll is 72. Rock musician Trevor Rabin is 61. Rhythm-and-blues musician Fred White is 60. Rock musician James Lomenzo (Megadeth) is 56. Actor Kevin Anderson is 55. Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus is 54. Rock singer Graham "Suggs" McPherson (Madness) is 54. Country singer Trace Adkins is 53. Actress Penelope Ann Miller is 51. Actor Patrick Dempsey is 49. Actress Traci Bingham is 47. Actor Keith Coogan is 45. TV producer-writer Shonda Rhimes is 45. Actress Nicole Eggert is 43. Actor Michael Pena is 39. Actor Orlando Bloom is 38. Meteorologist Ginger Zee (TV: "Good Morning America") is 34. Actor Julian Morris is 32. Actor Liam Hemsworth (Film: "The Hunger Games") is 25.

Thought for Today: "I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day." -- James Joyce (1882-1941).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.