January 13: St. Knut's Day ( Christianity- Scandinavia), Old New Year (unofficial Eastern Orthodox Church tradition)

• 1842 – When he reached the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, became the sole European survivor of a party of over 4,500 military personnel and over 10,000 civilian camp followers retreating from Kabul, excluding a few prisoners released later.

• 1898 – The Paris newspaper L'Aurore published " J'accuse...!", an open letter by French writer Émile Zola (pictured) to French President Félix Faure exposing the Dreyfus affair.

• 1968 – American singer Johnny Cash recorded his landmark album At Folsom Prison live at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California.

• 1986 – A month-long violent struggle began in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of President Ali Nasir Muhammad and his predecessor Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.

• 1991 – The January Events: Soviet troops attacked Lithuanian independence supporters at the TV Tower in Vilnius, killing 14 people.