My roots...

I was philosophising about the singnificance of my existence, and the reason I was born into this dark, mysterious world when alas! Oh my! Goodness me! I stumbled upon WIKEPEIDA! And here is what I found under the keywords ' January 13th '
Events
• 888 - Odo, Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks.
• 1328 - Edward III of England marries Philippa, daughter of the Count of Hainault.
• 1547 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey sentenced to death.
• 1559 - Elizabeth I crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey.
• 1602 - William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor is published.
• 1605 - The controversial play Eastward Hoe by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John Marston is performed, landing two of the authors in prison.
• 1607 - Bank of Genoa fails after announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain.
• 1610 - Galileo Galilei discovers Callisto, 4th moon of Jupiter.
• 1622 - Work on the printing of the First Folio of William Shakespeare is suspended.
• 1625 - John Milton is admitted to Christ’s College, Cambridge at the age of 16.
• 1733 - James Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrive in Charleston, South Carolina.
• 1785 - John Walter publishes first issue of the Daily Universal Register (later renamed The Times).
• 1830 - Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana begins.
• 1832 - President Andrew Jackson writes Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina’s defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
• 1840 - The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
• 1842 - On this day Dr. William Brydon, a surgeon in the British Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, became famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 16,500 when he reached the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad .
• 1847 - The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican-American War in California.
• 1854 - The accordion is patented by Anthony Faas.
• 1869 - National convention of black leaders meets in Washington D.C..
• 1893 - The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting.
• 1893 - US Marines land in Honolulu from the U.S.S. Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
• 1898 - Emile Zola’s J’accuse exposes the Dreyfus affair.
• 1915 - An Earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800.
• 1930 - Mickey Mouse comic strip makes its first appearance.
• 1934 - the Candidate of Science degree is established in the USSR.
• 1935 - A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
• 1938 - Church of England accepts theory of evolution.
• 1942 - Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
• 1942 - The United States begins Japanese American internment.
• 1953 - Marshal Josip Broz Tito chosen President of Yugoslavia.
• 1957 - Wham-O Company produces the first Frisbee.
• 1958 - Moroccan Liberation Army ambushes Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
• 1966 - Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member by being appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
• 1968 - Johnny Cash records his landmark album At Folsom Prison live at Folsom State Prison
• 1972 - Prime Minister Kofi Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Col. Ignatius Kutu Acheamphong.
• 1982 - Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90 737 jet crashes into Washington, DC’s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists.
• 1986 - A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
• 1990 - L. Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
• 1991 - Soviet Union military troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius.
• 1992 - Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
• 2001 - An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
Births
• 1334 - King Henry II of Castile (d. 1379)
• 1562 - Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet (d. 1601)
• 1596 - Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter (d. 1656)
• 1610 - Maria Anna of Austria (d. 1665)
• 1616 - Antoinette Bourignon, Flemish mystic (d. 1680)
• 1635 - Philipp Jakob Spener, German theologian (d. 1705)
• 1651 - Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English politician (d. 1694)
• 1720 - Richard Hurd, English bishop and writer (d. 1808)
• 1749 - Friedrich Müller, painter and dramatist (d. 1825)
• 1805 - Thomas Dyer, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
• 1808 - Salmon P. Chase, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1873)
• 1812 - Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (d. 1883)
• 1832 - Horatio Alger, Jr., American minister and author (d. 1899)
• 1861 - Max Nonne, German neurologist (d. 1959)
• 1864 - Wilhelm Wien, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
• 1866 - Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian composer (d. 1901)
• 1878 - Lionel Groulx, Canadian nationalist (d. 1967)
• 1869 - Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat (d. 1931)
• 1884 - Sophie Tucker, Russian-born singer and performer (d. 1966)
• 1893 - Clark Ashton Smith, American writer (d. 1961)
• 1905 - Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)
• 1909 - Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch communist (d. 1934)
• 1911 - Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland (d. 2005)
• 1919 - Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)
• 1924 - Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1994)
• 1925 - Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
• 1926 - Michael Bond, British writer
• 1926 - Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American feminist author (d. 2003)
• 1927 - Brock Adams, American politician (d. 2004)
• 1927 - Sydney Brenner, British Nobel Laureate
• 1930 - Frances Sternhagen, American actress
• 1930 - Liz Anderson, American singer
• 1931 - Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor
• 1934 - Rip Taylor, American actor
• 1938 - William B. Davis, Canadian actor
• 1938 - Tord Grip, Swedish football manager
• 1941 - Pasqual Maragall, Spanish politician
• 1942 - Richard Moll, American actor
• 1943 - Carol Cleveland, English actress
• 1946 - Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish musician
• 1947 - Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of Kraków
• 1948 - Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur
• 1949 - Brandon Tartikoff, American television executive (d. 1997)
• 1950 - Bob Forsch, baseball player
• 1954 - Trevor Rabin, South African guitarist (Yes)
• 1955 - Jay McInerney, American writer
• 1958 - Andrew Stanton, American actor and director
• 1959 - Gordon G.G. Gebert, Musician keyboardist/producer, Author, Entertainer
• 1961 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress
• 1961 - Graham McPherson, English singer
• 1961 - Wayne Coyne, American singer (The Flaming Lips)
• 1962 - Trace Adkins, American musician
• 1964 - Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
• 1966 - Patrick Dempsey, American actor
• 1968 - Traci Bingham, American actress
• 1968 - Mike Whitlow, English footballer
• 1969 - Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player
• 1969 - Stefania Belmondo, Italian cross-country skier
• 1970 - Keith Coogan, American actor
• 1970 - Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
• 1972 - Nicole Eggert, American actress
• 1972 - Vitaly Scherbo, Belarussian gymnast
• 1973 - Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian hockey player
• 1977 - Orlando Bloom, English actor
• 1980 - Krzysztof Czerwinski, Polish conductor and organist
• 1980 - Akira Kaji, Japanese National Football Player
• 1981 - Reggie Brown, American football player
• 1982 - Guillermo Coria, Argentine tennis player
• 1983 - Julian Morris, English actor
• 1997 - Marius Borg Høiby, son of Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway
Deaths
• 85 BC - Gaius Marius, Roman general and politician
• 703 - Empress Jitō of Japan (b. 645)
• 858 - King Ethelwulf of Wessex
• 888 - Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor
• 1138 - Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
• 1151 - Abbot Suger, French statesman and historian
• 1177 - Henry II of Austria (b. 1107)
• 1330 - Frederick I of Austria (b. 1286)
• 1363 - Meinhard III of Gorizia-Tyrol
• 1547 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1517)
• 1599 - Edmund Spenser, English poet (b. 1552)
• 1630 - Yuan Chonghuan, Chinese military commander
• 1658 - Edward Sexby, English Puritan soldier (b. 1616)
• 1691 - George Fox, English founder of the Quakers (b. 1624)
• 1766 - King Frederick V of Denmark (b. 1723)
• 1775 - Johann Georg Walch, German theologian (b. 1693)
• 1790 - Luc Urbain de Bouexic, comte de Guichen, French admiral (b. 1712)
• 1796 - John H. D. Anderson, Scottish scientist and inventor (b. 1726)
• 1797 - Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern, wife of Frederick II of Prussia (b. 1715)
• 1852 - Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian explorer (b. 1778)
• 1864 - Stephen Foster, American composer (b. 1826)
• 1906 - Alexander Popov, Russian physicist (b. 1859)
• 1923 - Alexandre Ribot, French statesman (b. 1842)
• 1929 - Wyatt Earp, Western lawman (b. 1848)
• 1932 - Sophia of Prussia, consort of Constantine I of Greece (b. 1870)
• 1934 - Paul Ulrich Villard, French physicist (b. 1860)
• 1941 - James Joyce, Irish writer (b. 1882)
• 1943 - Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss artist (b. 1889)
• 1962 - Ernie Kovacs, American actor and comedian (b. 1919)
• 1974 - Salvador Novo, Mexican writer and poet (b. 1904)
• 1978 - Hubert H. Humphrey, 38th Vice President of the United States (b. 1911)
• 1978 - Joe McCarthy, baseball manager (b. 1908)
• 1979 - Donny Hathaway, American musician (b. 1945)
• 1988 - Chiang Ching-kuo, President of the Republic of China (b. 1910)
• 1993 - Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer (b. 1907)
• 2001 - Michael Cuccione, Canadian actor and singer (b. 1985)
• 2002 - Ted Demme, American film director (b. 1963)
• 2002 - Frank Shuster, Canadian comedian (b. 1916)
• 2003 - Norman Panama, American screenwriter and director (b. 1914)
• 2004 - Arne Næss Jr., Norwegian mountain climber (b. 1937)
• 2004 - Harold Shipman, British serial killer (b. 1946)
• 2005 - Earl Cameron, Canadian broadcaster (b. 1915)
• 2005 - Nell Rankin, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1924)
• 2006 - Frank Fixaris, Sportscaster (b. 1934)
• 2006 - Marc Potvin, Former NHL player (b. 1967)
Holidays and observances
• In Sweden, Christmas ends on the 20th day, St. Knut’s Day. Children celebrate a party throwing out the Christmas tree (julgransplundring).

Absolutely, utterly and totally pointless... Like everything else around!