January 6
January 6 is the sixth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 359 days remaining until the end of the year (360 in leap years).
Events
- 1066 – Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England.
- 1205 – Philip of Swabia becomes King of the Romans.
- 1322 – Stephen Uroš III is crowned King of Serbia.
- 1355 – Charles I of Bohemia is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy in Milan.
- 1449 – Constantine XI is crowned Byzantine-Roman Emperor at Mistra.
- 1540 – King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves.
- 1579 – The Union of Atrecht is signed.
- 1661 – English Restoration: The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London.
- 1690 – Joseph, son of Emperor Leopold I, becomes King of the Romans.
- 1721 – The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings.
- 1781 – In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeat the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.
- 1838 – Samuel Morse first successfully tests the electrical telegraph.
- 1839 – The most damaging storm in 300 years sweeps across Ireland, damaging or destroying more than 20% of the houses in Dublin.
- 1853 – President-elect of the United States Franklin Pierce and his family are involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts.
- 1870 – The inauguration of the Musikverein in Vienna.
- 1893 – The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
- 1900 – Second Boer War: Having already sieged the fortress at Ladysmith, Boer forces attack it, but are driven back by British defenders.
- 1907 – Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome.
- 1910 – The Great White Fleet passes through the Suez Canal, the largest group of ships to pass through up to that time.
- 1912 – New Mexico is admitted as the 47th U.S. state.
- 1912 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift.
- 1921 – Formation of the Iraqi Army.
- 1929 – King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country's constitution (the January 6th Dictatorship).
- 1929 – Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin her work among India's poorest and sick people.
- 1930 – The first diesel-engined automobile trip is completed, from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City.
- 1931 – Thomas Edison submits his last patent application.
- 1941 – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.
- 1942 – Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.
- 1950 – The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with the UK in response.
- 1951 – Ganghwa massacre: Korean War.
- 1953 – The first Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
- 1960 – National Airlines Flight 2511 is destroyed in mid-air by a bomb, while en route from New York City to Miami.
- 1967 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch "Operation Deckhouse Five" in the Mekong River delta.
- 1974 – In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
- 1978 – The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.
- 1992 – President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia flees the country as a result of the military coup.
- 1993 – Indian Border Security Force units kill 55 Kashmiri civilians in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, in revenge after militants ambushed a BSF patrol.
- 1994 – Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the knee at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit.
- 1995 – A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.
- 2005 – American Civil Rights Movement: Edgar Ray Killen is arrested as a suspect in the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers.
- 2005 – A train collision in Graniteville, South Carolina, releases about 60 tons of chlorine gas.
- 2009 – Gaza War: Israeli Defense Forces retaliated against mortar attacks in the Gaza Strip by firing on or near a school.
Births
- 1367 – King Richard II of England (d. 1400)
- 1412 – Joan of Arc, French military figure and Roman Catholic Saint (legendary date) (d. 1431)
- 1486 – Martin Agricola, German composer (d. 1556)
- 1488 – Helius Eobanus Hessus, German poet (d. 1540)
- 1525 – Caspar Peucer, German reformer (d. 1602)
- 1561 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician (d. 1656)
- 1580 – (baptised) John Smith of Jamestown (d. 1631)
- 1587 – Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, Spanish statesman (d. 1645)
- 1595 – Claude Favre de Vaugelas, French man of letters (d. 1650)
- 1617 – Kristoffer Gabel, Danish statesman (d. 1673)
- 1655 – Empress Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1720)
- 1673 – James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, English noble (d. 1744)
- 1714 – Percivall Pott, English physician (d. 1788)
- 1745 – Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, French inventor (d. 1799)
- 1766 – Mihály Fazekas, Hungarian author (d. 1828)
- 1793 – James Madison Porter, American politician (d. 1862)
- 1795 – Anselme Payen, French chemist (d. 1871)
- 1799 – Jedediah Strong Smith, American hunter and explorer (d. 1831)
- 1803 – Henri Herz, Austrian pianist, composer (d. 1888)
- 1807 – Jozef Maximilián Petzval, Slovak inventor (d. 1891)
- 1808 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American naval officer (d. 1864)
- 1811 – Charles Sumner, American politician (d. 1874)
- 1812 – Melchora Aquino, Filipino revolutionary figure (d. 1919)
- 1819 – Baldassare Verazzi, Italian painter (d. 1886)
- 1822 – Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist (d. 1890)
- 1832 – Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)
- 1836 – Ludwig Schüler, German politician (d. 1930)
- 1838 – Max Bruch, German composer (d. 1920)
- 1848 – Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and revolutionary figure (d. 1876)
- 1850 – Franz Xaver Scharwenka, Polish-German pianist and composer (d. 1924)
- 1856 – Giuseppe Martucci, Italian composer (d. 1909)
- 1857 – Hugh Mahon, Irish-born Australian politician (d. 1931)
- 1857 – William E. Russell, American politician (d. 1896)
- 1859 – Samuel Alexander, Australian-born British philosopher (d. 1938)
- 1861 – George Lloyd (bishop of Saskatchewan), Anglican bishop and theologian (d. 1940)
- 1861 – János Zsupánek, Slovene (Prekmurian) poet and writer (d. 1951)
- 1868 – Vittorio Monti, Italian composer (d. 1922)
- 1870 – Gustav Bauer, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1944)
- 1872 – Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer (d. 1915)
- 1874 – Fred Niblo, American film actor, director, producer (d. 1948)
- 1878 – Dame Adeline Genée, Danish-born British ballerina (d. 1970)
- 1878 – Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)
- 1880 – Tom Mix, American actor (d. 1940)
- 1882 – Aleksandra Ekster, Russian painter (d. 1949)
- 1882 – Fan S. Noli, Albanian bishop (d. 1965)
- 1882 – Sam Rayburn, American politician (d. 1961)
- 1883 – Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer (d. 1931)
- 1896 – Péter Veres, Hungarian writer and politician (d. 1970)
- 1898 – James Fitzmaurice, Irish aviation pioneer (d. 1965)
- 1898 – Charles E. Pont, American artist (d. 1971)
- 1899 – Phyllis Haver, American actress (d. 1960)
- 1899 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German automobile engineer (d. 1968)
- 1900 – Kathryn Hulme, American novelist (d. 1981)
- 1902 – Helmut Poppendick, German physician (d. 1994)
- 1903 – Maurice Abravanel, Greek-born conductor (d. 1993)
- 1903 – Francis L. Sullivan, English actor (d. 1956)
- 1905 – Idris Davies, Welsh poet (d. 1953)
- 1907 – David Fleay, Australian naturalist (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Menachem Avidom, Austro-Hungarian born Israeli composer (d. 1995)
- 1910 – G. N. Balasubramaniam, Indian Carnatic musician (d. 1960)
- 1910 – Wright Morris, American writer (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Danny Thomas, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Edward Gierek, Polish politician (d. 2001)
- 1913 – Loretta Young, American actress (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Godfrey Edward Arnold, Austrian-born American otolaryngologist (d. 1989)
- 1915 – Don Edwards, American politician
- 1915 – John C. Lilly, American psychoanalyst (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Alan Watts, English writer/philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1916 – Eugene T. Maleska, American crossword puzzle creator and editor (d. 1993)
- 1916 – Vincent Serventy, Australian writer and conservationist (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Koo Chen-fu, Chinese negotiator (d. 2005)
- 1920 – John Maynard Smith, English biologist (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Sun Myung Moon, Korean evangelist
- 1920 – Doris Stokes, British psychic medium (d. 1987)
- 1920 – Early Wynn, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Cary Middlecoff, American golfer (d. 1998)
- 1923 – Norman Kirk, New Zealander politician (d. 1974)
- 1923 – Jacobo Timerman, Argentine writer (d. 1999)
- 1924 – Earl Scruggs, American musician
- 1925 – John DeLorean, American auto maker (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Ralph Branca, American baseball player
- 1926 – Pat Flaherty, American racecar driver (d. 2002)
- 1926 – Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (d. 2003)
- 1926 – Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born American actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006)
- 1928 – George H. Ross, American businessman
- 1929 – Anne Rogers Clark, American dog breeder and trainer (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Babrak Karmal, Afghan politician (d. 1996)
- 1930 – Vic Tayback, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1931 – Capucine, French actress (d. 1990)
- 1931 – E. L. Doctorow, American author
- 1931 – Juan Goytisolo, Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist
- 1931 – Dickie Moore, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1932 – Stuart A. Rice, American chemist
- 1933 – Oleg Makarov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 2003)
- 1933 – Emil Steinberger, Swiss comedian
- 1933 – Fred L. Turner, American restaurant industry executive
- 1934 – Harry M. Miller, Australian entrepreneur
- 1934 – Sylvia Sims, English actress
- 1934 – John Wieners, American lyric poet (d. 2002)
- 1935 – Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela, Spainsh wife of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
- 1935 – Nino Tempo, American singer and actor
- 1936 – Rubén Amaro, Sr., Mexican baseball player
- 1936 – Darlene Hard, American tennis player
- 1936 – Julio María Sanguinetti Coirolo, Uruguayan politician
- 1937 – Paolo Conte, Italian singer
- 1937 – Lou Holtz, American football coach
- 1937 – Doris Troy, American singer (d. 2004)
- 1938 – Adriano Celentano, Italian singer and actor
- 1938 – Adrienne Clarke, Australian botanist and politician
- 1938 – Mario Rodríguez Cobos, Argentine writer and spiritual figure
- 1939 – Murray Rose, Australian swimmer
- 1940 – Penny Lernoux, American journalist (d. 1989)
- 1940 – Van McCoy, American musician (d. 1979)
- 1943 – Hak Ja Han, Korean church leader
- 1943 – Terry Venables, English football manager
- 1944 – Bonnie Franklin, American actress
- 1944 – Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist, Nobel laureate
- 1945 – Allen Appel, American novelist
- 1946 – Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd (d. 2006)
- 1947 – Sandy Denny, English singer and songwriter (d. 1978)
- 1947 – Ian Millar, Canadian equestrian
- 1948 – Guy Gardner, American astronaut
- 1950 – Louis Freeh, American jurist, and 10th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- 1951 – Don Gullett, American baseball player
- 1951 – Kim Wilson, American musician (The Fabulous Thunderbirds)
- 1952 – Moondog Spot, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1952 – Frank Sivero, Italian-born American actor
- 1953 – Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC)
- 1954 – Hans Robert Hiegel, German architect
- 1954 – Yuji Horii, Japanese video game designer
- 1954 – Anthony Minghella, British film director (d. 2008)
- 1954 – Karen Moras, Australian swimmer
- 1954 – Trudie Styler, English actress
- 1955 – Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
- 1955 – Richard Corbett, British politician
- 1956 – Angus Deayton, English comedian, actor and television presenter
- 1957 – Michael Foale, American astronaut
- 1957 – Nancy Lopez, American golfer
- 1958 – Themos Anastasiadis, Greek journalist and newspaper editor
- 1958 – Scott Bryce, American actor
- 1959 – Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer
- 1959 – Kathy Sledge, American singer
- 1960 – Paul Azinger, American golfer
- 1960 – Kari Jalonen, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1960 – Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer
- 1960 – Howie Long, American football player and analyst
- 1960 – Andrea Thompson, American actress
- 1962 – Michael Houser, American guitarist (Widespread Panic) (d. 2002)
- 1963 – Norm Charlton, American baseball player
- 1963 – Tony Halme, Finnish boxer and politician (d. 2010)
- 1964 – Denise Borino, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1964 – Charles Haley, American football player
- 1964 – Henry Maske, German boxer
- 1964 – Jacqueline Moore, American wrestler
- 1964 – Mark O'Toole, English musician (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
- 1964 – Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan athlete (d. 2005)
- 1964 – Yuri, Mexican actress and singer
- 1965 – Muhammed al-Ahari, American Muslim writer
- 1965 – Konnan, Cuban-born professional wrestler
- 1965 – Bjørn Lomborg, Danish political scientist
- 1966 – Fernando Carrillo, Venezuelan actor
- 1966 – Sharon Cuneta, Filipina singer and actress
- 1966 – A. R. Rahman, Indian composer
- 1968 – John Singleton, American film director
- 1969 – Norman Reedus, American model and actor
- 1970 – José Carabalí, Venezuelan track and field athlete
- 1970 – Julie Chen, American television presenter
- 1970 – Gabrielle Reece, American volleyball player
- 1971 – Irwin Thomas, Australian singer (Southern Sons)
- 1971 – Gary Wiseman, American musician
- 1972 – Nek, Italian singer
- 1973 – Scott Ferguson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 – Vasso Karantasiou, Greek beach volleyball player
- 1974 – Paul Grant, American basketball player
- 1974 – Daniel Cordone, Argentine footballer
- 1975 – Nick Clarke, Pro Bull Rider
- 1975 – Nicole DeHuff, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1975 – James Farrior, American football player
- 1975 – Jason King, English radio DJ
- 1975 – Yukana, Japanese seiyū
- 1976 – Johnny Yong Bosch, American actor, and musician
- 1976 – Danny Pintauro, American actor
- 1976 – Daniel Tynell, Swedish cross-country skiier
- 1976 – Lu Yi, Chinese actor
- 1976 – Richard Zedník, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1977 – Marc Johnson, American skateboarder
- 1978 – Nikki Einfeld, Canadian opera singer
- 1978 – Bubba Franks, American football player
- 1978 – Casey Fossum, American baseball player
- 1978 – Tara Spencer-Nairn, Canadian actress
- 1980 – Steed Malbranque, French footballer
- 1981 – Mike Jones, American rapper
- 1981 – Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress
- 1981 – Jérémie Renier, Belgian actor
- 1981 – Asante Samuel, American football player
- 1982 – Gilbert Arenas, American basketball player
- 1982 – Brian Bass, American baseball player
- 1982 – Tiffany Pollard, American reality television personality
- 1983 – Adam Burish, American ice hockey player
- 1983 – Mithra Jin, South-Korean hip hop musician
- 1984 – Sean O'Brien, Australian windsurfer
- 1986 – Paul McShane, Irish footballer
- 1986 – Petter Northug, Norwegian skier
- 1986 – Irina Shayk, Russian-born American model
- 1986 – Benjamin Simm, German rugby player
- 1986 – Mike Teel, American football player
- 1986 – Alex Turner, English musician (Arctic Monkeys)
- 1987 – Zhang Lin, Chinese swimmer
- 1987 – Bongani Khumalo, South African footballer
- 1989 – Andy Carroll, English footballer
- 1996 – Kishan Shrikanth, Indian film director, actor
Deaths
- 429 – Honoratus, French archbishop (b. c.350)
- 664 – Amr ibn al-A'as, Arab general (b. c.583)
- 1088 – Berengar of Tours, French theologian (b. c.999)
- 1275 – St. Raymond of Peñafort (b. c.1175)
- 1448 – Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1418)
- 1481 – Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Golden Horde
- 1537 – Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence (b. 1510)
- 1537 – Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter (b. 1481)
- 1592 – Johann Casimir of Simmern, Elector Palatine (b. 1543)
- 1616 – Philip Henslowe, English theatrical entrepreneur (b. c.1550)
- 1646 – Elias Holl, German Architect (b. 1573)
- 1689 – Seth Ward, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1617)
- 1693 – Mehmed IV, ex-Ottoman Sultan (b. 1642)
- 1711 – Philipp van Almonde, Dutch admiral (b. 1646)
- 1718 – Richard Hoare, English goldsmith and banker (b. 1648)
- 1718 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (b. 1664)
- 1725 – Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japanese dramatist (b. 1653)
- 1731 – Étienne François Geoffroy, French chemist (b. 1672)
- 1734 – John Dennis, English dramatist (b. 1657)
- 1813 – Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers, French general (b. 1764)
- 1829 – Josef Dobrovský, Czech philologist (b. 1753)
- 1831 – Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist, composer and conductor (b. 1766)
- 1840 – Fanny Burney, English novelist and diarist (b. 1752)
- 1847 – Tyāgarāja, Carnatic Classic Music Composer,Indian(b. 1767)
- 1852 – Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind and inventor of braille (b. 1809)
- 1855 – Giacomo Beltrami, Italian explorer (b. 1779)
- 1872 – James "Big Jim" Fisk, American entrepreneur (b. 1834)
- 1882 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., U.S. author (Two Years Before the Mast) (b. 1815)
- 1884 – Gregor Johann Mendel, Austrian geneticist (b. 1822)
- 1885 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian writer and scientist (b. 1812)
- 1896 – Thomas W. Knox, American writer and journalist (b. 1835)
- 1913 – Frederick Hitch, English Victoria Cross Winner (b. 1856)
- 1918 – Georg Cantor, German mathematician (b. 1845)
- 1919 – Max Heindel, Danish astrologer and mystic (b. 1865)
- 1919 – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (b. 1858)
- 1922 – Jakob Rosanes, German mathematician (b. 1842)
- 1928 – Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete (b. 1876)
- 1933 – Vladimir de Pachmann, Russian-German pianist (b. 1848)
- 1934 – Herbert Chapman, English football player and manager (b. 1878)
- 1937 – André Bessette, Canadian religious figure (b. 1845)
- 1941 – Charley O'Leary, American baseball player (b. 1882)
- 1942 – Emma Calvé, French soprano (b. 1858)
- 1942 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian International Olympic Committee president (b. 1876)
- 1944 – Ida Tarbell, American journalist (b. 1857)
- 1945 – Edith Frank, mother of Anne Frank (b. 1900)
- 1945 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (b. 1863)
- 1949 – Victor Fleming, American director (b. 1883)
- 1966 – Jean Lurçat, French painter and tapestry designer (b. 1892)
- 1972 – Chen Yi, Chinese military commander and politician (b. 1901)
- 1974 – David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican painter (b. 1896)
- 1978 – Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer (b. 1899)
- 1981 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish writer (b. 1896)
- 1984 – Ernest Laszlo, Hungarian-U.S. cinematographer (b. 1898)
- 1990 – Pavel Alekseyevich Čerenkov, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Ian Charleson, Scottish actor (b. 1949)
- 1993 – Dizzy Gillespie, acclaimed jazz trumpet player (b. 1917)
- 1993 – Richard Mortensen, Danish painter (b. 1910)
- 1993 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian ballet dancer (b. 1938)
- 1994 – Virginia Dell Cassidy, Bill Clinton's mother (b. 1923)
- 1995 – Joe Slovo, South African politician (b. 1926)
- 1997 – Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (b. 1912)
- 1999 – Michel Petrucciani, French jazz pianist (b. 1962)
- 2000 – Don Martin, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
- 2003 – Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand musician and composer (b. 1949)
- 2004 – Pierre Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica (b. 1954)
- 2004 – Charles Dumas, American athlete (b. 1937)
- 2004 – Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Lois Hole, Lt. Governor of Alberta (b. 1933)
- 2005 – Louis Robichaud, Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1925)
- 2006 – Lou Rawls, American singer (b. 1933)
- 2006 – Hugh Thompson, Jr., decorated Vietnam War helicopter pilot (b. 1943)
- 2007 – Mario Danelo, American football player (b. 1985)
- 2007 – Sneaky Pete Kleinow, American musician and special-effects artist (b. 1934)
- 2007 – Roberta Wohlstetter, military historian and strategist (b. 1912)
- 2009 – Ron Asheton, American guitarist (The Stooges) (b. 1948)
- 2009 – John Scott Martin, English actor (b. 1926)
- 2010 – James von Brunn, perpetrator of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting (b. 1920)
- 2011 – Uche Okafor, Nigerian footballer (b. 1967)
Holidays and observances
External links