January 6
January 6 is the sixth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 359 days remain 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.
- 1449 - Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI is crowned at Mistra.
- 1535 - Francisco Pizarro founds the city of Lima, Peru.
- 1494 - The first Mass in the New World is celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.
- 1540 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves.
- 1579 - The Union of Atrecht is signed.
- 1649 - The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
- 1661 - The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London.
- 1690 - Joseph, son of Emperor Leopold I, becomes King of the Romans.
- 1720 - 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.
- 1853 - American President-Elect Franklin Pierce and his family are involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts.
- 1870 - The inauguration of the Musikverein (Vienna).
- 1887 - `Abd-allah II of Harar opens the Battle of Chelenqo with an attack on the camp of the Shewan army of Negus Menelik II.
- 1893 - The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
- 1900 - Boers attack Ladysmith, South Africa - over 1,000 people killed.
- 1907 - Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome.
- 1912 - New Mexico is admitted as the 47th U.S. state.
- 1929 - King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country's constitution (the so-called January 6th Dictatorship, Šestojanuarska diktatura).
- 1929 - Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India's poorest and diseased people.
- 1930 - The first diesel-engine automobile trip is completed (from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).
- 1931 - Thomas Edison submits his last patent application.
- 1936 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act was unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.
- 1940 - Mass execution of Poles, committed by Germans in the city of Poznań, Warthegau.
- 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.
- 1967 - 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.
- 1980 - The beginning of the first GPS epoch.
- 1995 - A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.
- 2004 - Costas Simitis announces his resignation as president of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement in Greece.
- 2005 - Mississippi Civil Rights Workers Murders: Edgar Ray Killen is arrested as a suspect for the 1964 murders of three Civil Rights workers.
Births
- 1367 - Richard II of England (d. 1400)
- 1412 - Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France (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 y Pimentel, 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 - Jakob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1705)
- 1655 - Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1720)
- 1673 - 1st Duke of Chandos, English aristocrat, eponym of Handel's Chandos Anthems (d. 1744)
- 1714 - Percivall Pott, English physician (d. 1788)
- 1745 - Étienne Montgolfier, French inventor (d. 1799)
- 1793 - James Madison Porter, American politician (d. 1862)
- 1795 - Anselme Payen, French chemist (d. 1871)
- 1799 - Jedediah Strong Smith, U.S. hunter, 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, U.S. politician (d. 1874)
- 1812 - Melchora Aquino, Filipino revolutionary hero (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)
- 1838 - Max Bruch, German composer (d. 1920)
- 1848 - Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and revolutionary (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, 37th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
- 1861 - George Exton Lloyd, Anglican bishop and theologian (d. 1940)
- 1868 - Vittorio Monti, Italian composer (Csardas) (d. 1922)
- 1870 - Gustav Bauer, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1944)
- 1872 - Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer (d. 1915)
- 1874 - Fred Niblo, U.S. film actor, director, producer (d. 1948)
- 1878 - Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)
- 1878 - Dame Adeline Genée, Danish-British ballerina (d. 1970)
- 1880 - Tom Mix, American actor (d. 1940)
- 1882 - Aleksandra Ekster, Russian painter (d. 1949)
- 1882 - Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1961)
- 1882 - Fan S. Noli, Albanian bishop (d. 1965)
- 1883 - Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer (d. 1931)
- 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, U.S. novelist (The Nun's Story) (d. 1981)
- 1902 - Helmut Poppendick, Nazi physician (d. 1994)
- 1903 - Francis L. Sullivan, English actor (d. 1956)
- 1903 - Maurice Abravanel, Greek-born conductor (d. 1993)
- 1905 - Idris Davies, Welsh poet (d. 1953)
- 1907 - David Fleay, Australian naturalist (d. 1993)
- 1910 - Wright Morris, American writer (d. 1998)
- 1912 - Danny Thomas, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1913 - Loretta Young, American actress (d. 2000)
- 1913 - Edward Gierek, Polish politician (d. 2001)
- 1915 - Alan Watts, English writer/philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1915 - John C. Lilly, U.S. psychoanalyst, writer (d. 2001)
- 1916 - Vincent Serventy, Australian writer and conservationist (d. 2007)
- 1917 - Koo Chen-fu, Chinese negotiator (d. 2005)
- 1920 - Doris Stokes, British psychic medium (d. 1987)
- 1920 - Early Wynn, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- 1920 - John Maynard Smith, English biologist (d. 2004)
- 1920 - Sun Myung Moon, Korean evangelist
- 1921 - Cary Middlecoff, American golfer (d. 1998)
- 1923 - Norman Kirk, Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1974)
- 1923 - Jacobo Timerman, Argentine writer (d. 1999)
- 1924 - Earl Scruggs, American musician
- 1925 - John De Lorean, American auto maker (d. 2005)
- 1926 - Pat Flaherty, American racecar driver (2002)
- 1926 - Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (d. 2003)
- 1926 - Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006)
- 1926 - Ralph Branca, American baseball player
- 1926 - Kim Dae-jung, President of South Korea and Nobel laureate
- 1928 - Capucine, French actress (d. 1990)
- 1928 - George H. Ross, American businessman
- 1929 - Babrak Karmal, Afghani politician (d. 1996)
- 1930 - Vic Tayback, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1931 - E. L. Doctorow, American author
- 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
- 1934 - Harry M. Miller, Australian entrepreneur
- 1934 - Tassos Papadopoulos, president of the Republic of Cyprus
- 1934 - Sylvia Sims, English actress
- 1935 - Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria
- 1935 - Nino Tempo, American singer and actor
- 1936 - Rubén Amaro, Sr., Mexican baseball player
- 1936 - Darlene Hard, U.S. tennis player
- 1936 - Julio María Sanguinetti Coirolo, President of Uruguay
- 1937 - Doris Troy, American singer (d. 2004)
- 1937 - Paolo Conte, Italian singer
- 1937 - Lou Holtz, American football coach
- 1938 - Adriano Celentano, Italian singer and actor
- 1938 - Prof Adrienne Clarke, Australian botanist, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria
- 1938 - Mario Rodríguez Cobos "Silo", Argentine writer and spiritual leader
- 1939 - Murray Rose, Australian Olympic swimmer
- 1940 - Van McCoy, American musician (d. 1979)
- 1940 - Penny Lernoux, American journalist (d. 1989)
- 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)
- 1950 - Louis Freeh, former 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 Olympic swimmer
- 1954 - Trudie Styler, English actress
- 1955 - Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
- 1955 - Richard Corbett, Labour Member of the European Parliament
- 1956 - Angus Deayton, English comedian, actor and television presenter
- 1957 - Nancy Lopez, American golfer
- 1958 - Themos Anastasiadis, Greek journalist, television presenter 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, National Football League player
- 1960 - Andrea Thompson, American actress
- 1962 - Michael Houser, American guitarist (Widespread Panic) (d. 2002)
- 1964 - Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan athlete (d. 2005)
- 1964 - Charles Haley, American football player
- 1964 - Henry Maske, German boxer
- 1964 - Jacqueline Moore, American wrestler
- 1964 - Mark O'Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
- 1964 - Yuri, Mexican actress and singer
- 1965 - Muhammed al-Ahari, American Muslim writer
- 1965 - Konnan, Cuban-born professional wrestler
- 1965 - Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician
- 1966 - Andrew Wood, American singer (Mother Love Bone) (d. 1990)
- 1966 - Fernando Carrillo, Venezuelan actor
- 1966 - A. R. Rahman, Indian composer
- 1968 - John Singleton, American film director
- 1969 - Norman Reedus, American model and actor
- 1970 - Julie Chen, American television presenter
- 1970 - Gabrielle Reece, American volleyball player
- 1971 - Gary Wiseman, American punk-rock drummer
- 1971 - Irwin Thomas, Australian singer (ex-Southern Sons)
- 1972 - Nek, Italian singer
- 1973 - Scott Ferguson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 - Daniel Cordone, Argentine footballer
- 1974 - Nicole DeHuff, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1975 - James Farrior, American football player
- 1975 - Jason King, English radio DJ (Radio 1)
- 1975 - Yukana, Japanese seiyū
- 1976 - Danny Pintauro, American actor
- 1976 - Richard Zedník, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1976 - Johnny Yong Bosch, American actor
- 1978 - Nikki Einfeld, Canadian opera singer
- 1978 - Casey Fossum, Major League Baseball player
- 1978 - Tara Spencer-Nairn, Canadian actress
- 1980 - Steed Malbranque, French footballer
- 1980 - Hiromi Oshima, Japanese adult model
- 1981 - Mike Jones, American rapper
- 1981 - Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress
- 1981 - Jérémie Renier, Belgian actor
- 1981 - Asante Samuel, National Football League Defensive Back
- 1982 - Gilbert Arenas, American basketball player
- 1982 - Brian Bass, American baseball player
- 1982 - Tiffany Pollard, American reality television personality
- 1984 - A.J. Hawk, American football player
- 1984 - Sean O'Brien, Australian professional windsurfer
- 1985 - RP Singh, Indian cricketer
- 1986 - Paul McShane, Irish footballer
- 1986 - Alex Turner, English musician (Arctic Monkeys)
- 1991 - Nikola Saric , Danish footballer
Deaths
- 664 - Amr ibn al-A'as, Arab general (bc. 583)
- 1088 - Berengar of Tours, French theologian (bc. 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 - Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter (b. 1481)
- 1537 - Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence (b. 1510)
- 1592 - Johann Casimir of Simmern, Elector Palatine (b. 1543)
- 1616 - Philip Henslowe, English theatrical entrepreneur (bc. 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 whose thunder was stolen (b. 1657)
- 1813 - Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers, French general (b. 1764)
- 1831 - Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist, composer and conductor (b. 1766)
- 1840 - Fanny Burney, English novelist and diarist (b. 1752)
- 1852 - Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind and inventor of braille (b. 1809)
- 1855 - Giacomo Beltrami, Italian explorer (b. 1779)
- 1882 - Richard Henry Dana, U.S. novelist (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)
- 1913 - Frederick Hitch, English Victoria Cross Winner (b. 1856)
- 1918 - Georg Cantor, German mathematician (b. 1845)
- 1919 - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (b. 1858)
- 1919 - Max Heindel, Danish astrologer and mystic (b. 1865)
- 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 , Legendary Manager of Arsenal and Huddersfield Town (b. 1878)
- 1937 - André Besette, 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 - Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (b. 1863)
- 1945 - Edith Frank, mother of Anne Frank (b. 1900)
- 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)
- 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 - 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)
- 2004 - Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (b. 1921)
- 2004 - Charles Dumas, American athlete (b. 1937)
- 2004 - Pierre Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica (b. 1954)
- 2005 - Louis Robichaud, Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1925)
- 2005 - Lois Hole, Lt. Governor of Alberta (b. 1933)
- 2006 - Lou Rawls, American singer (b. 1933)
- 2006 - Hugh Thompson, Jr., decorated Vietnam War helicopter pilot (b. 1943)
- 2007 - Roberta Wohlstetter, military historian and strategist (b. 1912)
- 2007 - Sneaky Pete Kleinow, American musician and special-effects artist (b. 1934)
- 2007 - Mario Danelo, American football player (b. 1985)
Holidays and observances
- Christianity
- Epiphany
- (except Eastern and Oriental Orthodox who follow the Julian Calendar) - Twelfth Day of Christmas, also known as Twelfth Day and Three Kings Day
- Theophany (Revelation of the Trinity at Christ's baptism in the Jordan)
- Epiphany
- Public holiday in Spain, Italy, Sweden and Puerto Rico to mark Epiphany
- Ireland - Little Christmas
- Rastafari movement - Celebration of the ceremonial birthday of Haile Selassie
- Armenian Christmas (except in the Holy Land where it is on 18 January - old calendar)
- Ancient Latvia - Zvaigznes Diena observed
- January 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)