January 6

2024 Calendar

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).

Since 2021, the terms January 6, January 6th, and 1/6 have been used in the media as a shorthand for the 2021 United States Capitol riots, which occurred on that day.

Events

Up to 1900

1066 – Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England.
1118 – Reconquista: Alfonso the Battler conquers Zaragoza.
1311 – Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor becomes King of Italy.
1355 – Charles I of Bohemia is crowned King of Italy in Milan.
1389 – The University of Cologne is opened, with a celebratory church service in Cologne Cathedral on the Feast day of the Three Kings, the city's patron saints.
1492 – The Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella enter Granada, completing the Reconquista.
1540 – King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves.
1612 – Axel Oxenstierna becomes Lord High Chancellor of Sweden.
1661 – English Restoration: The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London.
1759 – George Washington marries Martha Dandridge.
1781 – Battle of Jersey: Great Britain defeats the last attempt by France to invade Jersey in the Channel Islands.
1838 – Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph system using dots and dashes.
1839 – Ireland is hit by its most damaging storm in 300 years.
1853 – US President-elect Franklin Pierce's family are involved in a train accident in Andover, Massachusetts, killing Pierce's 11-year-old son Benjamin. Pierce and his wife suffer from depression after this incident, and Franklin Pierce turns to alcoholism.
1870 – Vienna's Musikverein is inaugurated.
1893 – Washington National Cathedral is chartered by the United States Congress.
1900 – It is reported that millions are starving in India.
1900 – Boers attack Ladysmith, South Africa – over 1000 people killed.

1901–2000

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.
1912 – Alfred Wegener presents his theory of Continental drift.
1921 – Formation of Iraq's Army.
1926 – Lufthansa, currently Germany's biggest airline, is created.
1929 – Alexander I of Yugoslavia suspends his country's constitution.
1929 – Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta.
1930 – The first diesel-engine automobile trip is completed (Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).
1931 – Thomas Edison submits his last patent application.
1939 – Al Capone is released early from prison.
1940 – Mass execution of Polish people by Germans in the city of Poznań, Warthegau.
1941 – Franklin D. Roosevelt makes his "Four Freedoms" speech during his State of the Union Address.
1947 – 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 ends diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
1951 – Korean War: Ganghwa massacre.
1960 – National Airlines Flight 2511 is destroyed in mid-air by a bomb between New York City and Miami.
1967 – United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch "Operation Deckhouse Five" in the Mekong River delta.
1978 – The United States returns the Crown of St. Stephen to Hungary.
1991 – Jorge Antonio Serrano Elias is elected President of Guatemala, becoming the first Protestant Head of State in Latin America.
1992 – The United Nations Security Council condemns Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
1992 – President Zviad Gamsakhurdia leaves Georgia, after a military coup.
1993 – The Indian Border Security Force kills 55 Kashmiri civilians in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir.
1994 – Nancy Kerrigan is attacked during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit.
1998 – Unidentified perpetrators saw off the head of the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen; this is the second time that the statue has been damaged by this kind of vandalism; it previously happened in 1964.

From 2001

2001 – Al Gore, as President of the United States Senate, names George W. Bush as the winner of the 2000 United States presidential election.
2005 – Edgar Ray Killen is arrested as a suspect in the 1964 murders of three civil rights activists.
2016 – North Korea declares that nuclear weapons testing of hydrogen atom has been done.
2018 – The "MV Sanchi" oil tanker collides with a Hong Kong-flagged ship near Shanghai, causing an explosion and leaving 32 sailors missing.
2021 – The 2021 United States Capitol attack, an attack on the United States capitol.

Births

1951–1975

1951 – Kim Wilson, American musician
1953 – Malcolm Young, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter, actor and director (d. 2017)
1953 – Manfred Kaltz, German footballer
1954 – Yuji Horii, Japanese video game designer
1954 – Anthony Minghella, English movie director (d. 2008)
1954 – Trudie Styler, English actress
1955 – Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
1956 – Angus Deayton, English comedian, actor and television presenter
1956 – Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
1956 – Clive Woodward, English rugby player and coach
1957 – Michael Foale, British-American astronaut
1959 – Kathy Sledge, American actress
1960 – Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer
1960 – Paul Azinger, American golfer
1960 – Kari Jalonen, Finnish ice hockey player
1961 – Fergal Keane, Irish-British journalist and BBC News correspondent
1964 – Henry Maske, German boxer
1964 – Mark O'Toole, English musician
1964 – Anthony Scaramucci, American financier, entrepreneur and political figure
1964 – Yuri, Mexican singer
1965 – Christine Wachtel, German middle-distance runner
1966 – Attilio Lombardo, Italian footballer
1968 – John Singleton, American director (d. 2018)
1969 – Norman Reedus, American actor
1971 – Karin Slaughter, American crime fiction writer
1972 – Nek, Italian singer
1973 – Scott Ferguson, Canadian ice hockey player
1974 – Daniel Cordone, Argentine footballer

From 1976

1976 – Richard Zednik, Slovakian ice hockey player
1976 – Judith Rakers, German newsreader
1976 – David Di Michele, Italian footballer
1978 – Bubba Franks, American football player
1980 – Travis Dodd, Australian footballer
1980 – Steed Malbranque, French footballer
1981 – Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress
1981 – Asante Samuel, American football player
1982 – Eddie Redmayne, English actor
1983 – Adam Burish, American ice hockey player
1985 – Ben Haenow, English singer
1985 – Callum McCaig, Scottish politician
1985 – Inge Vermeulen, Brazilian-Dutch field hockey player (d. 2015)
1986 – Alex Turner, English musician (Arctic Monkeys)
1986 – Paul McShane, Irish footballer
1986 – Petter Northug, Norwegian skier
1986 – Irina Shayk, Russian model
1987 – Gemma Gibbons, English judoka
1987 – Zhang Lin, Chinese swimmer
1987 – Bongani Khumalo, South African footballer
1989 – Andy Carroll, English footballer
1989 – James Durbin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1990 – Sandro Cortese, German motorcycle racer
1996 – Courtney Eaton, Australian actress and model
2003 – Matty BRaps, American rapper

Deaths

Up to 1900

429 – Honoratus, French archbishop (b. 350)
768 – Abo of Tiflis, Christian saint
1088 – Berengar of Tours, French theologian (b. 999)
1537 – Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence (b. 1510)
1537 – Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter (b. 1481)
1646 – Elias Holl, German architect (b. 1573)
1689 – Seth Ward, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1617)
1693 – Mehmed IV, ex-Ottoman Sultan (b. 1642)
1829 – Josef Dobrovsky, Czech philologist and theologian (b. 1753)
1831 – Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist, composer and conductor (b. 1766)
1840 – Fanny Burney, English writer (b. 1752)
1852 – Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind, inventor of Braille (b. 1809)
1855 – Giacomo Beltrami, Italian explorer (b. 1779)
1882 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1815)
1884 – Gregor Johann Mendel, Austrian geneticist (b. 1822)
1896 – Thomas W. Knox, American writer and journalist (b. 1835)

1901–2000

1918 – Georg Cantor, German mathematician (b. 1845)
1919 – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (b. 1858)
1934 – Herbert Chapman, English football manager (b. 1878)
1939 – Gustavs Zemgals, 2nd President of Latvia (b. 1871)
1942 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian head of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1876)
1944 – Ida Tarbell, American journalist (b. 1857)
1944 – Jacques Rosenbaum, Estonian-German architect (b. 1878)
1945 – Edith Frank, mother of Anne Frank (b. 1900)
1949 – Ivar Lykke, Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1872)
1972 – Chen Yi, Chinese military commander (b. 1901)
1980 – Georgeanna Tillman, American singer (b. 1944)
1981 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish writer (b. 1896)
1990 – Pavel Cherenkov, Soviet-Russian physicist (b. 1904)
1990 – Ian Charleson, Scottish actor (b. 1949)
1993 – Dizzy Gillespie, American musician (b. 1917)
1993 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian dancer (b. 1938)
1994 – Virginia Dell Cassidy, mother of Bill Clinton (b. 1923)
1995 – Karl Guttmann, Dutch theatre director (n. 1913)
1995 – Joe Slovo, ANC activist and South African minister of Housing (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)

From 2001

2002 – Sanya Dharmasakti, Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1905)
2004 – Pierre Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica (b. 1954)
2005 – Makgatho Mandela, South African lawyer, businessman and son of Nelson Mandela (b. 1950)
2005 – Louis Robichaud, 25th Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1925)
2006 – Lou Rawls, American singer-songwriter, producer and actor (b. 1933)
2009 – Ron Asheton, American musician (The Stooges) (b. 1948)
2011 – Gary Mason, British boxer (b. 1962)
2012 – Roger Boisjoly, American aeronautical engineer (b. 1938)
2012 – Bob Holness, South African-born British quiz show host (b. 1928)
2013 – Neil Adcock, South African cricketer (b. 1931)
2014 – Larry D. Mann, Canadian-American actor (b. 1922)
2014 – Lena Smedsaas, Swedish journalist (b. 1951)
2014 – Don Ward, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1935)
2015 – Vlastimil Bubnik, Czech ice hockey player and footballer (b. 1931)
2015 – Johannes de Villiers Graaff, South African economist (b. 1928)
2015 – Basil John Mason, British meteorologist (b. 1923)
2015 – Joseph Djida, Cameroonian bishop (b. 1945)
2015 – Ron Hovey, Australian football player (b. 1932)
2015 – George H. McKee, American air force lieutenant general (b. 1923)
2015 – Tim Roberts, American professional wrestler (b. 1976)
2016 – Christy O'Connor Jnr, Irish golfer (b. 1948)
2016 – Silvana Pampanini, Italian actress (b. 1925)
2016 – Nivaria Tejera, Cuban poet and novelist (b. 1929)
2016 – Florence King, American writer (b. 1936)
2016 – Pat Harrington, Jr., American actor (b. 1929)
2016 – Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, Cuban trumpeter (b. 1928)
2016 – Ioannis Petridis, Greek politician (b. 1931)
2016 – Yves Vincent, French actor (b. 1921)
2017 – Om Puri, Indian actor (b. 1950)
2017 – Octavio Lepage, Venezuelan politician (b. 1923)
2017 – Ricardo Piglia, Argentine writer (b. 1941)
2017 – Bayezid Osman, Turkish royalty (b. 1924)
2017 – Gavin Whittaker, Australian rugby league player (b. 1970)
2017 – Francine York, American actress (b. 1936)
2017 – Greg Jelks, American-Australian baseball player (b. 1961)
2017 – Yaron Ben-Dov, Israeli footballer (b. 1970)
2017 – Les Lazarowitz, American sound mixer (b. 1941)
2017 – Tilikum, American-held orca (b. 1981)
2018 – Horace Ashenfelter, American athlete (b. 1923)
2018 – Rita Crocker Clements, American political organizer, First Lady of Texas (b. 1931)
2018 – Thomas Bopp, American astronomer (b. 1949)
2018 – Marjorie Holt, American politician (b. 1920)
2018 – Peter Preston, British journalist, former editor of The Guardian (b. 1938)
2018 – Greta Thyssen, Danish-American actress (b. 1927)
2018 – Chris Tsangarides, British music producer (b. 1956)
2019 – Annalise Braakensiek, Australian model and actress (b. 1972)
2020 – Mike Fitzpatrick, American politician (b. 1963)
2021 – Maurice Wolin, American former oncologist and convicted sex offender (b. 1958)
2022 – Peter Bogdanovich, American movie director, actor, and writer (b. 1939)
2022 – F. Sionil José, Filipino writer (b. 1924)
2022 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, movie director and activist (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances

Epiphany, feast day of the Three Kings (except Eastern and Oriental Orthodox who follow the Julian Calendar) – Twelfth Day of Christmas
Public holiday in Spain, Italy and Puerto Rico to mark Epiphany
Ireland – Little Christmas
Rastafari – Celebration of the ceremonial birthday of Haile Selassie
Armenian Christmas (except in the Holy Land where it is on 18 January – old calendar)
End of Four Hills Ski jumping tournament (Germany, Austria)

Events

Up to 1900

1901–2000

From 2001

Births

Up to 1850

1851–1900

1901–1950

1951–1975

From 1976

Deaths

Up to 1900

1901–2000

From 2001

Holidays and observances