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

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)

This article is about one day of the year.

January 6

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