January 6
Events
Pre-1600
- 1066 - Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England.
- 1205 - Philip of Swabia undergoes a second coronation as King of the Romans.
- 1322 - Stephen Uroš III is crowned King of Serbia, having defeated his half-brother Stefan Konstantin in battle. His son is crowned "young king" in the same ceremony.
- 1355 - Charles IV of Bohemia is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy in Milan.
- 1449 - Constantine XI is crowned Byzantine Emperor at Mystras.
- 1492 - The Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella enter Granada at the conclusion of the Granada War.
- 1536 - The first European school of higher learning in the Americas, Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, is founded by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and Bishop Juan de Zumárraga in Mexico City.
- 1540 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves.
- 1579 - The Union of Arras unites the southern Netherlands under the Duke of Parma, governor in the name of King Philip II of Spain.
1601–1900
- 1641 - Arauco War: The first Parliament of Quillín is celebrated, putting a temporary hold on hostilities between Mapuches and Spanish in Chile.
- 1661 - English Restoration: The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London, England. The revolt is suppressed after a few days.
- 1721 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings, revealing details of fraud among company directors and corrupt politicians.
- 1724 - Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65, a Bach cantata, for Epiphany, is performed the first time.
- 1725 - J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, BWV 123, a chorale cantata for Epiphany.
- 1781 - In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeat the last attempt by France to invade Jersey in the Channel Islands.
- 1809 - Combined British, Portuguese and colonial Brazilian forces begin the Invasion of Cayenne during the Napoleonic Wars.
- 1838 - Alfred Vail and colleagues demonstrate a telegraph system using dots and dashes.
- 1839 - The Night of the Big Wind, the most damaging storm in 300 years, sweeps across Ireland, damaging or destroying more than 20% of the houses in Dublin.
- 1900 - Second Boer War: Having already besieged the fortress at Ladysmith, Boer forces attack it, but are driven back by British defenders.
1901–present
- 1912 - New Mexico is admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state.
- 1912 - German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift.
- 1929 - King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country's constitution, starting the January 6th Dictatorship.
- 1929 - Mother Teresa arrives by sea in Calcutta, India, to begin her work among India's poorest and sick people.
- 1941 - United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech in the State of the Union address.
- 1946 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
- 1947 - Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to offer a round-the-world ticket.
- 1951 - Korean War: Beginning of the Ganghwa massacre, in the course of which an estimated 200–1,300 South Korean communist sympathizers are slaughtered.
- 1960 - National Airlines Flight 2511 is destroyed in mid-air by a bomb, while en route from New York City to Miami.
- 1960 - The Associations Law comes into force in Iraq, allowing registration of political parties.
- 1967 - Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch "Operation Deckhouse Five" in the Mekong River delta.
- 1968 - Aeroflot Flight 1668 crashes near Olyokminsk, killing 45.
- 1969 - Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 crashes in Lafayette Township, McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States, killing 11.
- 1974 - In response to the 1973 oil crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
- 1974 - Aeroflot Flight H-75 crashes near Mukachevo, killing 24.
- 1989 - Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh are sentenced to death for conspiracy in the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; the two men are executed the same day.
- 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.
- 1993 - Four people are killed when Lufthansa CityLine Flight 5634 crashes on approach to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, France.
- 1994 - U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked and injured by an assailant hired by her rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
- 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 - Edgar Ray Killen is indicted for the 1964 murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner during the American Civil Rights Movement.
- 2005 - A train collision in Graniteville, South Carolina, United States, releases about 60 tons of chlorine gas.
- 2012 - Twenty-six people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blows himself up at a police station in Damascus.
- 2017 - Five people are killed and six others injured in a mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida.
- 2019 - Muhammad V of Kelantan resigns as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, becoming the first monarch to do so.
- 2021 - Supporters of U.S. president Donald Trump storm the United States Capitol Building to disrupt certification of the 2020 presidential election, resulting in four deaths and evacuation of the U.S. Congress.
- 2025 - Justin Trudeau announces his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Prime Minister of Canada after nine years in office.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1256 - Gertrude the Great, German mystic
- 1367 - Richard II of England
- 1384 - Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent
- 1412 - Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint
- 1486 - Martin Agricola, German composer and theorist
- 1488 - Helius Eobanus Hessus, German poet
- 1493 - Olaus Petri, Swedish clergyman
- 1500 - John of Ávila, Spanish mystic and saint
- 1525 - Caspar Peucer, German physician and scholar
- 1538 - Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria
- 1561 - Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist
- 1587 - Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares
- 1595 - Claude Favre de Vaugelas, French educator and courtier
1601–1900
- 1617 - Christoffer Gabel, Danish politician
- 1632 - Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, Scottish peeress
- 1655 - Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg
- 1673 - James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, English academic and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire
- 1695 - Giuseppe Sammartini, Italian oboe player and composer
- 1702 - José de Nebra, Spanish composer
- 1714 - Percivall Pott, English surgeon
- 1745 - Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, French co-inventor of the hot air balloon
- 1766 - José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Paraguayan lawyer and politician, first dictator of Paraguay
- 1785 - Andreas Moustoxydis, Greek historian and philologist
- 1793 - James Madison Porter, American lawyer and politician, 18th United States Secretary of War
- 1795 - Anselme Payen, French chemist and academic
- 1799 - Jedediah Smith, American hunter, explorer, and author
- 1803 - Henri Herz, Austrian pianist and composer
- 1807 - Joseph Petzval, German-Hungarian mathematician and physicist
- 1808 - Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American conchologist and paleontologist
- 1811 - Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician
- 1822 - Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist and businessman
- 1832 - Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor
- 1838 - Max Bruch, German composer and conductor
- 1842 - Clarence King, American geologist, mountaineer, and critic
- 1856 - Giuseppe Martucci, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1857 - Hugh Mahon, Irish-Australian publisher and politician, 10th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs
- 1857 - William Russell, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Massachusetts
- 1859 - Samuel Alexander, Australian-English philosopher and academic
- 1860 - Morton Selten, British actor
- 1861 - Victor Horta, Belgian architect, designed Hôtel van Eetvelde
- 1861 - George Lloyd, English-Canadian bishop and theologian
- 1870 - Gustav Bauer, German journalist and politician, 11th Chancellor of Germany
- 1872 - Alexander Scriabin, Russian pianist and composer
- 1874 - Fred Niblo, American actor, director, and producer
- 1878 - Adeline Genée, Danish-born British ballerina
- 1878 - Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian
- 1880 - Tom Mix, American cowboy and actor
- 1881 - Ion Minulescu, Romanian author, poet, and critic
- 1882 - Fan S. Noli, Albanian-American bishop and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Albania
- 1882 - Sam Rayburn, American lawyer and politician, 48th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1883 - Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher
- 1891 - Ted McDonald, Australian cricketer
- 1898 - James Fitzmaurice, Irish soldier and pilot
- 1899 - Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer
- 1900 - Maria of Yugoslavia, Queen of Yugoslavia