On this day: January 6

Events on January 6

• 1355 Charles IV of Bohemia is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy in Milan. Wikipedia
• 1449 Four years before the fall of Constantinople, Constantine XI Palaiologos assumed the throne as the last Byzantine emperor. Wikipedia
• 1661 English Restoration: The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London, England. The revolt is suppressed after a few days. Wikipedia
• 1725 J. S. Bach led the first performance of Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, a chorale cantata for Epiphany. Wikipedia
• 1725 J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, BWV 123, a chorale cantata for Epiphany. Wikipedia
• 1839 The worst storm to impact Ireland in 300 years damaged or destroyed more than 20 per cent of houses in Dublin with 100-knot (190 km/h) winds. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1912 New Mexico is admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state. Wikipedia
• 1912 German geophysicist Alfred Wegener presented his theory of continental drift, the precursor of plate tectonics, to the German Geological Society. Wikipedia
• 1929 Mother Teresa arrives by sea in Calcutta, India, to begin her work among India's poorest and sick people. Wikipedia
• 1941 During his State of the Union address, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt presented his Four Freedoms (composite poster depicted) as fundamental freedoms that all people ought to enjoy. Wikipedia
• 1941 United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech in the State of the Union address. Wikipedia
• 1946 The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. Wikipedia
• 1951 Korean War: Beginning of the Ganghwa massacre, in the course of which an estimated 200–1,300 South Korean communist sympathizers are slaughtered. Wikipedia
• 1953 The inaugural Asian Socialist Conference, an organisation of socialist political parties, opened in Rangoon with 177 delegates, observers and fraternal guests. Wikipedia
• 1960 The Associations Law comes into force in Iraq, allowing registration of political parties. Wikipedia
• 1960 National Airlines Flight 2511 is destroyed in mid-air by a bomb, while en route from New York City to Miami. Wikipedia
• 1967 Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch "Operation Deckhouse Five" in the Mekong River delta. Wikipedia
• 1972 A brawl broke out between players, fans, and police officers during an ice hockey game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the St. Louis Blues in Philadelphia. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1995 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack. Wikipedia
• 2005 A train collision in Graniteville, South Carolina, United States, releases about 60 tons of chlorine gas. Wikipedia
• 2012 Twenty-six people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blows himself up at a police station in Damascus. Wikipedia
• 2021 Supporters of then-outgoing U.S. president Donald Trump attack the United States Capitol to disrupt certification of the 2020 presidential election, resulting in five deaths and evacuation of the U.S. Congress. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 2025 Justin Trudeau announces his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Prime Minister of Canada after nine years in office. Wikipedia

Born on January 6

• 1367 Richard II of England (died 1400) Wikipedia
• 1412 Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (died 1431) Wikipedia
• 1695 Giuseppe Sammartini, Italian oboe player and composer (died 1750) Wikipedia
• 1745 Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, French co-inventor of the hot air balloon (died 1799) Wikipedia
• 1822 Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist and businessman (died 1890) Wikipedia
• 1832 Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (died 1883) Wikipedia
• 1870 Gustav Bauer, German journalist and politician, 11th Chancellor of Germany (died 1944) Wikipedia
• 1872 Alexander Scriabin, Russian pianist and composer (died 1915) Wikipedia
• 1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (died 1967) Wikipedia
• 1883 Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher (died 1931) Wikipedia
• 1913 Loretta Young, American actress (died 2000) Wikipedia
• 1924 Kim Dae-jung, South Korean soldier and politician, 8th President of South Korea, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2009) Wikipedia
• 1938 Adriano Celentano, Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and director Wikipedia
• 1944 Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1946 Syd Barrett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2006) Wikipedia
• 1955 Debbie Mathers, Mother of Eminem (died 2024) Wikipedia
• 1955 Rowan Atkinson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia
• 1967 A. R. Rahman, Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician, and philanthropist Wikipedia
• 1982 Eddie Redmayne, English actor and model Wikipedia
• 1986 Irina Shayk, Russian fashion model Wikipedia
• 2000 Tyler Oliveira, American YouTuber Wikipedia
• 2003 MattyBRaps, American rapper, singer, and YouTuber Wikipedia

Died on January 6

• 1478 Uzun Hasan, Shahanshah of the Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu dynasty (born 1423) Wikipedia
• 1693 Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (born 1642) Wikipedia
• 1852 Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (born 1809) Wikipedia
• 1884 Gregor Mendel, Czech geneticist and botanist (born 1822) Wikipedia
• 1918 Georg Cantor, German mathematician and philosopher (born 1845) Wikipedia
• 1919 Theodore Roosevelt, American colonel and politician, 26th President of the United States (born 1858) Wikipedia
• 1921 Devil Anse Hatfield, American Confederate guerrilla and leader of the Hatfield clan during the Hatfield-McCoy feud (born 1839) Wikipedia
• 1945 Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist and chemist (born 1863) Wikipedia
• 1981 A. J. Cronin, Scottish physician and author (born 1896) Wikipedia
• 1990 Pavel Cherenkov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1904) Wikipedia
• 1993 Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (born 1938) Wikipedia
• 1993 Dizzy Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player (born 1917) Wikipedia
• 2021 Ashli Babbitt, American participant in the January 6 United States Capitol attack Wikipedia
• 2022 Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat (born 1927) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast day: André Bessette (Roman Catholic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian Feast day: January 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Christmas: Christmas (Armenian Apostolic Church) Wikipedia
• Christmas: Christmas Eve (Russia) Wikipedia
• Christmas: Christmas Eve (Ukraine) Wikipedia
• Epiphany or Three Kings' Day (Western Christianity) or Theophany (Eastern Christianity), and its related observances: Little Christmas (Ireland) Wikipedia
• Epiphany or Three Kings' Day (Western Christianity) or Theophany (Eastern Christianity), and its related observances: Þrettándinn (Iceland) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “January 6” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.