# On this day: January 6

January 6 is the 6th day of the year (6th in leap years), with 359 days left until the end of the year (360 in a leap year).

## January 6 in one line

Headline entries for January 6, from Wikipedia: in 1066, Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon monarch before the Norman Conquest, was crowned King of England; born 1412: Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (died 1431); died 1919: Theodore Roosevelt, American colonel and politician, 26th President of the United States (born 1858). In 2026 it is a Tuesday, in 2027 a Wednesday.

## Events on January 6

- 1066 Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon monarch before the Norman Conquest, was crowned King of England. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Godwinson)
- 1205 Philip of Swabia undergoes a second coronation as King of the Romans. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Romans)
- 1322 Stefan Dečanski was crowned King of Serbia, succeeding his half-brother Stefan Konstantin, whom he later defeated in battle. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_De%C4%8Danski)
- 1355 Charles IV of Bohemia is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy in Milan. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Italy)
- 1449 Four years before the fall of Constantinople, Constantine XI Palaiologos assumed the throne as the last Byzantine emperor. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_XI_Palaiologos)
- 1492 The Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella enter Granada at the conclusion of the Granada War. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada_War)
- 1536 The oldest European school of higher learning in the Americas, the Colegio de Santa Cruz, was founded in Tlatelolco, Mexico City. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colegio_de_Santa_Cruz_de_Tlatelolco)
- 1540 King Henry VIII of England married his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves; the marriage was annulled six months later. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Cleves)
- 1579 The Union of Arras unites the southern Netherlands under the Duke of Parma (Ottavio Farnese), governor in the name of King Philip II of Spain. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Arras)
- 1725 J. S. Bach led the first performance of Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, a chorale cantata for Epiphany. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebster_Immanuel%2C_Herzog_der_Frommen%2C_BWV_123)
- 1838 Alfred Vail and colleagues demonstrate a telegraph system using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code). [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail)
- 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Big_Wind)
- 1907 Italian educator Maria Montessori opened her first school and day-care centre for working-class children in Rome, employing a philosophy of education that now bears her name. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Montessori)
- 1912 German geophysicist Alfred Wegener presented his theory of continental drift, the precursor of plate tectonics, to the German Geological Society. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_drift)
- 1912 New Mexico is admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico)
- 1929 Mother Teresa arrives by sea in Calcutta, India, to begin her work among India's poorest and sick people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa)
- 1929 King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country's constitution, starting the January 6th Dictatorship. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_I_of_Yugoslavia)
- 1941 During his State of the Union address, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt presented his Four Freedoms as fundamental freedoms that all people ought to enjoy. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Freedoms)
- 1953 The inaugural Asian Socialist Conference, an organisation of socialist political parties, opened in Rangoon with 177 delegates, observers and fraternal guests. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Socialist_Conference)
- 1960 National Airlines Flight 2511, traveling from New York City to Miami, exploded in mid-air due to a bomb placed by an unknown party, resulting in the deaths of all 34 people on board. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Airlines_Flight_2511)
- 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_Blues%E2%80%93Philadelphia_Flyers_brawl)
- 1994 Two-time American Olympic figure-skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan was hit on the leg with a police baton by an assailant hired by the ex-husband of her rival Tonya Harding. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_of_Nancy_Kerrigan)
- 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bojinka_plot)
- 2014 The first episode of the documentary series Benefits Street aired on Channel 4, prompting discussion in the United Kingdom about welfare dependency. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benefits_Street)
- 2019 Muhammad V of Kelantan resigns as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, becoming the first monarch to do so. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_V_of_Kelantan)
- 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack)

## Born on January 6

- 1367 Richard II of England (died 1400) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_II_of_England)
- 1412 Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (died 1431) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc)
- 1745 Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, French co-inventor of the hot air balloon (died 1799) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgolfier_brothers)
- 1822 Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist and businessman (died 1890) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schliemann)
- 1832 Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (died 1883) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Dor%C3%A9)
- 1861 Victor Horta, Belgian architect, designed Hôtel van Eetvelde (died 1947) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Horta)
- 1872 Alexander Scriabin, Russian pianist and composer (died 1915) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Scriabin)
- 1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (died 1967) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sandburg)
- 1883 Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher (died 1931) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahlil_Gibran)
- 1913 Loretta Young, American actress (died 2000) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_Young)
- 1924 Kim Dae-jung, South Korean soldier and politician, 8th President of South Korea, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2009) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dae-jung)
- 1938 Adriano Celentano, Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and director [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriano_Celentano)
- 1946 Syd Barrett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2006) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syd_Barrett)
- 1954 Anthony Minghella, English director and screenwriter (died 2008) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Minghella)
- 1955 Debbie Mathers, Mother of Eminem (died 2024) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminem)
- 1955 Rowan Atkinson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_Atkinson)
- 1967 A. R. Rahman, Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician, and philanthropist [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._R._Rahman)
- 1969 Norman Reedus, American actor and model [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Reedus)
- 1982 Eddie Redmayne, English actor and model [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Redmayne)
- 1986 Irina Shayk, Russian fashion model [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irina_Shayk)
- 1986 Alex Turner, English singer, songwriter, and musician [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Turner)
- 1989 Andy Carroll, English footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Carroll)

## Died on January 6

- 1693 Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (born 1642) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmed_IV)
- 1852 Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (born 1809) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille)
- 1884 Gregor Mendel, Czech geneticist and botanist (born 1822) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregor_Mendel)
- 1918 Georg Cantor, German mathematician and philosopher (born 1845) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Cantor)
- 1919 Theodore Roosevelt, American colonel and politician, 26th President of the United States (born 1858) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt)
- 1945 Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist and chemist (born 1863) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Vernadsky)
- 1949 Victor Fleming, American director, producer, and cinematographer (born 1883) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Fleming)
- 1974 David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican painter (born 1896) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Alfaro_Siqueiros)
- 1981 A. J. Cronin, Scottish physician and author (born 1896) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._J._Cronin)
- 1990 Pavel Cherenkov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1904) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Cherenkov)
- 1993 Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (born 1938) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Nureyev)
- 1993 Dizzy Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player (born 1917) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzy_Gillespie)
- 2022 Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat (born 1927) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Poitier)
- 2022 Peter Bogdanovich, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1939) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Bogdanovich)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian Feast day: André Bessette (Roman Catholic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Bessette)
- Christian Feast day: January 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Christmas: Christmas (Armenian Apostolic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas)
- Christmas: Christmas Eve (Russia) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_Russia)
- Christmas: Christmas Eve (Ukraine) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_Ukraine)
- Epiphany or Three Kings' Day (Western Christianity) or Theophany (Eastern Christianity), and its related observances: Little Christmas (Ireland) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Christmas)
- Epiphany or Three Kings' Day (Western Christianity) or Theophany (Eastern Christianity), and its related observances: Þrettándinn (Iceland) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_Iceland)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “January 6”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/January 6”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/January_6) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“January 6”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for January 6 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## January 6 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Tuesday | 2026-W02 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2027 | Wednesday | 2027-W01 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2028 | Thursday | 2028-W01 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2029 | Saturday | 2029-W01 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2030 | Sunday | 2030-W01 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on January 6

- [🇮🇹 Italy](https://whathappen.today/holidays/italy/): Epiphany (2026 and 2027)
- [🇪🇸 Spain](https://whathappen.today/holidays/spain/): Epiphany (2026 and 2027)
- [🇦🇹 Austria](https://whathappen.today/holidays/austria/): Epiphany (2026 and 2027)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← January 5](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-5/) · [January 7 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-7/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-6/