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

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 author (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

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

Up to 1850

1256 – Gertrude the Great, German mystic and theologian (d. 1302)
1367 – Richard II of England (d. 1400)
1412 – Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France (legendary date) (d. 1431)
1486 – Martin Agricola, German composer (d. 1556)
1525 – Caspar Peucer, German reformer and physician (d. 1602)
1561 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physician (d. 1656)
1587 – Gaspar de Guzman, Count-Duke of Olivares, Spanish statesman (d. 1645)
1617 – Kristoffer Gabel, Danish statesman (d. 1673)
1655 – Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress (d. 1720)
1670 – Alexander Gordon, Scottish-Russian general (d. 1752)
1695 – Giuseppe Sammartini, Italian composer (d. 1750)
1714 – Percival Pott, English physician (d. 1788)
1730 – Thomas Crittenden, 1st Governor of Vermont (d. 1797)
1745 – Jacques Etienne Montgolfier, French inventor (d. 1799)
1787 – Gaspard Théodore-Ignace de la Fontaine, 1st Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1871)
1793 – James Madison Porter, American politician (d. 1862)
1798 – Melchior von Diepenbrock, Prince-Bishop of Breslau (d. 1853)
1799 – Jedediah Smith, American hunter, explorer and author (d. 1831)
1801 – Daniel Haines, two-time Governor of New Jersey (d. 1877)
1803 – Henri Herz, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1888)
1805 – Charles J. Jenkins, American politician and Governor of Georgia (d. 1883)
1807 – Joseph Petzval, Slovakian inventor (d. 1891)
1811 – Charles Sumner, American politician (d. 1874)
1812 – Melchora Aquino, Filipino revolutionary figure (d. 1919)
1819 – Baldassare Verazzi, Italian painter (d. 1886)
1822 – Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist (d. 1890)
1826 – Adolf Kirchhoff, German philologist (d. 1908)
1827 – John C. Brown, American Confederate general and politician, Governor of Tennessee (d. 1889)
1832 – Gustave Dore, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)
1837 – Juan Lindolfo Cuestas, President of Uruguay (d. 1905)
1838 – Max Bruch, German composer (d. 1920)
1842 – Clarence King, American geologist, mountaineer and critic (d. 1901)
1848 – Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and revolutionary (d. 1876)
1850 – Eduard Bernstein, German politician and political theorist (d. 1932)
1850 – Franz Xaver Scharwenka, Polish-German pianist and composer (d. 1924)

1851 – 1900

1856 – Giuseppe Martucci, Italian composer (d. 1909)
1857 – William E. Russell, 37th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
1857 – Hugh Mahon, Australian politician (d. 1931)
1859 – Samuel Alexander, Australian-English philosopher (d. 1938)
1861 – Victor Horta, Belgian architect and designer (d. 1947)
1862 – August Oetker, German businessman (d. 1918)
1868 – Stefan Luchian, Romanian painter (d. 1937)
1868 – Vittorio Monti, Italian composer, conductor and violinist (d. 1922)
1870 – Gustav Bauer, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1944)
1872 – Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer (d. 1915)
1874 – Fred Niblo, American actor, director and producer (d. 1948)
1878 – Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)
1880 – Tom Mix, American actor, director and producer (d. 1940)
1882 – Sam Rayburn, American politician (d. 1961)
1882 – Fan S. Noli, 14th Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1965)
1883 – Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese writer (d. 1931)
1899 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German automobile pioneer (d. 1968)
1900 – Maria of Yugoslavia (d. 1961)

1901 – 1950

1902 – Helmut Poppendick, German physician (d. 1994)
1913 – Edward Gierek, Polish politician (d. 2001)
1913 – Loretta Young, American actress (d. 2000)
1915 – Don Edwards, American politician (d. 2015)
1915 – Alan Watts, English philosopher (d. 1973)
1920 – John Maynard Smith, English biologist (d. 2004)
1920 – Early Wynn, American baseball player
1922 – George Carroll, American lawyer and politician (d. 2016)
1923 – Norman Kirk, Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1974)
1924 – Earl Scruggs, American musician (d. 2012)
1925 – John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman (d. 2005)
1925 – Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen (d. 2010)
1925 – Ari Rath, Austrian-Israeli journalist (d. 2017)
1926 – Ralph Branca, American baseball player (d. 2016)
1926 – Pat Flaherty, American racing driver (d. 2002)
1926 – Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006)
1927 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, American physician, 11th Surgeon General of the United States (d. 2014)
1928 – Capucine, American actress (d. 1990)
1928 – Derek Saunders, English footballer (d. 2018)
1929 – Babrak Karmal, Afghan politician (d. 1996)
1931 – E. L. Doctorow, American writer (d. 2015)
1931 – Dickie Moore, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
1932 – José Saraiva Martins, Portuguese cardinal
1932 – Max Streibl, German politician, Minister-President of Bavaria (d. 1998)
1933 – Oleg Makarov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 2003)
1933 – Leszek Drogosz, Polish boxer (d. 2012)
1933 – Emil Steinberger, Swiss actor, director and screenwriter
1934 – Sylvia Sims, English actress
1935 – Margarita of Bulgaria
1935 – Claude Steiner, French-born American psychologist and writer (d. 2017)
1935 – Gerald R. Molen, American film producer
1936 – Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre, 49th President of Guatemala
1936 – Julio Maria Sanguinetti, former President of Uruguay
1937 – Harri Holkeri, 57th Prime Minister of Finland (d. 2011)
1937 – Paolo Conte, Italian singer-songwriter, jazz musician and composer
1938 – Adriano Celentano, Italian singer-songwriter, actor and director
1939 – Murray Rose, British-born Australian swimmer (d. 2012)
1939 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and coach (d. 2002)
1941 – Philippe Busquin, Belgian politician
1942 – Vicki Lansky, American author and publisher (d. 2017)
1943 – Hak Ja Han, South Korean church leader
1943 – Terry Venables, English football manager
1944 – Bonnie Franklin, American actress (d. 2013)
1944 – Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist
1945 – Barry John, Welsh rugby player
1946 – Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter (Pink Floyd) (d. 2006)
1948 – Guy Gardner, American air force officer and astronaut
1949 – Carolyn D. Wright, American poet (d. 2016)
1950 – Louis Freeh, 10th Director of the FBI

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

2001 – 2015

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)

From 2016

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 author (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)