6 January in history
8 events that happened on 6 January, from 1066 to 1950.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1066 CE 960 years ago
Harold Godwinson crowned King of England
The day after Edward the Confessor's death, Harold was crowned, probably in Westminster Abbey. William of Normandy disputed the succession and invaded that autumn, killing Harold at Hastings.
1205 CE 821 years ago
Philip of Swabia is crowned a second time at Aachen
Philip of Swabia, elected King of the Romans in 1198, was crowned again at Aachen, the traditional coronation site, by the Archbishop of Cologne, his former opponent. The repeated ceremony cleared the taint of his first coronation.
1412 CE 614 years ago
Joan of Arc is born at Domrémy
By tradition Joan of Arc was born on Epiphany in the village of Domrémy, in north-eastern France. She led French forces to relieve Orléans in 1429, was burned in 1431 and canonised in 1920.
1838 CE 188 years ago
Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse demonstrate their telegraph
At the Speedwell Ironworks in New Jersey, Vail and Morse sent messages over two miles of wire using an early form of their code. Telegraph lines soon spread across America and the world.
1941 CE 85 years ago
Roosevelt sets out the 'Four Freedoms'
In his State of the Union address, Franklin Roosevelt named freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear as universal rights. The speech shaped Allied war aims and the UN.
1950 CE 76 years ago
Britain recognises the People's Republic of China
The United Kingdom became the first major Western power to recognise Mao Zedong's communist government in Beijing. The decision, partly aimed at protecting Hong Kong, split Britain from US policy.
Born on 6 January 7
Died on 6 January 7
Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.