Globally Significant:
1941:
Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his famous “Four Freedoms” speech, in which he outlined the principles of democracy and human rights that he believed should be defended by the United States and its allies in World War II.
1950:
Britain recognized the Communist government of China, led by Mao Zedong, after the Chinese Civil War ended with the defeat of the Nationalist forces.
1975:
Wheel of Fortune, one of the most popular and longest-running game shows in television history, premiered on NBC.
2021:
supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, where Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election, in an unprecedented and violent attempt to overturn the results of a democratic election
Scientific and Technological Advancements:
1610:
Galileo discovered four moons of Jupiter using a telescope, which challenged the prevailing geocentric view of the universe.
1838:
Samuel Morse unveiled the telegraph, a device that revolutionized communication by allowing messages to be sent over long distances using electrical signals.
1927:
the first transatlantic telephone call was made between New York and London, marking a new era of communication.
1949:
five British planes were shot down by Israeli aircraft over Egyptian territory, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
Sports
1994:
US figure skating champion Nancy Kerrigan is attacked by Tonya Harding’s bodyguard at the US Championships in Detroit
1930:
Australian cricket icon Don Bradman scores 452 not out for New South Wales v Queensland in Sydney; then world record individual score in a first-class match; runs scored in 415 minutes
Born on January 6th:
Rowan Atkinson, a British comedian and actor best known for his role in the sitcom Mr Bean.
Joan of Arc, a French heroine and saint who led the French army to victory over the English in the Hundred Years’ War.
Eddie Redmayne, an English actor who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.
Norman Reedus, an American actor and model who plays Daryl Dixon in the TV series The Walking Dead.
Irina Shayk, a Russian model and actress who has appeared in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Died on January 6th:
Edgar Allan Poe, an American writer and poet who is considered the father of the detective and horror genres, died of unknown causes in 1849.
Louis Braille, a French educator and inventor of the Braille system of writing for the blind, died of tuberculosis in 1852.
Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk and scientist who is regarded as the founder of modern genetics, died of kidney disease in 1884.
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died of a blood clot in his lungs in 1919.
Rudyard Kipling, a British writer and poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907, died of a perforated duodenal ulcer in 1936.
American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Dizzy Gillespie, one of the seminal figures of the bebop movement, died at age 75 in 1993
