On This Day in History – January 6th – Almanac

Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include French battlefield leader St. Joan of Arc in 1412; French inventor Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier in 1745; German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1822; Lebanese writer Khalil Gibran in 1883; baseball Hall of Fame member Early Wynn in 1920; golf Hall of Fame member Cary Middlecoff in 1921; auto executive John DeLorean in 1925; author E.L. Doctorow in 1931; U.S. football coach/broadcaster Lou Holtz in 1937 (age 87); actor Bonnie Franklin in 1944; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Syd Barrett in 1946; Hall of Fame golfer Nancy Lopez in 1957 (age 67); actor Rowan Atkinson in 1955 (age 69); journalist Nigella Lawson in 1960 (age 64); Hall of Fame football player/actor/broadcaster Howie Long in 1960 (age 64); film composer AR Rahman in 1967 (age 57); filmmaker John Singleton in 1968; actor Norman Reedus in 1969 (age 55); television chef Ree Drummond in 1969 (age 55); television personality Julie Chen in 1970 (age 54); actor Eddie Redmayne in 1982 (age 42); actor Kate McKinnon in 1984 (age 40); businessman Eric Trump in 1984 (age 40); podcaster/author Hilaria Baldwin in 1984 (age 40); rock singer Alex Turner in 1986 (age 38); actor Courtney Eaton in 1996 (age 28).

On this date in history:

In 1759, George Washington married widow Martha Dandridge Custis.

In 1838, in Morristown, N.J., Samuel F.B. Morse and his partner, Alfred Vail, publicly demonstrated their new invention, the telegraph, for the first time.

In 1912, New Mexico joined the United States as the 47th state.

In 1914, the day after the Ford Motor Co. announced the “$5 Day,” more than 10,000 men jockeyed for places as each sought to become one of the army of 22,000 workers who would benefit under the $10,000,000 profit-sharing plan.

In 1919, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, died at the age of 60.

In 1925, Paavo Nurmi, known as the “Flying Finn” and regarded as the greatest runner of his day, set world records in the mile run and 5,000-meter run within the space of 1 hour in his first U.S. appearance, an indoor meet at New York City’s new Madison Square Garden.

In 1942, a Pan American Airways plane arrived in New York, completing the first around-the-world flight by a commercial airliner.

In 1950, Britain formally recognized the communist government of China.

In 1961, Vice President Richard Nixon made official that he had been defeated by Sen. John F. Kennedy in one of the closest presidential elections in history.

In 1984, the first test-tube quadruplets, all boys, were born in Melbourne, Australia.

In 1994, American skater Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the right knee in an attack that forced her out of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The assault was traced to four men with links to her leading rival, Tonya Harding.

In 1996, the Blizzard of 1996 began, dropping up to 4 feet of snow and paralyzing Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and other major cities in the Northeast. The winter weather was blamed for dozens of deaths.

In 1999, an agreement ended a six-month player lockout by owners of National Basketball Association teams.

In 2010, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only officially recognized survivor of both the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that led to the Japanese surrender in World War II, died of stomach cancer at age 93.

In 2014, Martin Walsh was sworn in as Boston’s first new mayor in more than two decades, succeeding Thomas Menino.

In 2021, thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to disrupt Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election in Joe Biden’s favor. The riots resulted in five civilian deaths and hundreds of criminal cases.

A thought for the day: “Beauty is not in the face, beauty is a light in the heart.” — Lebanese American writer Khalil Gibran