Historical Events on January 6
- 1809: The Invasion of Cayenne is undertaken by a combined force of Brazilian, British and Portuguese forces during the Napoleonic Wars.
- 1830: A telegraph system that’s a precursor to Morse Code and uses a series of dashes and dots is unvelied by Alfred Vail.
- 1839: One out of every 5 homes in Dublin, Ireland are destroyed by a storm – one of the most damaging storms to hit the country in hundreds of years.
- 1853: United States’ President-elect Franklin Pierce and his family are aboard a train when it crashes near Andover, Massachusetts. The President-elect’s eleven year old son Benjamin is killed in the wreck.
- 1893: United States’ President Benjamin Harris signs the charter for the Washington National Cathedral after it had been authorized by the U.S Congress.
- 1912: The 47thS. State – New Mexico – is admitted into the Union.
- 1929: The constitution of the State of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes is suspended by King Alexander I.
- 1931: Inventor Thomas Edison puts his signature on his very last patent application on this date.
- 1941: The now famous Four Freedoms Speech is given by U.S President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his State of the Union Address.
- 1960: A bomb destroys National Airlines Flight 2511 in mid-flight while it was flying from New York to Miami.
- 1967: Operation Deck House Five is launched in the Mekong River Delta by U.S Marines and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
Famous Birthdays on January 6
- Richard III of England is born in 1367.
- French martyr and saint, Joan of Arc is born in 1412.
- American hunter, explorer and author, Jedediah Smith is born in 1799.
- Italian painter Baldassare Verazzi is born in 1819.
- American actress Loretta Young is born in 1913.
- American soldier and politician, Don Edwards is born in 1915.
- American director and screenwriter, John Singleton is born in 1968.
- American actor Norman Reedus is born in 1969.
- American TV journalist and producer, Julie Chen is born in 1970.
- American author Karin Slaughter is born in 1971.
- American actor Danny Pintauro is born in 1976.
