On This Day in History

January 6

Historical Events

1649 The English Rump Parliament votes to put King Charles I on trial for treason and other "high crimes".

1912 Geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener presents his controversial theory of continental drift in a lecture at the Geological Association at the Senckenberg-Museum, Frankfurt.

Eleanor Roosevelt studies the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1941 US President Franklin Roosevelt makes his "Four Freedoms" speech (freedom of speech and worship; freedom from want and fear) during his US State of Union address.

1987 Astronomers at University of California see first sight of birth of a galaxy.

2021 Supporters of US President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington during congressional certification of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's win, resulting in five deaths and prompting evacuation of lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence.

More Historical Events

Famous Birthdays

Richard II 1367 - 1400 John Smith 1580 - 1631

Ban Johnson 1864 - 1931 Rowan Atkinson 69th Birthday

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Famous Deaths

Gregor Mendel 1822 - 1884 Sidney Poitier 1927 - 2022

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Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms

President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms speech on this day. It would form the basis of the UN Declaration of Human Rights three years later.

FDR’s Four Freedoms