6 January 1955

A Thursday in history

Weekday

Thursday

Season

Winter (N. Hemisphere)

Century

20th century

Records

351

  1. 2021

    Supporters of then-outgoing U.S. president Donald Trump attack the United States Capitol to disrupt certification of the 2020 presidential election, resulting in five deaths and evacuation of the U.S. Congress.

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  2. 2014

    The first episode of the documentary series Benefits Street aired on Channel 4, prompting discussion in the United Kingdom about welfare dependency.

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  3. 1994

    Two-time American Olympic figure-skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan was hit on the leg with a police baton by an assailant hired by the ex-husband of her rival Tonya Harding.

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  4. 1972

    A brawl broke out between players, fans, and police officers during an ice hockey game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the St. Louis Blues in Philadelphia.

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  5. 1960

    National Airlines Flight 2511, traveling from New York City to Miami, exploded in mid-air due to a bomb placed by an unknown party, resulting in the deaths of all 34 people on board.

    Source
  6. 1953

    The inaugural Asian Socialist Conference, an organisation of socialist political parties, opened in Rangoon with 177 delegates, observers and fraternal guests.

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  7. 1941

    During his State of the Union address, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt presented his Four Freedoms (composite poster depicted) as fundamental freedoms that all people ought to enjoy.

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  8. 1912

    German geophysicist Alfred Wegener presented his theory of continental drift, the precursor of plate tectonics, to the German Geological Society.

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  9. 1907

    Italian educator Maria Montessori opened her first school and day-care centre for working-class children in Rome, employing a philosophy of education that now bears her name.

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  10. 1839

    The worst storm to impact Ireland in 300 years damaged or destroyed more than 20 per cent of houses in Dublin with 100-knot (190 km/h) winds.

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  11. 1725

    J. S. Bach led the first performance of Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, a chorale cantata for Epiphany.

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  12. 1540

    King Henry VIII of England married his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves; the marriage was annulled six months later.

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  13. 1536

    The oldest European school of higher learning in the Americas, the Colegio de Santa Cruz, was founded in Tlatelolco, Mexico City.

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  14. 1449

    Four years before the fall of Constantinople, Constantine XI Palaiologos (pictured) assumed the throne as the last Byzantine emperor.

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  15. 1322

    Stefan Dečanski was crowned King of Serbia, succeeding his half-brother Stefan Konstantin, whom he later defeated in battle.

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  16. 1066

    Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon monarch before the Norman Conquest, was crowned King of England.

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Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.