Famous people born on January 6 — and what else happened that day
If your birthday is January 6, you share it with Carl Sandburg, Rowan Atkinson, Kate McKinnon — and you were born under Capricorn, the sign of the ambitious, disciplined, and built for the long game.
Birthday basics for January 6
Capricorn ♑
Zodiac sign
Garnet
Birthstone
Carnation
Birth flower
6th
Day of the year
January 6 is the 6th day of the year, with 359 days still to come.
Famous people born on January 6
Carl Sandburg — American poet and Lincoln biographer who won three Pulitzer Prizes (born 1878).
Rowan Atkinson — British comedian and actor best known as Mr. Bean (born 1955).
Kate McKinnon — Comedian and actress known for Saturday Night Live (born 1984).
Also sharing the day:
Joan of Arc (b. c. 1412) — French peasant girl who led armies to victory and became a national heroine and saint.
Kahlil Gibran (b. 1883) — Lebanese-American poet and painter, author of The Prophet.
Eddie Redmayne (b. 1982) — English actor who won an Oscar for The Theory of Everything.
January 6 in history
1838 — Alfred Vail and colleagues gave the first successful demonstration of a telegraph using dots and dashes, the forerunner of Morse code.
1912 — New Mexico was admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state.
1941 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his famous Four Freedoms speech to Congress.
1066 — Harold Godwinson was crowned King of England, setting the stage for the Norman Conquest.
1929 — Mother Teresa arrived by sea in Calcutta to begin her life's work in India.
1974 — The United States switched to year-round daylight saving time in response to the energy crisis.
January 6 birthday questions
What zodiac sign is January 6?
Anyone born on January 6 is a Capricorn — ambitious, disciplined, and built for the long game.
What is the birthstone for January 6?
The birthstone for a January 6 birthday is Garnet, and the birth flower is the Carnation.
Who is the most famous person born on January 6?
Carl Sandburg is among the best known — American poet and Lincoln biographer who won three Pulitzer Prizes (born 1878).
What happened on January 6?
In 1838, Alfred Vail and colleagues gave the first successful demonstration of a telegraph using dots and dashes, the forerunner of Morse code.
What day of the year is January 6?
January 6 is the 6th day of the year, with 359 days still to come.
Make their day unforgettable
Know someone born on January 6? See the full story of their exact birthday — the headlines, the #1 song, what things cost — and turn it into a personalized front-page newspaper they can keep.