Almanac - Thursday 1/6/22

1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England.

1492 – The Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella enter Granada at the conclusion of the Granada War.

1838 – Alfred Vail and colleagues demonstrate a telegraph system using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code).

1847 – Samuel Colt obtains his first contract for the sale of revolver pistols to the United States government.

1907 – Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome, Italy.

1912 – New Mexico is admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state.

1912 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift.

1929 – Mother Teresa arrives by sea in Calcutta, India, to begin her work among India's poorest and sick people.

1974 – In response to the 1973 oil crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.

1994 – American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked and injured by an assailant hired by her rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

…and if today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You! You get to share birthday cake with…

1412 – Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (d. 1431)

1832 – Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)

1838 – Max Bruch, German composer and conductor (d. 1920)

1878 – Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)

1880 – Tom Mix, American cowboy and actor (d. 1940)

1883 – Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher (d. 1931)

1903 – Maurice Abravanel, Greek-American pianist and conductor (d. 1993)

1912 – Danny Thomas, American actor, comedian, producer, and humanitarian (d. 1991)

1915 – Alan Watts, English-American philosopher and author (d. 1973)

1920 – Sun Myung Moon, Korean religious leader; founder of the Unification Church (d. 2012)

1923 – Jacobo Timerman, Argentinian journalist and author (d. 1999)

1924 – Kim Dae-jung, South Korean soldier and politician, 8th President of South Korea, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)

1924 – Earl Scruggs, American banjo player (d. 2012)

1925 – John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman, founded the DeLorean Motor Company (d. 2005)

1930 – Vic Tayback, American actor (d. 1990)

1931 – E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (d. 2015)

1944 – Bonnie Franklin, American actress and singer (d. 2013)

1944 – Alan Stivell, French singer-songwriter and harp player

1946 – Syd Barrett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)

1947 – Sandy Denny, English folk-rock singer-songwriter (d 1978)

1953 – Malcolm Young, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)

1955 – Rowan Atkinson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter

1967 – A. R. Rahman, Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician, and philanthropist

1968 – John Singleton, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)

1984 – Kate McKinnon, American actress and comedian

KALW NEWSLETTERS