What happened on this day in history: Former American President Theodore Roosevelt dies, Henry VIII marries his fourth wife, and more noteworthy events that took place on January 6th.
1412: Joan of Arc Is Born
Wikimedia CommonsJoan of Arc was born a peasant and had no military training when she led French forces to defeat the English at the historic Battle of Orleans in 1429.
French martyr Joan of Arc is born in Domremy, France. Allegedly driven by divine instruction, she would go on to support Charles of Orléans’s claim to the French throne before the English captured her and burned her at the stake. Today, she’s a patron saint of France.
1540: Henry VIII Marries His Fourth Wife, Anne Of Cleves
After divorcing his first wife, beheading his second, and losing his third, Henry VIII marries his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. The English king was disappointed with Anne since he didn’t think she looked like her portrait and she didn’t speak much English. After six months, they divorced.
1919: Former President Theodore Roosevelt Dies
Public DomainTheodore Roosevelt posing alongside a large globe in 1903.
Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt dies at the age of 60 years old in Oyster Bay, New York. Roosevelt — who ascended to the presidency after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901 — served two terms from 1901 to 1909 and ran for an unprecedented third term in 1912, which he lost. One of his most enduring legacies is the conservation of natural lands, as Roosevelt protected some 230 million acres during his time in office.
1929: Mother Teresa Arrives In Kolkata, India
A young nun born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, later known as Mother Teresa, arrives in Kolkata, India. She spent nearly two decades teaching girls from poor families before branching out from the school to educate children living in slums. In 1979, she won the Nobel Peace Prize for Peace and was canonized as a saint in 2016.
1946: Ho Chi Minh Wins Vietnam’s First-Ever General Election
Ho Chin Minh’s Viet Minh party (League for the Independence of Vietnam) wins Vietnam’s first-ever general election. Though Ho hoped to lay the groundwork for an independent Vietnam, France integrated the country into the French Union that March. Conflicts between the French and the Vietnamese escalated into the First Indochina War that December.
1994: Nancy Kerrigan Is Attacked
American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is injured by attackers in Detroit, Michigan. Kerrigan’s assault had been planned by Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of Kerrigan’s fellow skater Tonya Harding.
2021: Protestors Storm The U.S. Capitol
TapTheForwardAssist/Wikimedia CommonsSupporters of Donald Trump gather at the U.S. Capitol.
Protestors who supported President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers prepared to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. Over the course of five tense hours, the crowd broke into lawmakers’ offices, vandalized property, and clashed with Capitol police. The Senate reconvened that night and certified the election.
