Famous Birthdays on January 6

January 6 has 217 recorded notable births across history, from 1256 to 2006. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.

Norman Reedus

1969 — Norman Reedus

American actor and model

By · Wikipedia

Famous Birthdays 217 source records 1256 – 2006 Capricorn

Major events on January 6

See what else happened on this day in history.

  1. 1946 The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. Source
  2. 1536 The first European school of higher learning in the Americas, Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, is founded by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and Bishop Juan de Zumárraga in Mexico City. Source

Did you know about Norman Reedus

Starting his career as a model, he first rose to prominence as an actor for his role as Murphy MacManus in The Boondock Saints (1999), which he reprised in The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009).

Did you know about A. J. Hawk

A. J. Hawk was selected by the Green Bay Packers fifth overall in the 2006 NFL draft and he later won Super Bowl XLV with the team.

Did you know about Charles Sumner

Historians credit Sumner with coining the phrase "equality before the law," which he first used as part of an early attempt to integrate Boston's public school system.

Did you know about Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln.

Did you know about Henry Corden

Henry Corden was a Canadian-born American actor, best known for assuming the voice of Fred Flintstone after the death of Alan Reed in 1977.


More major people born on January 6

Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.

1984 A. J. Hawk

A. J. Hawk

American football player and analyst
Aaron James Hawk is an American sports analyst and former professional football linebacker who played for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Green Bay Packers fifth overall in the 2006 NFL draft and he later won Super Bowl XLV with the team. He was also a member of the Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he earned All-American honors twice and won the Lombardi Award as a senior. He won the BCS National Championship Game with the Buckeyes as a freshman. He co-hosts The Pat McAfee Show weekdays on YouTube and ESPN.
1811 Charles Sumner

Charles Sumner

American lawyer and politician (died 1874)
Charles Sumner was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American advocate for the abolition of slavery, and after the war he was a key figure in the Reconstruction era, during which he and other Radical Republicans successfully fought to end slavery and ensure basic rights for Black Americans. He continued advocating for racial equality until his death, lobbying in his final days for a civil rights bill that served as a model for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Historians credit Sumner with coining the phrase "equality before the law," which he first used as part of an early attempt to integrate Boston's public school system.
1878 Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg

American poet and historian (died 1967)
Carl August Sandburg was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime Sandburg was widely regarded as "a major figure in contemporary literature", especially for volumes of his collected verse, including Chicago Poems (1916), Cornhuskers (1918), and Smoke and Steel (1920). He enjoyed "unrivaled appeal as a poet in his day, perhaps because the breadth of his experiences connected him with so many strands of American life". When he died in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson observed that "Carl Sandburg was more than the voice of America, more than the poet of its strength and genius. He was America."
1920 Henry Corden

Henry Corden

Canadian-born American actor (died 2005)
Henry Corden was a Canadian-born American actor, best known for assuming the voice of Fred Flintstone after the death of Alan Reed in 1977. His official debut as Fred Flintstone was in a 1965 Hanna-Barbera record, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble in Songs from Mary Poppins, and he also provided the singing voice for Reed in the 1966 theatrical film The Man Called Flintstone and the Hanna-Barbera specials Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid like You Doing in a Place like This? (1966) and Energy: A National Issue (1977). He took over the role as Fred Flintstone full time in 1977 starting with the syndicated weekday series Fred Flintstone and Friends for which he provided voice-overs on brief bumper clips shown in between segments.
1655 Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg (died 1720)

Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg (died 1720)

Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia as the third and final wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. Before her marriage and during her widowhood, she led an ascetic and monastic life, translating the Bible from Latin to German and defended the Order of the Discalced Carmelites. Reputed to be one of the most educated and virtuous women of her time, Eleonore took part in the political affairs during the reign of her husband and sons, especially regarding court revenue and foreign relationships. She served as regent for a few months in 1711, period in which she signed the Treaty of Szatmár, which recognized the rights of her descendants to the Hungarian throne.
1861 Victor Horta

Victor Horta

Belgian architect, designed Hôtel van Eetvelde (died 1947)
Victor Pierre Horta was a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. He was a fervent admirer of the French architectural theorist Eugène Viollet-le-Duc; his Hôtel Tassel in Brussels (1892–93), often considered the first Art Nouveau house, is based on the work of Viollet-le-Duc. The curving stylized vegetal forms that Horta used in turn influenced many others, including the French architect Hector Guimard, who used it in the first Art Nouveau apartment building he designed in Paris and in the entrances he designed for the Paris Metro. He is also considered a precursor of modern architecture for his open floor plans and his innovative use of iron, steel and glass.
1587 Gaspar de Guzmán

Gaspar de Guzmán

Count-Duke of Olivares (died 1645)
Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, 1st Duke of Sanlúcar, 3rd Count of Olivares,, known as the Count-Duke of Olivares, was a Spanish royal favourite of Philip IV and minister. He was appointed as Grandee on 10 April 1621, a day after the ending of the Twelve Years' Truce, and was a key figure that shaped state policy in Spain until January 1643. During his rule, he over-exerted Spain in foreign affairs and unsuccessfully attempted domestic reform. His policy of committing Spain to recapture Holland led to a renewal of the Eighty Years' War while Spain was also embroiled in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). In addition, his attempts to centralise power and increase wartime taxation led to revolts in Catalonia and in Portugal, which brought about his downfall.
1935 Ian Meckiff

Ian Meckiff

Australian cricketer
Ian Meckiff is an Australian former cricketer who represented Australia in 18 Test matches between 1957 and 1963. A left-arm fast bowler, he is best known for two matters that were unrelated to his skill as a player: he was the batsman run out by Joe Solomon in 1960, causing the first Tied Test in cricket history; and in December 1963, his career was sensationally ended when he was called for throwing in the First Test against South Africa by Australian umpire Col Egar. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, there had been a media frenzy about the perceived prevalence of illegal bowling actions in world cricket. The controversy and speculation that dogged Meckiff in the years preceding his final match caused sections of the cricket community to believe that he had been made a scapegoat by the Australian cricket authorities to prove their intent to stamp out throwing.
1936 Darlene Hard

Darlene Hard

American tennis player (died 2021)
Darlene Ruth Hard was an American professional tennis player, known for her aggressive volleying ability and strong serves. She captured singles titles at the French Championships in 1960 and the U.S. Championships in 1960 and 1961. With eight different partners, she won a total of 13 women's doubles titles and, with another three partners, she won 5 mixed doubles titles in Grand Slam tournaments, and was the finest doubles player of her generation. Her last doubles title, at the age of 33 at the 1969 US Open, came six years after she had retired from serious competition to become a tennis instructor. She also played the US Open singles tournament in 1969, losing in the second round to Françoise Dürr.
1986 Petter Northug

Petter Northug

Norwegian skier
Petter Northug Jr. is a Norwegian former cross-country skier and double Olympic champion. He won a total of 13 World Championship and two Winter Olympic gold medals with 20 medals overall, and 18 individual FIS Cross-Country World Cup wins with 13 podium places. He is also the record holder for most stage wins (13) in Tour de Ski. By winning his ninth gold medal in the Nordic World Ski Championships in 4 × 10 km relay in Val di Fiemme 2013, he leveled the achievement of Bjørn Dæhlie who had been the most successful World Champion male skier up to that point. He is considered by many as the greatest cross-country skier of all time.
1538 Jane Dormer

Jane Dormer

Duchess of Feria (died 1612)
Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria was an English lady-in-waiting to Mary I who, after the Queen's death, married Gómez Suárez de Figueroa y Córdoba, 1st Duke of Feria and went to live in Spain, where she would become a magnet for exiled English Catholics. She maintained a correspondence with Queen Elizabeth, and also corresponded with contacts sympathetic to the Catholic cause in England. Within Spain she championed the cause of exiled English fallen on hard times. On her husband's death in 1571 she took over the management of his estates. She died in Spain on 13 January 1612 and was buried at the monastery of Santa Clara in Zafra.
1991 Will Barton

Will Barton

American basketball player
William Norman Barton III is an American former professional basketball player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for Memphis Tigers, earning Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year honors in 2012. He was selected 40th overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and played for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA G League before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in 2015, where he eventually became their franchise leader in three-pointers made. He has also played for the Washington Wizards and the Toronto Raptors.
1960 Howie Long

Howie Long

American football player and sports commentator
Howard Matthew Moses Long is an American former professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Raiders franchise. He played college football for the Villanova Wildcats and was selected by the Raiders in the second round of the 1981 NFL draft, spending his first season with the team in Oakland and the remainder of his career in Los Angeles. Long received eight Pro Bowl and three first-team All-Pro selections while helping the team win Super Bowl XVIII. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
1912 Danny Thomas

Danny Thomas

American actor, comedian, producer, and humanitarian (died 1991)
Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz, known professionally as Danny Thomas, was an American entertainer, producer, and philanthropist. After launching his career in the 1940s in radio and cinema, he created and starred in the 1953–1964 television sitcom Make Room for Daddy / The Danny Thomas Show, and went on to produce a number of successful television programs. In 1962, he leveraged his celebrity status to establish St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a leading center in pediatrics research and treatment, with a focus on pediatric cancer. He was the father of Marlo Thomas, Terre Thomas, and Tony Thomas.
1981 Asante Samuel

Asante Samuel

American football player
Asante Tyrell Samuel Sr. is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Accra, Ghana and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He played college football for the UCF Knights and was selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL draft. Samuel also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons. He led the NFL twice in interceptions, in 2006 and 2009. He is the father of Asante Samuel Jr., a cornerback who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
1987 Ndamukong Suh

Ndamukong Suh

American football player
Ndamukong Ngwa Suh is an American former professional football player who played defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earning unanimous All-American honors in 2009. Suh was selected by the Detroit Lions second overall in the 2010 NFL draft. He also played for the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Philadelphia Eagles. Suh played in three Super Bowls during his career: Super Bowl LIII with the Rams, Super Bowl LV with the Buccaneers, and Super Bowl LVII with the Eagles.
1981 Rinko Kikuchi

Rinko Kikuchi

Japanese actress
Rinko Kikuchi is a Japanese actress. She was the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years, for her work in Babel (2006). Kikuchi's other notable films include Norwegian Wood (2010), which screened in competition at the 67th Venice Film Festival and Guillermo del Toro's science fiction action film Pacific Rim (2013). For her role in the drama film Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014), Kikuchi received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She played a supporting role in the HBO Max crime drama series Tokyo Vice.
1872 Alexander Scriabin

Alexander Scriabin

Russian pianist and composer (died 1915)
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist. Initially influenced by Frédéric Chopin, he composed in a relatively tonal, late-Romantic idiom. Later, independently of his contemporary Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed a highly dissonant musical language that transcended traditional tonality without being strictly atonal, aligning with his personal brand of metaphysics. He embraced the concepts of Gesamtkunstwerk and synesthesia, creating a colour-coded circle of fifths inspired by theosophy to associate colours with harmonies. Scriabin is widely considered the primary Russian symbolist composer and a major figure of the Silver Age of Russian Poetry.
1953 Malcolm Young

Malcolm Young

Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2017)
Malcolm Mitchell Young was an Australian musician who was a founding member of the hard rock band AC/DC. Young was a rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and backing vocalist in the band. Except for a brief absence in 1988, Young was a member of AC/DC from its formation in 1973 until his retirement in 2014. As a member of AC/DC, Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2023, Rolling Stone named Young and his younger brother and fellow AC/DC member Angus Young the 38th-best guitarists of all time.

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