The US Capitol is attacked
A mob of supporters of then US President Donald Trump stormed the United States Capitol in Washington DC. They were attempting to halt the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden. Five people died in the riot, and many more were injured, including over 150 police officers.
Mother Theresa arrives in India
Through her tireless work in helping the poor and ill, the Albanian religious sister later received the Nobel Peace Prize and was posthumously beatified.
German scientist Alfred Wegener presents his theory of continental drift
His work laid the foundation for the theory of plate tectonics, which explains why continents move.
Maria Montessori opens her first school
Montessori’s revolutionary educational approach is practiced at about 30,000 schools today.
Samuel Morse presents the telegraph to the public
Together with Alfred Vail, the inventor relayed the message “A patient waiter is no loser” over a distance of 2 miles (3 km).
- 1946 Syd Barrett
English singer-songwriter, guitarist - 1920 John Maynard Smith
English biologist - 1883 Kahlil Gibran
Lebanese/American poet - 1811 Charles Sumner
American politician - 1412 Joan of Arc
- 1999 Michel Petrucciani
French/American pianist - 1993 Dizzy Gillespie
American trumpet player, bandleader, composer - 1919 Theodore Roosevelt
American politician, 26th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate - 1918 Georg Cantor
German mathematician - 1852 Louis Braille
French educator, invented Braille