By: HISTORY.com Editors

Harold II crowned king of England

Published: February 09, 2010Last Updated: May 27, 2025

Following the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwineson, head of the most powerful noble family in England, is crowned King Harold II. On his deathbed, Edward supposedly designated Harold the royal heir, but this claim was disputed by William, duke of Normandy and cousin of the late king. In addition, King Harald III Hardraade of Norway had designs on England, as did Tostig, brother of Harold.

King Harold rallied his forces for an expected invasion by William, but Tostig launched a series of raids instead, forcing the king to leave the English Channel unprotected. In September, Tostig joined forces with King Harald III and invaded England from Scotland. On September 25, Harold met them at Stamford Bridge and defeated and killed them both. Three days later, William landed in England at Pevensey.

On October 14, 1066, Harold met William at the Battle of Hastings, and the king was killed and his forces defeated. According to legend, he was shot through the eye with an arrow. On Christmas Day, William the Conqueror was crowned the first Norman king of England.

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Timeline

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Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on January 6th

1412

Joan of Arc is born

Joan of Arc, the “Maid of Orléans,” is believed to have been born on January 6, 1412. She lived only 19 years, but would become a Roman Catholic saint and a national hero of France for her pivotal role in the Hundred Years’ War. Joan was born to Jacques d’Arc and Isabelle Romée in a […]

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1759

Two future presidents marry respective sweethearts

January 6 is a wedding anniversary for two presidents: George Washington and George H.W. Bush. In 1759, a 26-year-old George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis. The recently widowed, Virginia-born Martha was an educated mother of two. George Washington–then a rising young officer in the colonial British army–moved his new bride and family to his estate […]

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1777

George Washington sets up winter quarters in Morristown, NJ

After two significant victories over the British in Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey, General George Washington marches north to Morristown, New Jersey, where he sets up winter headquarters for himself and the men of the Continental Army on January 6, 1777. The hills surrounding the camp offered Washington a perfect vantage point from which to […]

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1799

Frontiersman Jedediah Smith is born

Jedediah Strong Smith, one of America’s greatest trapper-explorers, is born in Bainbridge, New York. Smith explored a stunningly large area of the American West during his short life. He began his western voyages in 1822, when he joined the pioneering fur trader William Ashley on a trip up the Missouri River. Unlike earlier fur traders, […]

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1838

Samuel Morse unveils the telegraph, revolutionizing communication

Samuel Morse’s telegraph system is demonstrated for the first time at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey. The telegraph, a device which used electric impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire, would eventually revolutionize long-distance communication.

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1912

New Mexico joins the Union

On January 6, 1912, New Mexico is admitted into the United States as the 47th state. Spanish explorers passed through the area that would become New Mexico in the early 16th century, encountering the well-preserved remains of a 13th-century Pueblo civilization. Exaggerated rumors about the hidden riches of these Pueblo cities encouraged the first full-scale […]

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1919

Theodore Roosevelt dies

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, dies at Sagamore Hill, his estate overlooking New York’s Long Island Sound. A dynamic and energetic politician, Theodore Roosevelt is credited with creating the modern presidency. As a young Republican, Roosevelt held a number of political posts in New York in the 1880s and ’90s and […]

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1941

Franklin D. Roosevelt speaks of Four Freedoms

On January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses Congress in an effort to move the nation away from a foreign policy of neutrality. The president had watched with increasing anxiety as European nations struggled and fell to Hitler’s fascist regime and was intent on rallying public support for the United States to take a […]

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1942

FDR commits to biggest arms buildup in U.S. history

President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces to Congress that he is authorizing the largest armaments production in the history of the United States. Committed to war in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. had to reassess its military preparedness, especially in light of the fact that its Pacific fleet was decimated by the Japanese air […]

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1971

Army drops charges of My Lai cover-up

The Army drops charges of an alleged cover-up in the My Lai massacre against four officers. After the charges were dropped, a total of 11 people had been cleared of responsibility during the My Lai trials, but several still faced charges. The trials were a result of action that occurred in March 1968. During the […]

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1975

“Wheel of Fortune” premieres

Wheel of Fortune, one of the the longest-running syndicated game shows in American television, premieres on NBC on January 6, 1975. Created by television legend Merv Griffin and hosted since the early 1980s by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Wheel is one of the most popular television shows in the world. Griffin, who had already […]

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1975

More than 2,000 Led Zeppelin fans trash the Boston Garden

On January 6, 1975, a freezing cold day, a crowd of 2,000-plus lines up outside Boston Garden to buy tickets to the rock band Led Zeppelin. Some in the crowd then entered into the near-empty arena and caused thousands of dollars in damage. “For years and years, we had people line up overnight to wait […]

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1994

Skater Nancy Kerrigan attacked

Olympic hopeful Nancy Kerrigan is attacked at a Detroit ice rink following a practice session two days before the Olympic trials. A man hit Kerrigan with a club on the back of her knee, causing the figure skater to cry out in pain and bewilderment. When the full story emerged a week later, the nation […]

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1996

Blizzard of 1996 begins

On January 6, 1996, snow begins falling in Washington, D.C., and up the Eastern seaboard, beginning a blizzard that kills 154 people and causes over $1 billion in damages before it ends. The Blizzard of 1996 began in typical fashion, as cold air from Canada pushed down and collided with relatively warm winds from the […]

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2001

Congress certifies George W. Bush winner of 2000 elections

After a bitterly contested election, Vice President Al Gore presides over a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2001, that certifies George W. Bush as the winner of the 2000 election—an election Gore had lost. In one of the closest Presidential elections in U.S. history, George W. Bush was finally declared the winner more […]

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2021

U.S. Capitol riot

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