January 6: Little ChristmasConstantineXI Palaiologos1449 Four years before the fall of Constantinople, ConstantineXI Palaiologos (pictured) assumed the throne as the last Byzantine emperor.1725 J. S. Bach led the first performance of Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, a chorale cantata for Epiphany.1912 German geophysicist Alfred Wegener presented his theory of continental drift, the precursor of plate tectonics, to the German Geological Society.1953 The inaugural Asian Socialist Conference, an organisation of socialist political parties, opened in Rangoon with 177 delegates, observers and fraternal guests.2014 The first episode of the documentary series Benefits Street aired on Channel4, prompting discussion in the United Kingdom about welfare dependency.Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros (b.1756)Earl Scruggs (b.1924)Babrak Karmal (b.1929)Sybil Plumlee (d.2012)More anniversaries: January 5January 6January 7ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout