1. In 1759, George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis on January 6 in a ceremony at her family home, the White House Plantation. This would later become the site of the White House, the official residence of the President of the United States.

2. On January 6, 1838, Samuel Morse publicly demonstrated his telegraph machine for the first time at the Rotunda of the Capitol. The invention revolutionized long-distance communication and paved the way for modern telecommunications.

3. January 6, 1862 marked the Battle of Cockpit Point, a small engagement in the American Civil War that saw Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson (later known as "Stonewall" Jackson) successfully repel a Union naval assault on Occoquan Bay.

4. In 1907, the first meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union was held in Washington, D.C. The organization promotes discussion and cooperation between parliamentary representatives from around the world and has since grown to include over 170 member nations.

5. On January 6, 1999, the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton began in the Senate. Clinton was ultimately acquitted of charges related to perjury and obstruction of justice. The trial marked only the second time in U.S. history that a President had faced impeachment proceedings in the Senate.