April 9
is the
99th day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar (100th in
leap years). There are 266 days remaining.
*
193 -
Septimius Severus is proclaimed
Roman Emperor by the army in
Illyricum (in the
Balkans).
*
1241 -
Battle of Liegnitz:
Mongol forces defeats the
Polish and
German armies.
*
1413 -
Henry V is crowned
King of
England.
*
1667 - First public art exhibition opens in
Paris.
*
1682 -
Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the
Mississippi River, claims it for
France and names it
Louisiana.
*
1770 - Capt
James Cook discovers
Botany Bay in
Australia*
1865 -
American Civil War:
Robert E. Lee surrenders the
Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to
Ulysses S. Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the
war.
*
1867 -
Alaska purchase: Passing by a single vote, the
United States Senate ratifies a
treaty with
Russia for the purchase of
Alaska.
*
1909 - The
U.S. Congress passes the
Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act.
*
1913 - The
Brooklyn Dodgers'
Ebbets Field opens.
*
1916 -
World War I:
Battle of Verdun -
German forces launch their third offensive of the
battle.
*
1917 -
World War I:
Battle of Arras - The
battle begins with
Canadian forces executing a massive assault on
Vimy Ridge.
*
1937 - The
Kamikaze arrives at
Croydon Airport in
London - it is the first
Japanese-built aircraft to fly to
Europe.
*
1939 -
Marian Anderson sings at the
Lincoln Memorial, after having been refused the right to sing at the
Daughters of the American Revolution's
Constitution Hall.
*
1940 -
World War II:
Germany invades
Denmark and
Norway.
*
1942 -
World War II:
Battle of Bataan/
Bataan Death March -
United States forces surrender on the
Bataan Peninsula.
Japanese Navy launches air raid on
Trincomalee in
Ceylon (
Sri Lanka);
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and
Royal Australian Navy Destroyer HMAS Vampire are sunk off the country's
East Coast.
*
1945 -
World War II: The
German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer is sunk.
*
1945 - The
United States Atomic Energy Commission formed
*
1947 - The
Glazier-Higgins-Woodward Tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in
Texas,
Oklahoma, and
Kansas.
* 1947 - The
Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial
Freedom Ride of 16 black and white men traveling through the upper
South in violation of
Jim Crow laws begins. The riders, sponsored by
CORE and the
Fellowship of Reconciliation, are seeking to force southern states to enforce the
United States Supreme Court's
1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned
racial segregation in interstate travel.
*
1948 -
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's assassination provokes a violent riot in
Bogotá (the
Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in all of
Colombia (
La violencia).
* 1948 - Massacre at
Deir Yassin.
*
1949 - The
Gurkha Contingent of the
Singapore Police Force is formed.
*
1953 -
Warner Brothers premieres the first
3-D film, entitled
House of Wax*
1957 - The
Suez Canal in
Egypt is cleared and opens to
shipping*
1959 -
Mercury program:
NASA announces the selection of the
United States' first seven
astronauts which the news media quickly dub the "
Mercury Seven".
*
1967 - The first
Boeing 737 (a 100 series) takes its maiden flight.
*
1969 - The "
Chicago Eight" plead not guilty on federal charges of conspiracy to incite a riot at the
1968 Democratic National Convention in
Chicago, Illinois.
*
1980 - Israeli troops move into
Lebanon*
1986 - The
government of France rules against the
privatization of
French automaker
Renault.
*
1987 -
Dikye Baggett becomes the first person to undergo corrective surgery for
Parkinson's disease.
*
1989 -
April 9 tragedy in
Tbilisi,
Georgia: An
anti-Soviet demonstration was quashed by the
Soviet army.
*
1991 -
Georgia declares its independence from the
Soviet Union.
*
1992 -
US Federal Court finds former
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty on 8 of 10 drug and racketeering charges. He is serving a 30-year prison sentence.
* 1992 -
John Major's
Conservative Party wins an unprecedented fourth general election victory in the
United Kingdom.
*
1998 - The
National Prisoner of War Museum is located in
Andersonville, Georgia, on the site of an old
American Civil War POW camp.
*
1999 -
Ismail Omar Guelleh is elected
president of
Djibouti.
* 1999 -
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara,
President of
Niger, is assassinated.
*
2002 - Funeral for
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, former Queen of England.
*
2003 -
2003 invasion of Iraq:
Baghdad, Iraq falls to
American forces.
*
2005 -
HRH Charles, Prince of Wales weds Camilla Parker Bowles.
*
1336 -
Tamerlane (
Timur), Central Asian, Turkic conqueror (d.
1405)
*
1498 -
John, Cardinal of Lorraine, French churchman (d.
1550)
*
1597 -
John Davenport, Connecticut pioneer (d.
1670)
*
1648 -
Henri de Massue, Marquis de Ruvigny, 1st Viscount Galway, French soldier and diplomat (d.
1720)
*
1649 -
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of
Charles II of Great Britain (d.
1685)
*
1680 -
Philippe Néricault Destouches, French dramatist (d.
1754)
*
1686 -
James Craggs the Younger, British politician (d.
1721)
*
1691 -
Johann Matthias Gesner, German classical scholar (d.
1761)
*
1757 -
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, British admiral (d.
1833)
*
1770 -
Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist (d.
1831)
*
1773 -
Étienne Aignan, French writer (d.
1824)
*
1794 -
Theobald Boehm, German inventor of the modern flute (d.
1881)
*
1806 -
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British engineer (d.
1859)
*
1821 -
Charles Baudelaire, French poet (d.
1867)
*
1830 -
Eadweard Muybridge, English-born photographer and motion picture pioneer (d.
1904)
*
1835 - King
Léopold II of Belgium (d.
1909)
*
1865 -
Erich Ludendorff, German general in World War I (d.
1937)
*
1867 -
Chris Watson, third
Prime Minister of Australia (d.
1941)
*
1872 -
Léon Blum, French prime minister (d.
1950)
*
1888 -
Sol Hurok, Russian-born impresario (d.
1974)
*
1889 -
Efrem Zimbalist, Russian violinist (d.
1985)
*
1897 -
John B. Gambling, American radio talk-show host (d.
1974)
*
1898 -
Curly Lambeau, American football coach, executive (d.
1965)
* 1898 -
Paul Robeson, American singer and activist (d.
1976)
*
1903 -
Ward Bond, American actor (d.
1960)
*
1904 -
Sharkey Bonano, American musician (d.
1972)
*
1905 -
J. William Fulbright, U.S. Senator from Arkansas (d.
1995)
*
1906 -
Antal Dorati, Hungarian conductor (d.
1988)
*
1908 -
Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-born painter (d.
1997)
*
1910 -
Abraham Ribicoff, American politician (d.
1998)
*
1912 -
Lew Kopelew, Russian author (d.
1997)
*
1917 -
Johannes Bobrowski, German lyricist, narrative writer, adaptor and essayist (d.
1965)
* 1917 -
Brad Dexter, American actor (d.
2002)
*
1918 -
Jørn Utzon, Danish architect
*
1919 -
J. Presper Eckert, American computer pioneer (d.
1995)
*
1926 -
Hugh Hefner, American editor and publisher
*
1928 -
Tom Lehrer, American musician and mathematician
*
1931 -
Larry Gluck, American painter and art educator
*
1932 -
Jim Fowler, American zoologist
* 1932 -
Carl Perkins, American musician (d.
1998)
* 1932 -
Cheeta, animal actor, the longest living known
chimpanzee in history
*
1933 -
Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor
*
1934 -
Bill Birch, New Zealand politician
*
1935 -
Avery Schreiber, American actor (d.
2002)
*
1937 -
Marty Krofft, children's television producer
*
1938 -
Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian politician
*
1939 -
Michael Learned, American actress
*
1942 -
Brandon De Wilde, American actor (d.
1972)
*
1943 -
Terry Knight, American music promoter (
Grand Funk Railroad) (d.
2004)
*
1945 -
Peter Gammons, baseball journalist
* 1945 -
Steve Gadd, American session drummer
*
1946 -
David Webb, English footballer, and football coach
*
1948 -
Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress
*
1954 -
Dennis Quaid, American actor
* 1954 -
Iain Duncan Smith, British politician
*
1957 -
Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer
*
1961 -
Mark Kelly, British keyboard player (
Marillion)
*
1962 -
Imran Sherwani, British field hockey player
*
1964 -
Rick Tocchet, Canadian
ice hockey player
*
1965 -
Jeff Zucker, American television executive
* 1965 -
Paulina Porizkova, Czechoslovakian-born actress and supermodel
* 1965 -
Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted murderer (d.
2002)
*
1966 -
Cynthia Nixon, American actress
*
1967 -
Rajendra Yadav, Indian doctor
*
1971 -
Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver
*
1972 -
Jude Rawlins, English rock singer and songwriter (
Subterraneans)
*
1974 -
Jenna Jameson, American porn star
*
1975 -
Robbie Fowler, English footballer
*
1977 -
Gerard Way, American singer (
My Chemical Romance)
*
1978 -
Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
* 1978 -
Rachel Stevens, English singer
* 1978 -
Vesna Pisarović, Croatian singer
*
1979 -
Keshia Knight Pulliam, American actress
* 1979 -
Albert Hammond, Jr., American guitarist in NYC-based band
The Strokes*
1980 -
Yoanna House, American model
*
1981 -
Milan Bartovič, Slovak ice hockey player
* 1981 -
Eric Harris, Columbine High school shooter (d.
1999)
* 1981 -
Ireneusz Jeleń, Polish footballer
*
1982 -
Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer
*
1985 -
Yamashita Tomohisa, Japanese singer
*
1986 -
Brian Larsen, American musician and record producer
*
1987 -
Jesse McCartney, American singer/actor
*
1990 -
Kristen Stewart, American actress
*
1998 -
Elle Fanning, American child actress
*
93 -
Yuan An, Minister over the Masses of the
Han dynasty*
491 -
Zeno,
Byzantine Emperor*
715 -
Pope Constantine*
1024 -
Pope Benedict VIII*
1137 -
William X, Duke of Aquitaine (b.
1099)
*
1483 - King
Edward IV of England (b.
1442)
*
1484 -
Edward of Middleham,
Prince of Wales (b.
1473)
*
1553 -
François Rabelais, French writer
*
1557 -
Mikael Agricola, Finnish scholar (b.
1510)
*
1626 - Sir
Francis Bacon, English philosopher, statesman, and essayist (b.
1561)
*
1654 -
Matei Basarab, Prince of
Wallachia (b.
1588)
*
1693 -
Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French writer (b.
1618)
*
1747 -
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, Scottish clan chief
*
1754 -
Christian Wolff, German philosopher (b.
1679)
*
1761 -
William Law, British minister (b.
1686)
*
1804 -
Jacques Necker, French statesman (b.
1732)
*
1806 -
William V of Orange,
Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic
*
1889 -
Michel Eugène Chevreul, French chemist (b.
1786)
*
1909 -
Helena Modrzejewska, Polish-American actress (b.
1840)
*
1917 -
James Hope Moulton, British scholar of Classical Greek (b.
1863)
*
1936 -
Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist (b.
1855)
*
1940 -
Mrs. Patrick Campbell, British actress (b.
1865)
*
1944 -
Evgeniya Rudneva, Russian
World War II heroine (b.
1920)
*
1945 -
Wilhelm Canaris, German Nazi leader (b.
1887)
* 1945 -
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian (b.
1906)
*
1948 -
George Carpenter, Australian Salvation Army general (b.
1872)
* 1948 -
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician (b.
1903).
*
1951 -
Vilhelm Bjerknes, Norwegian physicist (b.
1862)
*
1959 -
Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect (b.
1867)
*
1961 - King
Zog of Albania (b.
1895)
*
1963 -
Eddie Edwards, American jazz trombonist (b.
1891)
*
1976 -
Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer, pianist (b.
1903)
* 1976 -
Phil Ochs, American singer (b.
1940)
*
1988 -
Brook Benton, American singer (b.
1931)
*
1991 -
Martin Hannett, record producer (b.
1948)
*
1996 -
Richard Condon, American novelist (b.
1915)
* 1996 -
James W. Rouse, American real estate developer, activist, and philanthropist (b.
1914)
*
1999 -
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Niger politician and general (b.
1949)
* 1999 -
Emiko Kado, wrestler (b.
1976)
*
2001 -
Willie Stargell, baseball player (b.
1940)
*
2002 -
Leopold Vietoris, Austrian mathematician (b.
1891)
*
2005 -
Andrea Dworkin, American feminist and writer (b.
1946)
* 2005 -
Scott Mason, Australian cricketer(b.
1976)
*
2006 -
Billy Hitchcock, baseball player, coach, and official (b.
1916)
*
Bahá'í Faith - Feast of
Jalál (
Glory) - First day of the second month of the
Bahá'í Calendar.
*
Araw ng Kagitingan (
Day of Valor, celebrated as
Bataan Day in
Bataan) in the
Philippines.
*
Day of National Unity- ("როვნული "რთიანობის "ღ"), an annual
public holiday in
Georgia.
Liturgical feasts
*
Saint Hugo of Rouan*
Saint Ingofried*
Saint Casilda*
Saint Waltrudis*
BBC: On This Day*
Today in History: April 9April 8 -
April 10 -
March 9 -
May 9 --
listing of all days
