February 9
February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 325 days remaining until the end of the year (326 in leap years).
Events
- 474 – Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1555 – Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake.
- 1621 – Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion.
- 1788 – The Habsburg Empire joins the Russo-Turkish War in the Russian camp.
- 1825 – After no presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams President of the United States.
- 1849 – New Roman Republic established
- 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.
- 1870 – President Ulysses S. Grant signs a joint resolution of Congress establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau.
- 1885 – The first Japanese government-approved immigrants arrive in Hawaii.
- 1889 – President Grover Cleveland signs a bill elevating the United States Department of Agriculture to a Cabinet-level agency.
- 1895 – William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.
- 1900 – The Davis Cup competition is established.
- 1904 – Russo–Japanese War: Battle of Port Arthur concludes.
- 1913 – A group of meteors is visible across much of the eastern seaboard of North and South America, leading astronomers to conclude the source had been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
- 1920 – Under the terms of the Spitsbergen Treaty, international diplomacy recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Arctic archipelago Svalbard, and designates it as demilitarized.
- 1922 – Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1934 – The Balkan Entente is formed.
- 1942 – World War II: Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
- 1942 – Year-round Daylight saving time is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.
- 1943 – World War II: Allied authorities declare Guadalcanal secure after Imperial Japan evacuates its remaining forces from the island, ending the Battle of Guadalcanal.
- 1945 – World War II: The Battle of the Atlantic – HMS Venturer sinks U-864 off the coast of Fedje, Norway, in a rare instance of submarine-to-submarine combat.
- 1945 – World War II: A force of Allied aircraft unsuccessfully attacked a German destroyer in Førdefjorden, Norway.
- 1950 – Second Red Scare: Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with Communists.
- 1951 – Geochang massacre: Korean War
- 1959 – The R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR.
- 1964 – The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a "record-busting" audience of 73 million viewers.
- 1965 – Vietnam War: The first United States combat troops are sent to South Vietnam.
- 1969 – First test flight of the Boeing 747.
- 1971 – The Sylmar earthquake hits the San Fernando Valley area of California.
- 1971 – Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned moon landing.
- 1973 – Biju Patnaik of the Pragati Legislature Party is elected leader of the opposition in the state assembly in Orissa, India.
- 1975 – The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.
- 1991 – Voters in Lithuania vote for independence.
- 1995 – Space Shuttle astronauts Bernard A. Harris, Jr. and Michael Foale become the first African American and first Briton, respectively, to perform spacewalks.
- 1996 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares the end to its 18 month ceasefire and explodes a large bomb in London's Canary Wharf.
- 2001 – The American submarine USS Greeneville accidentally strikes and sinks the Ehime-Maru, a Japanese training vessel operated by the Uwajima Fishery High School.
Births
- 1533 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese samurai (d. 1611)
- 1645 – Johann Aegidius Bach, German violist (d. 1716)
- 1666 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, British soldier (d. 1737)
- 1737 – Thomas Paine, English radical liberal philosopher, American revolutionary (d. 1809)
- 1747 – John Thomas Duckworth, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1817)
- 1748 – Luther Martin, American patriot (d. 1826)
- 1756 – Karel Blažej Kopřiva, Czech composer (d. 1785)
- 1763 – Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden (d. 1830)
- 1769 – Susette Gontard, the beloved of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin (d. 1802)
- 1773 – William Henry Harrison, 9th President of the United States (d. 1841)
- 1775 – Farkas Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1856)
- 1781 – Johann Baptist von Spix, German scientist (d. 1826)
- 1783 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet (d. 1852)
- 1789 – Franz Xaver Gabelsberger, German inventor of the stenography (d. 1849)
- 1800 – Hyrum Smith, American religious leader (d. 1844)
- 1814 – Samuel Jones Tilden, 28th Governor of New York (d. 1886)
- 1830 – Abd-ul-Aziz, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1876)
- 1834 – Felix Dahn, German author (d. 1912)
- 1839 – Silas Adams, American lawyer and politician (d. 1896)
- 1846 – Wilhelm Maybach, German automotive designer (d. 1929)
- 1846 – Whitaker Wright, English mining tycoon (d. 1904)
- 1865 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, British actress (d. 1940)
- 1865 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer, geophysicist, and polar scientist (d. 1949)
- 1867 – Natsume Sōseki, Japanese novelist. (d. 1916)
- 1871 – Howard Taylor Ricketts, American bacteriologist. (d. 1910)
- 1874 – Amy Lowell, American poet (d. 1925)
- 1880 – Lipót Fejér, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1959)
- 1885 – Alban Berg, Austrian composer (d. 1935)
- 1891 – Ronald Colman, English actor (d. 1958)
- 1892 – Peggy Wood, American actress (d. 1978)
- 1893 – Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas, Greek lawyer, politician and Prime Minister (d. 1987)
- 1895 – Hermann Brill, German politician (d. 1959)
- 1897 – Charles Kingsford Smith, Australian pilot (d. 1935)
- 1901 – Brian Donlevy, Irish actor (d. 1972)
- 1901 – James Murray, American actor (d. 1936)
- 1902 – Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, German women's leader (d. 1999)
- 1906 – André Kostolany, stock market expert and speculator (d. 1999)
- 1909 – Heather Angel, British actress (d. 1986)
- 1909 – Harald Genzmer, German composer (d. 2007)
- 1909 – Carmen Miranda, Brazilian actress (d. 1955)
- 1909 – Dean Rusk, 54th United States Secretary of State (d. 1994)
- 1910 – Jacques Monod, French biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1976)
- 1911 – William Darby, American World War II Army officer (d. 1945)
- 1912 – Futabayama Sadaji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna (d. 1968)
- 1914 – Bill Justice, American Disney animator
- 1914 – Ernest Tubb, American singer (d. 1984)
- 1914 – Bill Veeck, American baseball executive (d. 1986)
- 1915 – Lennard Pearce, English actor (d. 1984)
- 1916 – Tex Hughson, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1919 – John Abramovic, American basketball player (d. 2000)
- 1922 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Jim Laker, English cricketer (d. 1986)
- 1923 – Brendan Behan, Irish author (d. 1964)
- 1925 – Burkhard Heim, German physicist (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Garret FitzGerald, 7th Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland (d. 2011)
- 1928 – Frank Frazetta, American illustrator (d. 2010)
- 1928 – Rinus Michels, Dutch football coach (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Roger Mudd, American journalist
- 1929 – Clement Meadmore, Australian-born sculptor (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Danny Malloy (Boxer), Scottish professional boxer and footballer
- 1930 – Garner Ted Armstrong, American evangelist (d. 2003)
- 1931 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian playwright and novelist (d. 1989)
- 1931 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer
- 1932 – Tatsuro Hirooka, Japanese baseball player
- 1932 – Gerhard Richter, German painter
- 1933 – Loris Azzaro, French fashion designer (d. 2003)
- 1934 – John Ziegler, former NHL Commissioner
- 1935 – Rev. Lionel Fanthorpe, British pastor, entertainer, journalist, writer and paranormal investigator
- 1936 – Stompin' Tom Connors, Canadian country singer
- 1936 – Clive Swift, British actor
- 1937 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player (d. 2007)
- 1937 – Tomislav Gotovac, Croatian movie director, actor, performer, multimedia and conceptual artist (d. 2010.)
- 1939 – Barry Mann, American singer
- 1939 – Janet Suzman, South African actress
- 1940 – Brian Bennett, British musician (The Shadows)
- 1940 – J. M. Coetzee, South African author, Nobel laureate
- 1941 – Sheila Kuehl, American actress
- 1942 – Carole King, American singer
- 1943 – Barbara Lewis, American singer and songwriter
- 1943 – Jonny Nilsson, Swedish speedskater
- 1943 – Joe Pesci, American actor
- 1943 – Joseph E. Stiglitz, American economist, Nobel laureate
- 1944 – Derryn Hinch, Australian media personality
- 1944 – Alice Walker, American writer
- 1945 – Mia Farrow, American actress
- 1945 – Gérard Lenorman, French singer
- 1946 – Eamon Duffy, Irish academic, Cambridge University
- 1946 – Séan Neeson, Northern Irish politician
- 1946 – Vince Papale, American football player
- 1946 – Jim Webb, American politician, senior senator of Virginia
- 1947 – Reinhard Adler, German footballer
- 1947 – Carla Del Ponte, Swiss UN prosecutor
- 1947 – Joe Ely, American musician
- 1947 – Major Harris, American singer
- 1947 – Michel Lamarche, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1949 – Judith Light, American actress
- 1950 – Richard F. Colburn, American politician
- 1952 – Danny White, American football player
- 1952 – Mookie Wilson, American baseball player
- 1953 – Ciarán Hinds, Northern Irish actor
- 1953 – Father Ezechiele Ramin MCCJ, Italian Comboni missionary priest and martyr (d. 1985)
- 1953 – Gabriel Rotello, American television documentary producer
- 1954 – Mary Jo Duffy, American comic book writer and editor
- 1954 – Christopher Gardner, American entrepreneur
- 1954 – Kevin Warwick, cyborg scientist
- 1955 – Jim J. Bullock, American actor
- 1955 – Charles Shaughnessy, British actor
- 1957 – Gordon Strachan, Scottish football player and manager
- 1958 – Chris Nilan, hockey player
- 1958 – Cyrille Regis, English former footballer
- 1960 – Holly Johnson, British singer (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
- 1960 – Peggy Whitson, NASA astronaut
- 1961 – John Kruk, American baseball player
- 1961 – Jussi Lampi, Finnish musician and actor
- 1962 – Anik Bissonnette, French-Canadian ballet dancer (Les Grands Ballets Canadiens)
- 1963 – Brian Greene, American physicist
- 1963 – Travis Tritt, American singer
- 1965 – Igor Malkov, Russian speedskater
- 1965 – Julie Warner, American actress
- 1966 – Harald Eia, Norwegian TV personality and comedian
- 1966 – Ellen van Langen, Dutch athlete
- 1967 – Todd Pratt, American baseball player
- 1968 – Alejandra Guzmán, Mexican singer
- 1968 – Rahul Roy, Indian actor
- 1968 – Derek Strong, American basketball player
- 1969 – Tom Scharpling, American radio-host
- 1969 – Ian Eagle, American sportscaster
- 1969 – Jimmy Smith, American football player
- 1970 – Krister Linder, Swedish musician
- 1970 – Glenn McGrath, Australian cricketer
- 1971 – Sharon Case, American actress
- 1971 – Johan Mjällby, Swedish footballer
- 1972 – Darren Ferguson, Scottish footballer
- 1972 – Crispin Freeman, American voice actor
- 1972 – Jason Winston George, American actor
- 1972 – Norbert Rózsa, Hungarian swimmer
- 1973 – Svetlana Boginskaya, Soviet gymnast
- 1973 – Colin Egglesfield, American actor
- 1974 – Erra Fazira, Malaysian actress and beauty queen
- 1974 – Brad Maynard, American football player
- 1974 – Amber Valletta, American model
- 1974 – John Wallace, American basketball player
- 1975 – Kurt Asle Arvesen, Norwegian cyclist
- 1975 – Viktor Chistiakov, Russian-born Australian athlete
- 1975 – Clinton Grybas, Australian football commentator (d. 2008)
- 1975 – Vladimir Guerrero, Dominican baseball player
- 1976 – Charlie Day, American actor
- 1976 – Georgios Korakakis, Greek footballer
- 1978 – Airton Daré, Brazilian racing driver
- 1979 – David Gray, English snooker player
- 1979 – Akinori Iwamura, Japanese baseball player
- 1979 – Irina Slutskaya, Russian figure skater
- 1979 – Zhang Ziyi, Chinese actress
- 1980 – Angelos Charisteas, Greek footballer
- 1980 – Shelly Martinez, American wrestler
- 1981 – Joël Camathias, Swiss racing driver
- 1981 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor
- 1981 – John Walker Lindh, American Taliban fighter
- 1981 – James Owen "The Rev" Sullivan, American musician (Avenged Sevenfold) (d. 2009)
- 1982 – Jameer Nelson, American basketball player
- 1982 – Ami Suzuki, Japanese singer
- 1982 – Chris Weale, English footballer
- 1983 – Mikel Arruabarrena, Spanish footballer
- 1984 – Maurice Ager, American basketball player
- 1984 – Han Kyung, Chinese pop artist/Korean singer Super Junior
- 1984 – Dioner Navarro, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1985 – David Gallagher, American actor
- 1985 – Rachel Melvin, American actress
- 1986 – Princess Raiyah bint Al Hussein, of Jordan
- 1987 – Davide Lanzafame, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Magdalena Neuner, German biathlete
- 1987 – Joe O'Cearuill, Irish footballer
- 1988 – Lotte Friis, Danish swimmer
- 1989 – Wu Chia-ching, Taiwanese pool player
- 1989 – Gia Farrell, American singer
- 1990 – Tyson Houseman, Canadian actor
- 1990 – Camille Winbush, American actress
- 1992 – Avan Jogia, Canadian actor
- 1996 – Jimmy Bennett, American actor
Deaths
- 1011 – Bernard I, Duke of Saxony
- 1199 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shogun (b. 1147)
- 1450 – Agnès Sorel, mistress of King Charles VII of France (b. 1421)
- 1555 – John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester & Worcester (burned at the stake) (b. ca. 1495/1500)
- 1555 – Rowland Taylor, English pastor (executed) (b. 1510)
- 1619 – Lucilio Vanini, Italian philosopher (b. 1585)
- 1675 – Gerhard Douw, Dutch painter (b. 1613)
- 1709 – François Louis, Prince of Conti, French general (b. 1664)
- 1751 – Henri François d'Aguesseau, Chancellor of France (b. 1668)
- 1752 – Fredric Hasselquist, Swedish naturalist (b. 1722)
- 1777 – Seth Pomeroy, American gunsmith and soldier (b. 1706)
- 1782 – Joseph Aloysius Assemani, Lebanese orientalist (b. 1710)
- 1803 – Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French poet (b. 1716)
- 1857 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet of the Greek national anthem (b. 1798)
- 1874 – Jules Michelet, French historian (b. 1798)
- 1881 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist (b. 1821)
- 1891 – Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter (b. 1819)
- 1906 – Paul Laurence Dunbar, American poet (b. 1872)
- 1930 – Richard With, Norwegian businessman, politician and captain, founder of Hurtigruten (b. 1846)
- 1932 – A.K. Golam Jilani, a Bangladeshi who was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement. (b. 1904)
- 1951 – Eddy Duchin, American musician (b. 1910)
- 1957 – Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral (b. 1868)
- 1960 – Alexandre Benois, Russian artist (b. 1870)
- 1960 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, conductor and composer (b. 1877)
- 1966 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born actress (b. 1884)
- 1969 – George "Gabby" Hayes, American actor (b. 1885)
- 1973 – Vasiliki Maliaros, Greek actress (b. 1883)
- 1973 – Max Yasgur, American farmer (Woodstock Festival) (b. 1919)
- 1976 – Percy Faith, Canadian musician (b. 1908)
- 1977 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian aircraft designer (b. 1894)
- 1978 – Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (b. 1893)
- 1978 – Julio Jaramillo, Ecuadorian singer (b. 1935)
- 1979 – Dennis Gabor, Hungarian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1900)
- 1980 – Tom Macdonald, Welsh journalist and novelist (b. 1900)
- 1981 – Bill Haley, American musician (Bill Haley & His Comets) (b. 1925)
- 1984 – Yuri Andropov, Soviet politician (b. 1914)
- 1989 – Osamu Tezuka, Japanese manga artist (b. 1928)
- 1991 – James Cleveland, American gospel singer (b. 1931)
- 1994 – Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (b. 1934)
- 1995 – J. William Fulbright, American politician (b. 1905)
- 1995 – David Wayne, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Brian Connolly, Scottish singer (Sweet) (b. 1945)
- 1997 – Barry Evans, British actor (b. 1943)
- 1999 – Bryan Mosley, British actor (b. 1931)
- 2001 – Herbert Simon, American economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1916)
- 2002 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (b. 1930)
- 2002 – Vicente Sardinero, Spanish baritone (b. 1937)
- 2004 – Claude Ryan, Canadian newspaper director and politician (b. 1925)
- 2005 – Tyrone Davis, American soul singer (b. 1938)
- 2005 – Robert Kearns, Inventor of the intermittent wiper (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Sir Freddie Laker, British airline entrepreneur (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Nadira, Indian actress (b. 1932)
- 2007 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Ian Richardson, Scottish actor (b. 1934)
- 2008 – Scot Halpin, American musician, temporary drummer for The Who (b. 1954)
- 2008 – Christopher Hyatt Occultist,Philosopher and Author. (b. 1943)
- 2008 – Jazeh Tabatabai, Iranian avant-garde painter, poet and sculptor. (b. 1931)
- 2008 – Trichen Jurme Kunzang Wangyal, the eleventh Mindrolling Trichen, Tibetan Buddhist lama of the Nyingma school (b. 1930)
- 2009 – Eluana Englaro, an Italian woman who lived in a persistent vegetative state for 17 years (b. 1970)
- 2010 – Phil Harris, American fisherman from Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch (b. 1956)
- 2010 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American inventor (b. 1920)
Holidays and observances
External links