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AUGUST 9
August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining.
Events
- 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt.
- 378 - Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople - A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens is defeated by the Visigoths in present-day Turkey. Valens is killed along with ⅔ of his army.
- 681 - Bulgaria is founded as a Khanate on the south bank of the Danube, after defeating the Byzantine armies of Emperor Constantine IV south of the Danube delta.
- 1048 - Pope Damasus II dies in Rome, after reigning for only 23 days.
- 1173 - Construction of the (Leaning) Tower of Pisa begins, and it takes two centuries to complete.
- 1483 - Opening of the Sistine Chapel
- 1842 - Webster-Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States-Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Cedar Mountain - At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson narrowly defeats Union forces under General John Pope.
- 1877 - Indian Wars: Battle of Big Hole - A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army.
- 1892 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.
- 1902 - Edward VII is crowned king of the United Kingdom.
- 1936 - Summer Olympic Games: Games of the XI Olympiad: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games becoming the first American to win four medals in one Olympic Games.
- 1942 - Indian leader, Mohandas Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement.
- 1942 - World War II: Battle of Savo Island - Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force.
- 1944 - The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.
- 1945 - World War II: An atomic bomb, codenamed Fat Man, is dropped on the city of Nagasaki, Japan killing an estimated 70,000-90,000 people.
- 1965 - Singapore seceded from the newly-formed Federation of Malaysia.
- 1965 - Space disasters: A fire at a Titan missile base near Little Rock, Arkansas kills 53 construction workers.
- 1967 - Vietnam War: Operation Cochise initiated - United States Marines begin a new operation in the Que Son Valley.
- 1969 - Members of a cult led by Charles Manson brutally murder Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring, and Steven Parent at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles.
- 1969 - Popular attraction The Haunted Mansion opens in Disneyland.
- 1974 - As a direct result of the scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, becomes president.
- 1983 - Peter Jennings hosts his first broadcast of ABC's World News Tonight as sole anchor.
- 1986 - The Headington Shark is erected in Oxford.
- 1986 - Knebworth Park, Stevenage, UK sees the final live performance of rock band Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury.
- 1987 - 9 people are shot dead and 17 more injured as 19-year old Julian Knight opens fire at random in the Hoddle Street Massacre in Clifton Hill
- 1988 - Wayne Gretzky is traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the most controversial transactions in hockey history.
- 1988 - Baseball's all-day-game era officially came to an end when the Cubs beat the Mets 6-4 in Wrigley Field's first night game.
- 1989 - Kaifu Toshiki becomes Prime Minister of Japan.
- 1993 - The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership.
- 1993 - King Albert II of Belgium is sworn into office.
- 1994 - Dilbert is drawn with his necktie down, signifying that he "lost his innocence" with Liz.
- 1995 - Netscape launches IPO.
- 1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.
- 1999 - The Diet of Japan enacts a law establishing the Hinomaru and Kimi Ga Yo as the official national flag and national anthem.
- 2000 - A Piper Navajo and a Piper Seminole collide in mid-air over a housing development in Burlington, New Jersey, killing 11
- 2001 - US President George W. Bush announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic stem cells.
- 2001 - In Jerusalem, 15 people die and 130 are wounded in the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing.
- 2005 - Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission - Space Shuttle Discovery successfully lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
- 2005 - A chemical plant explosion happened at the EQ Recovery Plant in Romulus, Michigan, forcing residence within 1 to 1⅓ mile radius from the plant to evacuate.
- 2006 - Mexican fishermen get rescued near the Marshall Islands after being lost nine months in the sea, eating raw fish and birds.
Births
- 1201 - Arnold Fitz Thedmar, English chronicler (d. 1274)
- 1593 - Izaak Walton, English angler (d. 1683)
- 1631 - John Dryden, English Poet Laureate (d. 1700)
- 1648 - Johann Michael Bach, German composer (d. 1694)
- 1653 - John Oldham, English poet (d. 1683)
- 1674 - František Maxmilián Kaňka, Czech architect (d. 1766)
- 1722 - Augustus William, Prince of Prussia (d. 1758)
- 1726 - Francesco Cetti, Italian Jesuit scientist (d. 1778)
- 1757 - Thomas Telford, Scottish civil engineer (d. 1834)
- 1776 - Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist (d. 1856)
- 1797 - Charles Robert Malden, British naval officer (d. 1855)
- 1805 - Joseph Locke, English railway and civil engineer (d. 1860)
- 1845 - André Besette, Canadian religious figure (d. 1937)
- 1871 - Leonid Andreyev, Russian writer (d. 1919)
- 1872 - Archduke Joseph August of Austria, Austrian field marshal (d. 1962)
- 1874 - Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan composer and conductor (d. 1947)
- 1896 - Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist (d. 1980)
- 1896 - Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychologist (d. 1934)
- 1896 - Erich Hückel, German physicist (d. 1980)
- 1899 - P. L. Travers, Australian author (d. 1996)
- 1901 - Charles Farrell, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1902 - Zino Francescatti, French violinist (d. 1991)
- 1909 - Adam von Trott zu Solz, German diplomat opposing the Nazi regime (executed) (d. 1944)
- 1911 - William Alfred Fowler, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1996)
- 1914 - Tove Jansson, Finnish author, the creator of the Moomins (d. 2001)
- 1914 - Ferenc Fricsay, Hungarian conductor (d. 1963)
- 1919 - Joop den Uyl, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1987)
- 1919 - Ralph Houk, baseball player and manager
- 1920 - Enzo Biagi, Italian journalist and writer
- 1921 - J. James Exon, American politician, 36th Governor of Nebraska & United States Senator from Nebraska
- 1922 - Philip Larkin, English poet (d. 1985)
- 1925 - David A. Huffman, Creator of Huffman coding (d. 1999)
- 1927 - Daniel Keyes, American author
- 1927 - Robert Shaw, English actor (d. 1978)
- 1928 - Bob Cousy, American basketball player
- 1931 - Mário Zagallo, Brazilian football coach and player
- 1931 - Chuck Essegian, baseball player
- 1933 - Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Japanese television personality and children's author
- 1936 - Julián Javier, baseball player
- 1938 - Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian politician
- 1938 - Rod Laver, Australian tennis player
- 1939 - Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy, former President of the European Commission
- 1939 - Brito, Brazilian footballer
- 1940 - Beverlee McKinsey, American actress
- 1942 - Tommie Agee, Baseball player (d. 2001)
- 1943 - Ken Norton, American boxer
- 1944 - Sam Elliott, American actor
- 1945 - Posy Simmonds, English cartoonist
- 1948 - Bill Campbell, baseball player
- 1949 - Jonathan Kellerman, American writer
- 1952 - Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, Thai politician
- 1957 - Melanie Griffith, American actress
- 1959 - Kurtis Blow, American rapper
- 1959 - Stuart Hughes, Canadian actor
- 1961 - Amy Stiller, American actress
- 1962 - Kevin Mack, American football player
- 1962 - Louis Lipps, American football player
- 1963 - Whitney Houston, American singer and actress
- 1964 - Brett Hull, Canadian-born hockey player
- 1967 - Deion Sanders, American football player
- 1968 - Gillian Anderson, American actress
- 1968 - Eric Bana, Australian actor
- 1968 - Karyn Parsons, American actress
- 1969 - Troy Percival, baseball player
- 1970 - Rod Brind'Amour, hockey player
- 1970 - Arion Salazar, American musician (Third Eye Blind)
- 1971 - Davide Rebellin, Italian cyclist
- 1972 - Juanes, Colombian singer
- 1972 - A-Mei, Taiwanese singer
- 1973 - Kevin McKidd, Scottish actor
- 1973 - Filippo Inzaghi, Italian footballer
- 1974 - Mahesh Babu, Popular Indian film actor
- 1974 - Matt Morris, baseball player
- 1976 - Jessica Capshaw, American actress
- 1976 - Rhona Mitra, English actress
- 1976 - Audrey Tautou, French actress
- 1977 - Chamique Holdsclaw, American basketball player
- 1977 - Mikael Silvestre, French footballer
- 1985 - Hayley Peirsol, American swimmer
- 1994 - Forrest Landis, American actor
Deaths
- 117 - Trajan, Roman Emperor (b. 53)
- 378 - Valens, Roman Emperor (killed in battle) (b. 328)
- 803 - Byzantine Empress Irene
- 1107 - Emperor Horikawa of Japan (b. 1079)
- 1250 - King Eric IV of Denmark (b. 1216)
- 1534 - Cardinal Cajetan, Italian theologian (b. 1470)
- 1601 - Michael the Brave, Prince of Wallachia (b. 1558)
- 1634 - William Noy, English jurist (b. 1577)
- 1720 - Simon Ockley, English orientalist (b. 1678)
- 1744 - James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, English patron of the arts (b. 1673)
- 1837 - Xavier Sigalon, French painter (b. 1787)
- 1886 - Samuel Ferguson, Northern Irish poet and artist (b. 1810)
- 1919 - Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (b. 1857)
- 1942 - Edith Stein, (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) (executed) (b. 1891)
- 1945 - Harry Hillman, American athlete (b. 1881)
- 1962 - Hermann Hesse, German-born writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1877)
- 1967 - Joe Orton, English writer (b. 1933)
- 1969 - Abigail Folger, American heiress (murdered) (b. 1943)
- 1969 - Wojciech Frykowski, Polish writer (murdered) (b. 1936)
- 1969 - Cecil Frank Powell, British physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1903)
- 1969 - Jay Sebring, American hair stylist (murdered) (b. 1933)
- 1969 - Sharon Tate, American actress (murdered) (b. 1943)
- 1969 - Steven Parent, American student (murdered) (b. 1951))
- 1975 - Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer (b. 1906)
- 1979 - Walter O'Malley, baseball executive (b. 1903)
- 1985 - Clive Churchill, Australian rugby league player (b. 1927)
- 1995 - Jerry Garcia, American guitarist (Grateful Dead) (b. 1942)
- 1996 - Sir Frank Whittle, invented the jet engine (b. 1907)
- 1999 - Fouad Serageddin, Egyptian politican (b. 1910)
- 2000 - John Harsanyi, Hungarian-born economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1920)
- 2002 - Paul Samson, British guitarist (Samson) (b. 1953)
- 2002 - Peter Neville, anarchist, sociologist, and peace activist
- 2003 - Ray Harford, English footballer and manager (b. 1945)
- 2003 - Gregory Hines, American actor and dancer (b. 1946)
- 2005 - Matthew McGrory, American actor (b. 1973)
- 2005 - Judith Rossner, American novelist (b. 1935)
- 2006 - James van Allen, American physicist (b. 1914)
Holidays and observances
External links
August 8 - August 10 - July 9 - September 9 — listing of all days
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