April 9 is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 266 days remaining until the end of the year.
Holidays
- Bataan Day or Araw ng Kagitingan (Philippines)
- Christian feast day:
- Constitution Day (Kosovo)
- Day of National Unity (Georgia)
- Day of the Finnish Language (Finland)
- Martyr’s Day (Tunisia)
- Occupation of Denmark (Denmark)
- Vimy Ridge Day, commemorating the Battle of Vimy Ridge. (Canada)
- World Konkani Day (Goa)
History
In 190 Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground.
In 193, In the Balkans, the distinguished soldier Septimius Seversus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
In 475, Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite christological position.
In 537, Siege of Rome: The Byzantine general Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements, 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. He starts, despite of shortages, raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges is forced into a stalemate.
In 1241, In the Battle of Liegnitz, Mongol armies defeat Poles and Germans.
In 1288 Mongol invasions of Vietnam: Yuan forces are defeated by Trần forces in the Battle of Bach Dang in present-day northern Vietnam.
In 1388, Despite being outnumbered 16 to 1, forces of the Old Swiss Confederacy are victorious over the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Näfels.
In 1413, Henry V is crowned King of England.
In 1440, Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark.
In 1454, The city states of Venice, Milan and Florence sign a peace agreement at Lodi, Italy.
In 1483, Death of Edward IV, King of England; Richard becomes “Protector” of his ill-fated 12-year-old nephew, Edward V. Edward IV was the King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was the first Yorkist King of England. The first half of his rule was marred by the violence associated with the Wars of the Roses, but he overcame the Lancastrian challenge to the throne at Tewkesbury in 1471 to reign in peace until his sudden death. Before becoming king, he was 4th Duke of York, 7th Earl of March, 5th Earl of Cambridge and 9th Earl of Ulster. He was also the 65th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Edward was an extremely capable and daring military commander. He crushed the House of Lancaster in a series of spectacular military victories, and he was never defeated on the field of battle. He was a popular and very able king, despite his occasional (if serious) political setbacks—usually at the hands of his great Machiavellian rival Louis XI of France. He did lack foresight and was at times cursed by bad judgement, but he possessed an uncanny understanding of his most useful subjects, and the vast majority of those who served him remained unwaveringly loyal until his death.
Domestically, Edward’s reign saw the restoration of law and order in England; indeed, his royal motto was modus et ordo, or “method and order”. The latter days of Henry VI‘s government had been marked by a general breakdown in law and order, as well as a sizeable increase in both piracy and banditry. Interestingly, Edward was also a shrewd and successful businessman and merchant, heavily investing in several corporations within the City of London. He also made the Duchy of Lancaster property of the crown, which it still is today. During the reign of Henry, there had been corruption in the exchequer. Edward made his household gain more control over finances and even investigated old records to see that payments had been made. Documents of the exchequer show him sending letters threatening officials if they did not pay money. His properties earned large amounts of money for the crown.
In 1511, St John’s College, Cambridge, England, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, receives its charter.
In 1553, Francois Rabelais, the French writer, died. He was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes and songs. His best known work is Gargantua and Pantagruel. Rabelais is considered one of the great writers of world literature and among the creators of modern European writing. Rabelais stated in his will, “I have nothing. I owe much. I leave the rest to the poor.”
In 1585, The expedition organized by Sir Walter Raleigh departs England for Roanoke Island (now in North Carolina) to establish the Roanoke Colony. The first colony was established by governor Ralph Lane in 1585 on Roanoke Island in what is now Dare County, North Carolina, United States. Following the failure of the 1585 settlement, a second colony led by John White landed on the same island in 1587, and became known as the Lost Colony due to the unexplained disappearance of its population.
In 1609, Eighty Years’ War: Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of Antwerp to initiate twelve years of truce.
In 1626, Sir Francis Bacon, English jurist and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1561) famously died by contracting pneumonia while studying the effects of freezing on the preservation of meat. He was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, essayist, and author. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. After his death, he remained extremely influential through his works, especially as philosophical advocate and practitioner of the scientific method during the scientific revolution. Bacon has been called the creator of empiricism. His works established and popularised inductive methodologies for scientific inquiry, often called the Baconian method, or simply the scientific method. His demand for a planned procedure of investigating all things natural marked a new turn in the rhetorical and theoretical framework for science, much of which still surrounds conceptions of proper methodology today. Bacon was knighted in 1603 (being the first scientist to receive a knighthood), and created Baron Verulam in 1618 and Viscount St. Alban in 1621; as he died without heirs, both peerages became extinct upon his death.
In 1682, the French explorer Robert LaSalle reached the Gulf of Mexico after traveling down the Mississippi River. La Salle claimed lower Mississippi (Louisiana) for France.
In 1770, Captain James Cook discovers Botany Bay on the Australian continent.
In 1782, American War of Independence: Battle of the Saintes begins.
In 1833, the first tax-supported public library was founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire.
In 1860, On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the oldest known recording of an audible human voice.
In 1864, Battle of Pleasant Hill LA, 2870 casualities.
In 1865, with the Civil War at a virtual end, Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his over 26,000 troops surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant and his Union Army at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. It was estimated that half a million men were killed during the Civil war. Grant allows Rebel officers to keep their side arms and permits soldiers to keep horses and mules. “After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources,” Lee tells his troops.
In 1866, Civil Rights Bill passes over Pres Andrew Johnson’s veto.
In 1867, Alaska Purchase: Passing by a single vote, the United States Senate ratifies a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska.
In 1869, The Hudson’s Bay Company agreed to cede its territorial rights to Canada.
In 1872, dried milk was patented by Samuel R. Percy. What do you do? Add water?
In 1878, the first egg rolling contest on the White House was begun by Lucy Hayes, the first lady.
In 1909, The U.S. Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act.
In 1912, Titanic leaves Queenstown Ireland for NY.
In 1914, Mexican Revolution: One of the world’s first naval/air skirmishes takes place off the coast of western Mexico.
In 1916, World War I: The Battle of Verdun – German forces launch their third offensive of the battle.
In 1917, World War I: The Battle of Arras – the battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
In 1918, World War I: The Battle of the Lys – the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps is crushed by the German forces during what is called the Spring Offensive on the Belgian region of Flanders.
In 1918, The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.
In 1937, The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London – it is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
In 1939, Marian Anderson sings at the Lincoln Memorial, after being denied the right to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution‘s Constitution Hall.
In 1940, German cruiser Blucher torpedoed/capsizes in Oslofjord, 1,000 die.
In 1940, World War II: Operation Weserübung – Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway.
In 1942, World War II: The Battle of Bataan/Bataan Death March – United States forces surrender on the Bataan Peninsula. The Japanese Navy launches an 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 island’s east coast.
In 1945, World War II: The German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer is sunk.
In 1945, World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.
In 1945, The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed.
In 1947, Atomic Energy Commission confirmed.
In 1947, The Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
In 1947, The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court‘s 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel.
In 1948, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán‘s assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia known as La violencia.
In 1948, Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100.
In 1949, the United Nations International Court of Justice delivered its first decision, holding Albania responsible for incidents in Corfu Channel and awarding Britain damages. In 1963, by an act of Congress, British statesman Winston Churchill was made an honorary United States citizen.
In 1952, Hugo Ballivián‘s government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, starting a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalisation of tin mines
In 1957, The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping.
In 1959, Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (b. 1867) dies. He was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1000 structures and completed 532 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. This philosophy was best exemplified by his design for Fallingwater (1935), which has been called “the best all-time work of American architecture”. Wright was a leader of the Prairie School movement of architecture and developed the concept of the Usonian home, his unique vision for urban planning in the United States. His work includes original and innovative examples of many different building types, including offices, churches, schools, skyscrapers, hotels, and museums. Wright also designed many of the interior elements of his buildings, such as the furniture and stained glass. Wright authored 20 books and many articles and was a popular lecturer in the United States and in Europe. His colorful personal life often made headlines, most notably for the 1914 fire and murders at his Taliesin studio. Already well known during his lifetime, Wright was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as “the greatest American architect of all time.”
In 1959, Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States’ first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the “Mercury Seven“.
In 1960, Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and architect of apartheid, narrowly survives an assassination attempt by a white farmer called David Pratt in Johannesburg.
In 1961, The Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles, once the largest electric railway in the world, ends operations.
In 1965, Astrodome opens. First indoor baseball game is played.
In 1967, The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight.
In 1969, The “Chicago Eight” plead not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In 1969, The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford.
In 1975, – The first game of the Philippine Basketball Association, the second oldest professional basketball league in the world.
In 1975, 8 people in South Korea, who are involved in People’s Revolutionary Party Incident, are hanged.
In 1980, The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture.
In 1981, The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS George Washington accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it.
In 1986, President Reagan, describing Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi as “the mad dog of the Middle East,” said the United States was ready to act if it had sufficient evidence Libya was behind terror attacks on Americans. For his part, Gadhafi said he and his top military commanders were ready for any confrontation with the United States.
In 1987, Responding to charges of bugging at the new U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Soviet officials displayed microphones and other gadgets they said were found in Soviet missions in the United States.
In 1987, the National Park Service voted against removing Beale Street in Memphis from the list of National Landmarks.
In 1988, Brook Benton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1931) weakened from spinal meningitis, Brook died of pneumonia in Queens, New York City, at the age of 56. He was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when he scored hits such as “It’s Just A Matter Of Time” and “Endlessly“, many of which he co-wrote. He made a comeback in 1970 with the ballad “Rainy Night in Georgia.” Benton scored over 50 Billboard chart hits as an artist, and also wrote hits for other performers.
In 1988, Dave Prater, American singer (Sam & Dave) (b. 1937) died. He was an American Southern Soul and Rhythm & Blues (R&B) singer and musician, who was the deeper baritone/tenor vocalist of the soul vocal duo Sam & Dave from 1961 until his death in 1988. Dave Prater is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1992), the Grammy Hall of Fame (1999, for the song “Soul Man”), the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame (1997), and was a Grammy Award-winning (1967) and multi-Gold Record award-winning recording artist. Sam & Dave were the most successful and critically acclaimed duo in soul music history, according to Rolling Stone magazine, and brought the sounds of the black gospel church to pop music with their string of call-and-response hit records. Primarily recorded at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1965 through 1968, these songs included “Soul Man”, “Hold On, I’m Coming”, “I Thank You”, and other Southern soul classics. Other than Aretha Franklin, no other soul act during Sam & Dave’s hitmaking Stax years (1966–1968) had more consistent R&B chart success, which included 10 consecutive top 20 singles and 3 consecutive top 10 LPs. “Soul Man” has been recognized as one of the best or most influential songs of the past 50 years by many organizations, including the Grammy Hall of Fame, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Rolling Stone Magazine, and RIAA Songs of the Century. “Soul Man” was used as the soundtrack and title for both a 1986 film and a 1997–1998 television series. Nicknamed “Double Dynamite” for their energetic and sweaty, gospel-infused performances, Sam & Dave were also considered by critics to be one of the greatest live performing acts of the 1960s. The duo has also been cited as musical influences by numerous artists including Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, and Stevie Winwood. The Blues Brothers, which helped create a major resurgence of popular interest in Soul, R&B, & Blues music in the 1980s, was heavily influenced by Sam & Dave (their biggest hit was their top 20 cover of “Soul Man”, and their act and stage show was patterned after Sam & Dave’s).
In 1992, A U.S. Federal court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of cocaine trafficking, money laundering, and racketeering. It is the first time the former head of state in another nation is convicted under United States law.
In 1996, In a dramatic shift of purse-string power, President Clinton signed a line-item veto bill into law.
In 1989, The April 9 tragedy in Tbilisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, an anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strikes, demanding restoration of Georgian independence is dispersed by the Soviet army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
In 1991, Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union
In 1992, A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison.
In 2003, 2003 invasion of Iraq: Baghdad falls to American forces; Iraqis turn on symbols of their former leader Saddam Hussein, pulling down a grand statue of him and tearing it to pieces.
In 2005, Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles; Charles, Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor‘s Guildhall.
In 2008, Chattanooga supposedly has a ‘modest’ downtown fiber build out but has committed to raise and spend $250,000,000 or so on an expanded network. But what if competition comes in and margins go down?
In 2008, While Ted Kennedy Got 40 Years in the Senate – “Man Who Left Friend Pinned in Wreckage Gets 7 Years in Prison”–headline, Greenville (S.C.) News, April 7
In 2008, Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor had fast thinking to do when a live grenade came out of nowhere to bounce off his chest: Take the clear path to safety that he had but his comrades didn’t, try to toss it safely away, or throw himself on top of it. With barely an instant’s hesitation on that Iraqi rooftop, Monsoor took the last course, sacrificing his life to save the men around him. For that, President Bush on April 9 awarded him the Medal of Honor. In an East Room ceremony, Bush presented the nation’s highest military honor to Monsoor’s still-grieving parents, Sally and George Monsoor. About 250 guests, including his sister and two brothers, fellow SEALS, other Medal winners, many friends and GOP Sen. John McCain and other members of Congress, looked on quietly. By spring 2006, Monsoor was deployed to Ramadi in Iraq’s dangerous, then-al-Qaida dominated Anbar Province, as an automatic weapons gunner and communications operator – a double assignment that often landed him more than 100 pounds of gear to carry in the hot desert. In May, Monsoor ran through heavy enemy fire to pull a wounded SEAL to safety. He earned a Silver Star, the third-highest award for combat valor, for that action. It was only four months later, on Sept. 29, 2006, that Monsoor and his two American teammates, plus members of the Iraqi Army, were on a rooftop in a Ramadi residential area known as a stronghold for the Sunni insurgency. They were providing early warning and sniper cover for a mission aimed at trying to clear the neighborhood. After a long day of back-and-forth engagement and evidence that the enemy was closing them off, Monsoor and the two other SEALS moved to a confined outcropping of the roof for a better lookout position. An unseen insurgent lobbed a grenade, which hit Monsoor in the chest and landed on the floor in front of him. He yelled a warning, but quickly saw that his fellow SEALS, not positioned near the exit like he was, wouldn’t be able to get clear in time. Monsoor fell onto the grenade just as it exploded, absorbing the blast with his body and dying from the injuries about 30 minutes later.The Garden Grove, Calif., native, was 25.
In 2009, In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili.
In 2013, At least 37 people are killed and 850 are injured when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake strikes the Iranian province of Bushehr.
In 2013, A gunman murders 13 people in a spree shooting in the village of Velika Ivanča, Serbia.
In 2014, A student stabs 20 people at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
In 2015, Hillary Clinton launched her presidential campaign. Everyone has long expected former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president again in 2016, but nobody knew when she was going to make it official. According to the New York Daily News and The Guardian, Sunday’s the day. Multiple Clinton sources wouldn’t confirm the Sunday launch with other news outlets, but they did say the big announcement is coming very soon. Clinton would be the first Democrat in the race, and the strong favorite to win her party’s nomination. Formally declaring her candidacy this early will let her start raising money, among other perks. New York Daily News
In 2017, The Palm Sunday church bombings at Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, take place.
In 2017, After refusing to give up his seat on an overbooked United Express flight, Dr. David Dao Duy Anh is forcibly dragged off the flight by aviation security officers, leading to major criticism of United Airlines
God Bless and Good Day