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.
• 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 – Korean War: Geochang massacre
• 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)
• 1741 – Henri-Joseph Rigel, German-born composer (d. 1799)
• 1747 – John Thomas Duckworth, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1817)
• 1748 – Luther Martin, American patriot (d. 1826)
• 1751 – Antoine Bullant, Czech musician (bassoon player) and opera composer (d. 1821)
• 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)
• 1792 – Thomas Cooke, Canadian Roman Catholic bishop (d. 1870)
• 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)
• 1883 – Jules Berry, French actor (d. 1951)
• 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, Hungarian stock market expert and speculator (d. 1999)
• 1907 – Donald Coxeter, British-born Canadian geometer (d. 2003)
• 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)
• 1912 – Ginette Leclerc, French actress (d. 1992)
• 1914 – Bill Justice, American Disney animator (d. 2011)
• 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 – John B. Cobb, American theologian
• 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)
• 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
• 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, British cybernetics scientist
• 1954 – Omar Belhouchet, Algerian journalist
• 1955 – Jim J. Bullock, American actor
• 1955 – Charles Shaughnessy, British actor
• 1956 – Mookie Wilson, American baseball player
• 1957 – Gordon Strachan, Scottish football player and manager
• 1958 – Chris Nilan, American ice hockey player
• 1958 – Cyrille Regis, English former footballer
• 1959 – Antonis Manikas, Greek football manager and former footballer
• 1960 – Holly Johnson, British singer (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
• 1960 – Peggy Whitson, American astronaut
• 1961 – John Kruk, American baseball player
• 1961 – Jussi Lampi, Finnish musician and actor
• 1962 – Anik Bissonnette, 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, Belorussian/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 – The Rev, 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 Aranbide, Spanish footballer
• 1984 – Maurice Ager, American basketball player
• 1984 – Han Geng, Chinese singer and dancer (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)
• 1588 – Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral.
• 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)
• 1975 – Pierre Dac, French humorist (b. 1893)
• 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)
• 1997 – Georges Groulx, French Canadian actor (b. 1922)
• 1998 – Maurice Schumann, French politician and writer (b. 1911)
• 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)
• 2009 – Orlando "Cachaito" López, Cuban musician Buena Vista Social Club (b. 1933)
• 2010 – Phil Harris, American fisherman from Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch (b. 1956)
• 2010 – Jacques Hétu, Canadian musician, composer and music educator (b. 1938)
• 2010 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American inventor (b. 1920)
• 2011 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek politician (b. 1939)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Anne Catherine Emmerich
  • Ansbert of Rouen
  • Apollonia
  • Maron (Lebanon)
  • Teilo (Wales)
  • February 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which Clean Monday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday before Easter. (Eastern Christianity)
• Earliest day on which People's Sunday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday before Easter. (Malta)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: February 9

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada