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.
• 1654 – The Capture of Fort Rocher takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
• 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 candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the US presidential election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.
• 1849 – The new Roman Republic was declared.
• 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 – US president Ulysses S. Grant signs a joint resolution of Congress establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau.
• 1889 – US 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 Svalbard 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.
• 1941 – World War II: The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa, Italy is struck by a bomb which fails to detonate.
• 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: 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: US 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 across the USA.
• 1965 – The United States Marine Corps sends a MIM-23 Hawk missile battalion to South Vietnam, the first American troops in-country without an official advisory or training mission.
• 1971 – The 6.5–6.7 Mw Sylmar earthquake hits the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 64 and injuring 2,000.
• 1971 – Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the USA's Baseball Hall of Fame.
• 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing.
• 1975 – The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.
• 1978 – The Budd Company unveils its first SPV-2000 self-propelled railcar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1986 – Halley's Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System.
• 1991 – Voters in Lithuania vote for independence.
• 1996 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares the end to its 18-month ceasefire and explodes a large bomb in London's Canary Wharf, killing two people.
• 1996 – Copernicium is first discovered.
• 2016 – Two passenger trains collided in the German town of Bad Aibling in the state of Bavaria. Twelve people died, and 85 others were injured.

Births

• 1060 – Pope Honorius II (d. 1130)
• 1274 – Saint Louis of Toulouse (d. 1297)
• 1313 – Maria of Portugal, Portuguese infanta (d. 1357)
• 1344 – Meinhard III, Count of Tyrol (d. 1363)
• 1441 – Ali-Shir Nava'i, Turkish poet, linguist, and painter (d. 1501)
• 1533 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyo (d. 1611)
• 1579 – Johannes Meursius, Dutch classic scholar (d. 1639)
• 1666 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Scottish field marshal (d. 1737)
• 1711 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Spanish sailor and commander (d. 1762)
• 1737 – Thomas Paine, English-American philosopher, author, and activist (d. 1809)
• 1741 – Henri-Joseph Rigel, German-French composer (d. 1799)
• 1748 – Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet, English admiral and politician, Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1817)
• 1763 – Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden (d. 1830)
• 1769 – George W. Campbell, Scottish-American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1848)
• 1773 – William Henry Harrison, American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (d. 1841)
• 1775 – Farkas Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1856)
• 1781 – Johann Baptist von Spix, German biologist and explorer (d. 1826)
• 1783 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet and translator (d. 1852)
• 1789 – Franz Xaver Gabelsberger, German engineer, invented Gabelsberger shorthand (d. 1849)
• 1800 – Hyrum Smith, American religious leader (d. 1844)
• 1814 – Samuel J. Tilden, American lawyer and politician, 28th Governor of New York (d. 1886)
• 1815 – Federico de Madrazo, Spanish painter (d.1894)
• 1834 – Felix Dahn, German lawyer, historian, and author (d. 1912)
• 1837 – José Burgos, Filipino priest and revolutionary (d. 1872)
• 1839 – Silas Adams, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (d. 1896)
• 1846 – Wilhelm Maybach, German engineer and businessman, founded Maybach (d. 1929)
• 1846 – Whitaker Wright, English businessman and financier (d. 1904)
• 1847 – Hugh Price Hughes, Welsh-English clergyman and theologian (d. 1902)
• 1854 – Aletta Jacobs, Dutch physician and suffrage activist (d. 1929)
• 1856 – Hara Takashi, Japanese politician, 10th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1921)
• 1859 – Akiyama Yoshifuru, Japanese general (d. 1930)
• 1863 – Anthony Hope, English author and playwright (d. 1933)
• 1864 – Miina Härma, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1941)
• 1865 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, English-French actress (d. 1940)
• 1865 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (d. 1949)
• 1867 – Natsume Sōseki, Japanese author and poet (d. 1916)
• 1871 – Howard Taylor Ricketts, American pathologist and physician (d. 1910)
• 1874 – Amy Lowell, American poet, critic, and educator (d. 1925)
• 1880 – Lipót Fejér, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
• 1883 – Jules Berry, French actor and director (d. 1951)
• 1885 – Alban Berg, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1935)
• 1885 – Clarence H. Haring, American historian and author (d. 1960)
• 1889 – Larry Semon, American actor, producer, director and screenwriter (d. 1928)
• 1891 – Ronald Colman, English-American actor (d. 1958)
• 1892 – Peggy Wood, American actress (d. 1978)
• 1893 – Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas, Greek lawyer and politician, 163rd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1987)
• 1895 – Hermann Brill, German lawyer and politician, 8th Minister-President of Thuringia (d. 1959)
• 1896 – Alberto Vargas, Peruvian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1982)
• 1897 – Charles Kingsford Smith, Australian captain and pilot (d. 1935)
• 1898 – Jūkichi Yagi, Japanese poet and educator (d. 1927)
• 1901 – Brian Donlevy, American actor (d. 1972)
• 1901 – James Murray, American actor (d. 1936)
• 1905 – David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, English hurdler and politician (d. 1981)
• 1906 – André Kostolany, Hungarian-French economist and journalist (d. 1999)
• 1907 – Trường Chinh, Vietnamese politician, 4th President of Vietnam (d. 1988)
• 1907 – Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
• 1909 – Heather Angel, English-American actress (d. 1986)
• 1909 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1955)
• 1909 – Dean Rusk, American colonel and politician, 54th United States Secretary of State (d. 1994)
• 1910 – Jacques Monod, French biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
• 1911 – William Orlando Darby, American general (d. 1945)
• 1912 – Futabayama Sadaji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna (d. 1968)
• 1912 – Ginette Leclerc, French actress (d. 1992)
• 1914 – Ernest Tubb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
• 1916 – Tex Hughson, American baseball player (d. 1993)
• 1920 – Fred Allen, New Zealand rugby player and coach (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and soprano (d. 2010)
• 1922 – Jim Laker, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1986)
• 1922 – C. P. Krishnan Nair, Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Robert E. Ogren, American zoologist (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Brendan Behan, Irish rebel, poet, and playwright (d. 1964)
• 1923 – Tonie Nathan, American radio host, producer, and politician (d. 2014)
• 1925 – John B. Cobb, American philosopher and theologian
• 1925 – Burkhard Heim, German physicist and academic (d. 2001)
• 1926 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2011)
• 1927 – Richard A. Long, American historian and author (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Frank Frazetta, American painter and illustrator (d. 2010)
• 1928 – Rinus Michels, Dutch footballer and coach (d. 2005)
• 1928 – Roger Mudd, American journalist
• 1929 – A. R. Antulay, Indian social worker and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Clement Meadmore, Australian-American sculptor (d. 2005)
• 1930 – Garner Ted Armstrong, American evangelist and author (d. 2003)
• 1931 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1989)
• 1931 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Robert Morris, American sculptor and painter
• 1932 – Tatsuro Hirooka, Japanese baseball player and manager
• 1932 – Gerhard Richter, German painter and photographer
• 1935 – Lionel Fanthorpe, English-Welsh priest, journalist, and author
• 1936 – Clive Swift, English actor and songwriter
• 1937 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
• 1938 – Ron Logan, Disney theatrical producer and professor
• 1939 – Barry Mann, American pianist, songwriter, and producer
• 1939 – Janet Suzman, South African-British actress and director
• 1940 – Brian Bennett, English drummer and songwriter
• 1940 – J. M. Coetzee, South African-Australian novelist, essayist, and linguist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1941 – Sheila Kuehl, American actress, lawyer, gay rights activist, and politician
• 1942 – Carole King, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1943 – Barbara Lewis, American soul/R&B singer-songwriter
• 1943 – Joe Pesci, American actor
• 1943 – Joseph Stiglitz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1944 – Derryn Hinch, New Zealand-Australian radio and television host and politician
• 1944 – Alice Walker, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
• 1945 – Mia Farrow, American actress, activist, and former fashion model
• 1945 – Yoshinori Ohsumi, Japanese cell biologist, 2016 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
• 1945 – Carol Wood, American mathematician and academic
• 1946 – Bob Eastwood, American golfer
• 1946 – Vince Papale, American football player and sportscaster
• 1946 – Jim Webb, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of the Navy
• 1947 – Carla Del Ponte, Swiss lawyer and diplomat
• 1947 – Joe Ely, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947 – Major Harris, American R&B singer (d. 2012)
• 1947 – Alexis Smirnoff, Canadian-American wrestler and actor
• 1948 – Guy Standing, English economist and academic
• 1949 – Bernard Gallacher, Scottish golfer and journalist
• 1949 – Judith Light, American actress
• 1950 – Richard F. Colburn, American sergeant and politician
• 1951 – David Pomeranz, American singer, musician, and composer
• 1952 – Danny White, American football player and sportscaster
• 1953 – Ciarán Hinds, Irish actor
• 1953 – Ezechiele Ramin, Italian missionary, priest, and martyr (d. 1985)
• 1953 – Gabriel Rotello, American journalist and author, founded OutWeek
• 1954 – Jo Duffy, American author
• 1954 – Chris Gardner, American businessman and philanthropist
• 1955 – Jerry Beck, American historian and author
• 1955 – Jimmy Pursey, English singer-songwriter and producer
• 1955 – Charles Shaughnessy, English actor
• 1956 – Mookie Wilson, American baseball player and coach
• 1957 – Terry McAuliffe, American businessman and politician, 72nd Governor of Virginia
• 1957 – Gordon Strachan, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1958 – Sandy Lyle, Scottish golfer
• 1958 – Chris Nilan, American ice hockey player, coach, and radio host
• 1960 – Holly Johnson, English singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1960 – Peggy Whitson, American biochemist and astronaut
• 1961 – John Kruk, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1962 – Anik Bissonnette, Canadian ballerina
• 1963 – Brian Greene, American physicist
• 1963 – Peter Rowsthorn, Australian comedian and actor
• 1963 – Travis Tritt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1964 – Debrah Miceli, Italian-American wrestler and manager
• 1964 – Dewi Morris, English rugby player
• 1965 – Dieter Baumann, German runner
• 1966 – Harald Eia, Norwegian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1967 – Todd Pratt, American baseball player and coach
• 1968 – Alejandra Guzmán, Mexican singer-songwriter and actress
• 1968 – Derek Strong, American basketball player and race car driver
• 1969 – Jimmy Smith, American football player
• 1970 – Glenn McGrath, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
• 1971 – Matt Gogel, American golfer
• 1971 – Johan Mjällby, Swedish footballer and manager
• 1972 – Darren Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1973 – Svetlana Boginskaya, Belarusian gymnast
• 1973 – Colin Egglesfield, American actor
• 1973 – Makoto Shinkai, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
• 1974 – Brad Maynard, American football player
• 1974 – Amber Valletta, American model
• 1974 – John Wallace, American basketball player and coach
• 1975 – Kurt Asle Arvesen, Norwegian cyclist and coach
• 1975 – Clinton Grybas, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
• 1975 – Vladimir Guerrero, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1976 – Charlie Day, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1978 – A. J. Buckley, Irish-Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1979 – Akinori Iwamura, Japanese baseball player
• 1979 – Irina Slutskaya, Russian figure skater
• 1980 – Angelos Charisteas, Greek footballer
• 1980 – Margarita Levieva, Russian-American actress
• 1980 – Manu Raju, American journalist
• 1981 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor, producer, and musical performer
• 1981 – Daisuke Sekimoto, Japanese wrestler
• 1982 – Domingo Cisma, Spanish footballer
• 1982 – Jameer Nelson, American basketball player
• 1982 – Ami Suzuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
• 1982 – Chris Weale, English footballer and manager
• 1983 – Mikel Arruabarrena, Spanish footballer
• 1984 – Maurice Ager, American basketball player, singer, and producer
• 1985 – David Gallagher, American actor
• 1987 – Sam Coulson, English guitarist
• 1987 – Michael B. Jordan, American actor
• 1987 – Davide Lanzafame, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Magdalena Neuner, German biathlete
• 1988 – Lotte Friis, Danish swimmer
• 1989 – Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, Canadian skier
• 1990 – Tariq Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
• 1991 – Logan Ryan, American football player
• 1992 – Kyle Feldt, Australian rugby league player
• 1992 – Mitchell Frei, Australian rugby league player
• 1993 – Niclas Füllkrug, German footballer
• 1995 – André Burakovsky, Swedish ice hockey player

Deaths

• 967 – Sayf al-Dawla, Emir of Aleppo (b. 916)
• 1011 – Bernard I, Duke of Saxony (b. 950)
• 1135 – Emperor Taizong of Jin (b. 1075)
• 1199 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shogun (b. 1147)
• 1251 – Matthias II, Duke of Lorraine
• 1450 – Agnès Sorel, French mistress of Charles VII of France (b. 1421)
• 1555 – John Hooper, English bishop and martyr (b. 1495)
• 1555 – Rowland Taylor, English priest and martyr (b. 1510)
• 1588 – Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral (b. 1526)
• 1619 – Lucilio Vanini, Italian physician and philosopher (b. 1585)
• 1670 – Frederick III of Denmark (b. 1609)
• 1675 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (b. 1613)
• 1709 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (b. 1664)
• 1777 – Seth Pomeroy, American general and gunsmith (b. 1706)
• 1803 – Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French soldier, poet, and philosopher (b. 1716)
• 1857 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and translator (b. 1798)
• 1874 – Jules Michelet, French historian, philosopher, and academic (b. 1798)
• 1881 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and philosopher (b. 1821)
• 1891 – Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter (b. 1819)
• 1906 – Paul Laurence Dunbar, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1872)
• 1930 – Richard With, Norwegian captain and businessman, founded Hurtigruten (b. 1846)
• 1932 – Junnosuke Inoue, Japanese businessman and banker (b. 1869)
• 1932 – A.K. Golam Jilani, Bangladeshi soldier and activist (b. 1904)
• 1945 – Ella D. Barrier, American educator (b. 1852)
• 1951 – Eddy Duchin, American pianist, bandleader, and actor (b. 1910)
• 1957 – Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (b. 1868)
• 1960 – Alexandre Benois, Russian painter and critic (b. 1870)
• 1960 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1877)
• 1965 – Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah, Bangladeshi theologian and educator (b. 1874)
• 1966 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer (b. 1884)
• 1969 – George "Gabby" Hayes, American actor and singer (b. 1885)
• 1976 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1908)
• 1977 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer and businessman, founded the Ilyushin Design Company (b. 1894)
• 1978 – Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist and coach (b. 1893)
• 1979 – Allen Tate, American poet and academic (b. 1899)
• 1980 – Tom Macdonald, Welsh journalist and author (b. 1900)
• 1981 – M. C. Chagla, Indian jurist and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1900)
• 1981 – Bill Haley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1925)
• 1984 – Yuri Andropov, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1914)
• 1989 – Osamu Tezuka, Japanese illustrator, animator, and producer (b. 1928)
• 1994 – Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
• 1995 – J. William Fulbright, American lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
• 1995 – David Wayne, American actor (b. 1914)
• 1998 – Maurice Schumann, French journalist and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1911)
• 2001 – Herbert A. Simon, American political scientist, economist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
• 2002 – Isabelle Holland, Swiss-American author (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (b. 1930)
• 2003 – Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
• 2004 – Claude Ryan, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1925)
• 2005 – Robert Kearns, American engineer, invented the windscreen wiper (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Freddie Laker, English pilot and businessman, founded Laker Airways (b. 1922)
• 2007 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1922)
• 2007 – Ian Richardson, Scottish actor (b. 1934)
• 2008 – Christopher Hyatt American occultist and author (b. 1943)
• 2008 – Jazeh Tabatabai, Iranian painter, poet, and sculptor (b. 1931)
• 2009 – Orlando "Cachaíto" López, Cuban bassist and composer (b. 1933)
• 2010 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (b. 1920)
• 2011 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek lawyer and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (b. 1939)
• 2012 – O. P. Dutta, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 2012 – John Hick, English philosopher and academic (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Joe Moretti, Scottish-South African guitarist and songwriter (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Richard Artschwager, American painter, illustrator, and sculptor (b. 1923)
• 2013 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist and trainer (b. 1913)
• 2013 – Jimmy Smyth, Irish hurler (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Gabriel Axel, Danish actor, director, and producer (b. 1918)
• 2014 – Hal Herring, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
• 2014 – Logan Scott-Bowden, English general (b. 1920)
• 2015 – Liu Han, Chinese businessman and philanthropist (b. 1965)
• 2015 – Ed Sabol, American film producer, co-founded NFL Films (b. 1916)
• 2016 – Sushil Koirala, Nepalese politician, 37th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1939)
• 2016 – Zdravko Tolimir, Bosnian Serb military commander (b. 1948)
• 2017 – André Salvat, French Army colonel (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
  • Ansbert of Rouen
  • Apollonia
  • Blessed Leopold of Alpandeire
  • Maron (Maronite Church)
  • Miguel Febres Cordero
  • 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 of Great Lent. (Eastern Christianity)
• Earliest day on which People's Sunday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent. (Malta)
• St. Maroun's Day (public holiday in Lebanon)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History