History of 9 April
1900 – British forces routed the Boers at Kroonstadt, South Africa.
1905 – The first aerial ferry bridge went into operation in Duluth, MN.
1912 – The first exhibition baseball game was held at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was between Red Sox and Harvard.
1913 – The Brooklyn Dodgers’ Ebbets Field opened.
1914 – In London, the first full-color film, “The World, The Flesh & the Devil,” was shown.
1916 – The German army launched its third offensive during the Battle of Verdun.
1917 – The Battle of Arras began as Canadian troops began a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
1918 – Latvia proclaimed its independence.
1921 – The Russo-Polish conflict ended with the signing of the Riga Treaty.
1928 – Mae West made her debut on Broadway in the production of “Diamond Lil.”
1940 – Germany invaded Norway and Denmark.
1942 – In the Battle of Bataan, American and Filipino forces were overwhelmed by the Japanese Army.
1945 – National Football League officials decreed that it was mandatory for football players to wear socks in all league games.
1945 – At Bari, Italy, the Liberty exploded and killed 360 people. The ship was carrying aerial bombs.
1947 – 169 people were killed and 1,300 were injured by a series of tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
1950 – Bob Hope made his first television appearance on “Star-Spangled Review” on NBC-TV.
1957 – The Suez Canal was cleared for all shipping.
1959 – NASA announced the selection of America’s first seven astronauts.
1963 – Winston Churchill became the first honorary U.S. citizen.
1965 – “TIME” magazine featured a cover with the entire “Peanuts” comic gang.
1965 – The Houston Astrodome held its first baseball game.
1967 – The first Boeing 737 was rolled out for use.
1968 – Murdered civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., was buried.
1976 – The U.S. and Russia agreed on the size of nuclear tests for peaceful use.
1981 – The U.S. Submarine George Washington struck and sunk a small Japanese freighter in the East China Sea. The Nissho Maru’s captain and first mate died.
1983 – The space shuttle Challenger concluded its first flight.
1984 – Nicaragua asked the World Court to declare U.S. support for guerilla raids illegal.
1985 – Japanese Premier Nakasone urged Japanese people to buy foreign products.
1986 – It was announced that Patrick Duffy’s character on the TV show Dallas would be returning after being killed off.
1987 – Dikye Baggett became the first person to undergo corrective surgery for Parkinson’s disease.
1988 – The U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Panama.
1989 – 16 civilians were killed during rioting in Soviet Georgia.
1989 – Hundreds of thousands marched past the White House in support of the right to abortion.
1991 – Georgia voted to secede from the U.S.S.R.
1992 – Former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega was convicted in Miami, FL, of eight drug and racketeering charges.
1998 – The National Prisoner of War Museum opened in Andersonville, GA, at the site of an infamous Civil War camp.
1998 – More than 150 Muslims died in a stampede in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on last day of the haj pilgrimage.
1999 – In Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh of the ruling Popular Rally for Progress and the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy was elected president.
1999 – In Niger, President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara was assassinated. Daouda Malam Wanke was designated president two days later.
2000 – CBS-TV aired “Failsafe.” It was the first live full-length show to be aired by CBS in 39 years.
2003 – Iraq War: Baghdad falls to American forces.
2005 – Charles, Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor’s Guildhall.
2009 – In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili.
2013 – A 6.1–magnitude earthquake strikes Iran killing 32 people and injuring over 850 people.
2013 – At least 13 people are killed and another three injured after a man goes on a spree shooting in the Serbian village of Velika Ivanča.
2014 – A student stabs 20 people at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
2017 – Palm Sunday church bombings at Coptic Churches in Tanta and Alexandria take place.
2017 – After refusing to give up his seat on an overbooked United Airlines flight, Dr. David Dao Duy Anh has forcibly dragged off the flight by aviation security officers, leading to a major criticism of United Airlines.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Milan Bartovič, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1981 – A. J. Ellis, American baseball player
- 1981 – Ireneusz Jeleń, Polish footballer
- 1981 – Dennis Sarfate, American baseball player
- 1981 – Eric Harris, American mass murderer, responsible for the Columbine High School massacre
- 1982 – Jay Baruchel, Canadian actor
- 1982 – Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer
- 1982 – Kathleen Munroe, Canadian-American actress
- 1983 – Ryan Clark, Australian actor
- 1983 – Willie Colon, American football player
- 1984 – Habiba Ghribi, Tunisian runner
- 1984 – Adam Loewen, Canadian baseball player
- 1984 – Óscar Razo, Mexican footballer
- 1985 – Antonio Nocerino, Italian footballer
- 1985 – David Robertson, American baseball player
- 1986 – Mike Hart, American football player
- 1986 – Leighton Meester, American actress
- 1987 – Kassim Abdallah, French-Comorian footballer
- 1987 – Graham Gano, American football player
- 1987 – Craig Mabbitt, American singer
- 1987 – Jesse McCartney, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1987 – Jarrod Mullen, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Jazmine Sullivan, American singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Michel Alves Baroni, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 – Jeremy Metcalfe, English racing driver
- 1989 – Danielle Kahle, American figure skater
- 1990 – Kristen Stewart, American actress
- 1990 – Ryan Williams, American football player
- 1991 – Ryan Kelly, American basketball player
- 1991 – Mary Killman, American synchronized swimmer
- 1992 – Joshua Ledet, American singer
- 1994 – Joey Pollari, American actor
- 1995 – Domagoj Bošnjak, Croatian basketball player
- 1995 – Robert Bauer, German-Kazakhstani footballer
- 1996 – Jayden Brailey, Australian rugby league player
- 1996 – Emerson Hyndman, American soccer player
- 1998 – Elle Fanning, American actress, and model
- 1999 – Isaac Hempstead Wright, English actor
- 1999 – Montero Lamar Hill, American rapper
- 2000 – Jackie Evancho, American singer