April 9Birthdays & History

On this day: April 9 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 193The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.Europe
2. 475Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite christological position.Europe
3. 537Siege of Rome: The Byzantine general Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements, 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. Despite shortages, he starts raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges but is forced into a stalemate.Europe
4. 1241Battle of Liegnitz: Mongol forces defeat the Polish and German armies.AsiaEurope
5. 1288Mongol invasions of Vietnam: Yuan forces are defeated by Trần forces in the Battle of Bach Dang in present-day northern Vietnam.Asia
6. 1387The Byzantine city of Thessalonike surrenders to the Ottomans, though rule reverts back to the Byzantines after the battle of Ankara.EuropeMiddle East
7. 1388Despite being outnumbered 16:1, forces of the Old Swiss Confederacy are victorious over the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Näfels.EuropeNorth America
8. 1438The Council of Ferrara begins with its first session in presence of the Patriarch of Constantinople, representatives of the Patriarchal Sees of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem and Pope Eugene IV presiding.Middle EastEurope
9. 1454The Treaty of Lodi is signed, establishing a balance of power among northern Italian city-states for almost 50 years.Europe
10. 1511Resettled Shiite Muslims rise up in the Şahkulu rebellion under the leadership of Şahkulu against the Ottoman Empire.Middle East
11. 1609Eighty Years' War: Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of Antwerp to initiate twelve years of truce.Europe
12. 1609Philip III of Spain issues the decree of the "Expulsion of the Moriscos".Europe
13. 1682Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the Mississippi River, claims it for France and names it Louisiana.North AmericaEurope
14. 1784The Treaty of Paris, ratified by the United States Congress on January 14, 1784, is ratified by King George III of the Kingdom of Great Britain, ending the American Revolutionary War. Copies of the ratified documents are exchanged on May 12, 1784.EuropeNorth America
15. 1860On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the first known recording of an audible human voice.Europe
16. 1865American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the war.North America
17. 1909The U.S. Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act.North America
18. 1917World War I: The Battle of Arras: The battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.North America
19. 1918World 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.Europe
20. 1937The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London. It is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.EuropeAsia
21. 1939African-American singer Marian Anderson gives a concert at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.AfricaNorth America
22. 1940World War II: Operation Weserübung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.Europe
23. 1940Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway.Europe
24. 1942World War II: The Battle of Bataan ends and the Bataan Death March begins.Asia
25. 1942World War II: An Indian Ocean raid by Japan's 1st Air Fleet sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and the Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire.AsiaEuropeOceania
26. 1945The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed.North America
27. 1945World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.Europe
28. 1945Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran pastor and anti-Nazi dissident, is executed by the Nazi regime.Europe
29. 1945World War II: The German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer is sunk by the Royal Air Force.Europe
30. 1946About 500 postal workers in Tel Aviv and Jaffa went on strike.Middle East
31. 1947United Nations Security Council Resolution 22 relating to Corfu Channel incident is adopted.Europe
32. 1947The Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.North America
33. 1947The 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.North America
34. 1948Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist terror groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100 Palestinians.Middle East
35. 1948Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia.Latin America
36. 1952Hugo Ballivián's government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, starting a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalization of tin minesLatin America
37. 1952Japan Air Lines Flight 301 crashes into Mount Mihara, Izu Ōshima, Japan, killing 37.Asia
38. 1957The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping following the Suez Crisis.Middle East
39. 1959Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States' first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the "Mercury Seven".North America
40. 1960Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and architect of apartheid, narrowly survives an assassination attempt by a white farmer, David Pratt in Johannesburg.Africa
41. 1967The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight.North America
42. 1969The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford with Brian Trubshaw as the test pilot.Europe
43. 1980The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture.Middle East
44. 1981The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS George Washington accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it and killing two Japanese sailors.North AmericaAsia
45. 1989Tbilisi massacre: An anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strike in Tbilisi, demanding restoration of Georgian independence, is dispersed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.Europe
46. 1990The Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement is signed for 180,000 square kilometres (69,000 mi2) in the Mackenzie Valley of the western Arctic.North America
47. 1990An IRA bombing in County Down, Northern Ireland, kills three members of the UDR.Europe
48. 1990An Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia collides in mid-air with a Cessna 172 over Gadsden, Alabama, killing both of the Cessna's occupants.North America
49. 1991Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union.Europe
50. 1992A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison.North AmericaLatin America
51. 1994Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-59.North America
52. 2003Iraq War: Baghdad falls to American forces.Middle EastNorth America
53. 2009In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili.Europe
54. 2011Six people and the perpetrator are killed and 17 injured in a mass shooting at a shopping mall in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands.Europe
55. 2013A 6.1–magnitude earthquake strikes Iran killing 32 people and injuring over 850 people.Middle East
56. 2013At least 13 people are killed and another three injured after a man goes on a spree shooting in the Serbian village of Velika Ivanča.Europe
57. 2014A student stabs 20 people at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.North America
58. 2017The Palm Sunday church bombings at Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, take place.Middle East
59. 2020Soyuz MS-16 is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying the Expedition 62/63 crew to the International Space Station.AsiaEurope
60. 2021Burmese military and security forces commit the Bago massacre, during which at least 82 civilians are killed.Asia
61. 2021Soyuz MS-18 is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying three members of the Expedition 64 crew to the International Space Station.AsiaEurope

Source: Wikipedia "April 9" / CC BY-SA 4.0