August 9Birthdays & History

On this day: August 9 in history

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

1. 48 BCCaesar's Civil War: Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt.Middle East
2. 378Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople: A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens is defeated by the Visigoths. Valens is killed along with over half of his army.Europe
3. 1173Construction of the campanile of the Cathedral of Pisa (now known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa) begins; it will take two centuries to complete.Europe
4. 1329Quilon, the first Indian Christian Diocese, is erected by Pope John XXII; the French-born Jordanus is appointed the first Bishop.AsiaEurope
5. 1500Ottoman–Venetian War (1499–1503): The Ottomans capture Methoni, Messenia.Middle EastEurope
6. 1610The First Anglo-Powhatan War begins in colonial Virginia.North America
7. 1638An army under Bernard of Saxe-Weimar defeats imperial troops at the battle of Wittenweiher.Europe
8. 1810Napoleon annexes Westphalia as part of the First French Empire.Europe
9. 1814American Indian Wars: The Creek sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, giving up huge parts of Alabama and Georgia.North America
10. 1830Louis Philippe becomes the king of the French following abdication of Charles X.Europe
11. 1842The Webster–Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States–Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.North America
12. 1854American Transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau publishes his memoir Walden.North America
13. 1855Åland War: The Battle of Suomenlinna begins.Europe
14. 1862American Civil War: Battle of Cedar Mountain: At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson narrowly defeats Union forces under General John Pope.North AmericaEurope
15. 1877American Indian Wars: Battle of the Big Hole: A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army.North America
16. 1892Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.North America
17. 1897The first International Congress of Mathematicians is held in Zürich, Switzerland.North AmericaEurope
18. 1902Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.Europe
19. 1907The first Boy Scout encampment concludes at Brownsea Island in southern England.Europe
20. 1925A train robbery takes place in Kakori, near Lucknow, India, by the Indian independence revolutionaries, against the British government.AsiaEurope
21. 1936Summer Olympics: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games.Europe
22. 1942Dmitri Shostakovich's 7th symphony premieres in a besieged Leningrad.Europe
23. 1942World War II: Battle of Savo Island: Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force.OceaniaAsia
24. 1944The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.North America
25. 1944World War II: Continuation War: The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, the largest offensive launched by Soviet Union against Finland during the Second World War, ends to a strategic stalemate. Both Finnish and Soviet troops at the Finnish front dig to defensive positions, and the front remains stable until the end of the war.Europe
26. 1945World War II: Nagasaki is devastated when an atomic bomb, Fat Man, is dropped by the United States B-29 Bockscar. Thirty-five thousand people are killed outright, including 23,200–28,200 Japanese war workers, 2,000 Korean forced workers, and 150 Japanese soldiers.AsiaNorth AmericaAsia
27. 1945World War II: The Red Army invades Japanese-occupied Manchuria.AsiaAsia
28. 1960South Kasai secedes from the Congo.Africa
29. 1965The State of Singapore separates from the Malaysian federation due to a heated ideological conflict between their ruling parties.Asia
30. 1969Tate–LaBianca murders: Followers of Charles Manson murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanski), coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Polish actor Wojciech Frykowski, men's hairstylist Jay Sebring and recent high-school graduate Steven Parent.Europe
31. 1970LANSA Flight 502 crashes after takeoff from Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport in Cusco, Peru, killing 99 of the 100 people on board, as well as two people on the ground.Latin America
32. 1971The Troubles: In Northern Ireland, the British authorities launch Operation Demetrius. The operation involves the mass arrest and internment without trial of individuals suspected of being affiliated with the Irish Republican Army (PIRA). Mass riots follow, and thousands of people flee or are forced out of their homes.Europe
33. 1973Mars 7 is launched from the USSR.Europe
34. 1974As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first president of the United States to resign from office. Vice President Gerald Ford becomes president.North America
35. 1979Female workers of YH Trading in South Korea hold a sit-in protest in response to the company's unilateral shutdown.Asia
36. 1991The Italian prosecuting magistrate Antonino Scopelliti is murdered by the 'Ndrangheta on behalf of the Sicilian Mafia while preparing the government's case in the final appeal of the Maxi Trial.Europe
37. 1993The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership.Asia
38. 1995Aviateca Flight 901 crashes into the San Vicente volcano in El Salvador, killing all 65 people on board.Latin America
39. 1999Russian president Boris Yeltsin fires his prime minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.Europe
40. 2006At least 21 suspected terrorists are arrested in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot that happened in the United Kingdom. The arrests are made in London, Birmingham, and High Wycombe in an overnight operation.Europe
41. 2007Air Moorea Flight 1121 crashes after takeoff from Moorea Airport in French Polynesia, killing all 20 people on board.EuropeOceania
42. 2012Shannon Eastin becomes the first woman to officiate an NFL game.North America
43. 2013Gunmen open fire at a Sunni mosque in the city of Quetta killing at least ten people and injuring 30.Asia
44. 2014Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American male in Ferguson, Missouri, is shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer after reportedly assaulting the officer and attempting to steal his weapon, sparking protests and unrest in the city.AfricaNorth America
45. 2021The Tampere light rail officially starts operating.Europe
46. 2024Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283 crashes near Vinhedo, São Paulo, killing all 62 people on board.Latin America

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