Historical events on May 9
MAY 9, 1864
Second Schleswig War: The Battle of Heligoland (depicted), the last naval engagement fought by squadrons of wooden ships, took place between the Danish and Austro-Prussian fleets.
The Second Schleswig War, also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein
Read More
MAY 9, 2005
Pope Benedict XVI began the beatification process for his predecessor Pope John Paul II, waiving the standard five years required after the nominee's death.
Pope Benedict XVI was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation
Read More
MAY 9, 1960
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it would approve the use of Searle's Enovid, the first combined oral contraceptive pill.
The United States Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is
Read More
MAY 9, 1980
Part of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Florida collapsed after a pier was struck by MV Summit Venture, killing 35 people.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, officially referred to as the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, is a pair of long beam bridges with
Read More
MAY 9, 2001
Police at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, Ghana, fired tear gas to quell unrest at a football match, leading to a stampede that killed 126 people.
The Accra Sports Stadium, formerly named the Ohene Djan Stadium, is a multi-use stadium located in Accra, Ghana, mostly used for association
Read More
MAY 9, 1918
First World War: Germany repelled Britain's second attempt to blockade the Belgian port of Ostend.
World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the
Read More
MAY 9, 1977
The Hotel Polen in Amsterdam was destroyed by fire (pictured), leaving 33 people dead.
Amsterdam is the capital and most populated city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June
Read More
MAY 9, 1968
About 200 students at Bucks County Community College held a protest after the college canceled a planned speech by gay rights activist Dick Leitsch.
Bucks County Community College (Bucks) is a public community college in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1964, Bucks has three campuses and
Read More
MAY 9, 1944
World War II: The Japanese Take Ichi convoy arrived at Halmahera in the Dutch East Indies after losing many ships and thousands of troops to Allied attacks while attempting to carry two divisions of troops from China to New Guinea.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all
Read More
MAY 9, 1877
An earthquake struck northern Chile, leading to the deaths of 2,385 people, mostly victims of the ensuing tsunami, as far away as Hawaii and Fiji.
The 1877 Iquique earthquake occurred at 21:16 local time on 9 May. It had a magnitude of 8.5 on the surface-wave magnitude
Read More
MAY 9, 1961
In a speech to U.S. broadcasters, FCC chairman Newton Minow described commercial television programming as "a vast wasteland".
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet,
Read More
MAY 9, 2012
The pilots of a Sukhoi Superjet, ignoring alerts from the terrain warning system, crashed the aircraft into Mount Salak in Indonesia, resulting in the deaths of all 45 people on board.
The Yakovlev SJ-100 is a regional jet originally designed by the now-merged Russian aircraft company Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a division of the
Read More
MAY 9, 1979
Prominent Iranian Jew Habib Elghanian was executed after having been convicted by a revolutionary tribunal of various charges, triggering a mass exodus of Jews from Iran.
Iranian Jews, also Persian Jews, constitute one of the oldest communities of the Jewish diaspora. Dating back to the biblical era, they
Read More
MAY 9, 1992
An underground methane explosion occurred at the Westray Mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, killing all 26 Canadian coal miners who were working at the time.
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CH4. It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent
Read More
MAY 9, 1964
Ngô Đình Cẩn, a younger brother and the confidant of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm, was executed by Nguyễn Khánh's military junta.
Ngô Đình Cẩn was the younger brother and confidant of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm, and an important member of
Read More