May 9: On This Day
Events, births, deaths, holidays and observances for May 9.
Events 48
- 328 – Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria.
- 1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy.
- 1310 – Nephon, Bishop of Cyzicus, is consecrated as Patriarch of Constantinople.
- 1386 – England and Portugal formally ratify their alliance with the signing of the Treaty of Windsor, making it the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world which is still in force.
- 1450 – Timurid monarch 'Abd al-Latif is assassinated.
- 1502 – Christopher Columbus sets off from Cádiz for his fourth voyage.
- 1540 – Hernando de Alarcón sets sail on an expedition to the Gulf of California.
- 1645 – Scottish Royalist forces under Lord Montrose defeat Covenanter forces under John Urry.
- 1662 – The figure who later became Mr. Punch makes his first recorded appearance in England.
- 1671 – Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
- 1726 – Five men arrested during a raid on Mother Clap's molly house in London are executed at Tyburn.
- 1761 – Exhibition of 1761, the inaugural exhibition of the Society of Artists of Great Britain, opens at Spring Gardens in London.
- 1864 – Second Schleswig War: The Danish navy defeats the Austrian and Prussian fleets in the Battle of Heligoland.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Nathan Bedford Forrest surrenders his forces at Gainesville, Alabama.
- 1865 – American Civil War: President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation ending belligerent rights of the rebels and enjoining foreign nations to intern or expel Confederate ships.
- 1873 – Der Krach: The Vienna stock exchange crash begins the Panic of 1873 and heralds the Long Depression.
- 1877 – Mihail Kogălniceanu reads, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Declaration of Independence of Romania. The date will become recognised as the Independence Day of Romania.
- 1901 – Australia opens its first national parliament in Melbourne.
- 1915 – World War I: Second Battle of Artois between German and French forces.
- 1918 – World War I: Germany repels Britain's second attempt to blockade the port of Ostend, Belgium.
- 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army under General Edward Rydz-Śmigły celebrates its capture of Kiev with a victory parade on Khreshchatyk.
- 1926 – Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of Byrd's diary appears to cast some doubt on the claim).
- 1927 – The Old Parliament House, Canberra, Australia, officially opens.
- 1936 – Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after taking the capital Addis Ababa on May 5.
- 1941 – World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.
- 1942 – The Holocaust in Ukraine: The SS executes 588 Jewish residents of the Podolian town of Zinkiv (Khmelnytska oblast). The Zoludek Ghetto (in Belarus) is destroyed and all its inhabitants executed or deported.
- 1945 – World War II: The Channel Islands are liberated from Nazi occupation.
- 1946 – King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Umberto II.
- 1948 – Czechoslovakia's Ninth-of-May Constitution comes into effect.
- 1950 – Robert Schuman presents the "Schuman Declaration", considered by some to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
- 1955 – Cold War: West Germany joins NATO.
- 1960 – The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill.
- 1969 – Carlos Lamarca leads the first urban guerrilla action against the military dictatorship of Brazil in São Paulo, by robbing two banks.
- 1974 – Watergate scandal: The United States House Committee on the Judiciary opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.
- 1979 – Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000-strong Jewish community of Iran.
- 1980 – In Florida, United States, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 430-meter (1,400 ft) section of the southbound span collapse. Thirty-five people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 46 metres (150 ft) into the water and die.
- 1980 – In Norco, California, United States, five masked gunmen hold up a Security Pacific bank, leading to a violent shoot-out and one of the largest pursuits in California history. Two of the gunmen and one police officer are killed and thirty-three police and civilian vehicles are destroyed in the chase.
- 1987 – LOT Flight 5055 Tadeusz Kościuszko crashes after takeoff in Warsaw, Poland, killing all 183 people on board.
- 1988 – New Parliament House, Canberra officially opens.
- 1992 – Armenian forces capture Shusha, marking a major turning point in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
- 1992 – Westray Mine disaster kills 26 workers in Nova Scotia, Canada.
- 1999 – Mother's Day bus crash kills 22 passengers and injures another 22, including the driver in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
- 2001 – In Ghana, 129 football fans die in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium disaster. The deaths are caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of tear gas by police personnel at the stadium) that followed a controversial decision by the referee.
- 2002 – The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agree to have 13 suspected terrorists among them deported to several different countries.
- 2018 – Barisan Nasional, the coalition that had governed Malaysia since the country's independence in 1957, suffer a historic defeat in the 2018 Malaysian general election.
- 2020 – The COVID-19 recession causes the U.S. unemployment rate to hit 14.9 percent, its worst rate since the Great Depression.
- 2022 – Russo-Ukrainian war: United States President Joe Biden signs the 2022 Lend-Lease Act into law, a rebooted World War II-era policy attempting to expedite American equipment to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries.
- 2023 – The May 9 riots following the arrest of Imran Khan in Pakistan.
Births 113
- 1147 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shōgun (died 1199)
- 1151 – al-Adid, last Fatimid caliph (died 1171)
- 1540 – Maharana Pratap, Indian ruler (died 1597)
- 1555 – Jerónima de la Asunción, Spanish Catholic nun and founder of the first monastery in Manila (died 1630)
- 1594 – Louis Henry, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg, military leader in the Thirty Years' War (died 1662)
- 1617 – Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Eschwege (died 1655)
- 1740 – Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer and educator (probable; (died 1816)
- 1746 – Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (died 1818)
- 1763 – János Batsányi, Hungarian-Austrian poet and author (died 1845)
- 1800 – John Brown, American abolitionist (died 1859)
- 1801 – Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded the town of Fleetwood (died 1866)
- 1814 – John Brougham, Irish-American actor and playwright (died 1880)
- 1823 – Frederick Weld, English-New Zealand politician, 6th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1891)
- 1824 – Jacob ben Moses Bachrach, Polish apologist and author (died 1896)
- 1825 – James Collinson, Victorian painter (died 1881)
- 1836 – Ferdinand Monoyer, French ophthalmologist, invented the Monoyer chart (died 1912)
- 1837 – Adam Opel, German engineer, founded the Opel Company (died 1895)
- 1845 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer and businessman (died 1913)
- 1850 – Edward Weston, English-American chemist (died 1936)
- 1855 – Julius Röntgen, German-Dutch composer (died 1932)
- 1860 – J. M. Barrie, Scottish novelist and playwright (died 1937)
- 1866 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian economist and politician (died 1915)
- 1870 – Harry Vardon, British golfer (died 1937)
- 1873 – Anton Cermak, Czech-American captain and politician, 44th Mayor of Chicago (died 1933)
- 1874 – Howard Carter, English archaeologist and historian (died 1939)
- 1882 – George Barker, American painter (died 1965)
- 1882 – Henry J. Kaiser, American shipbuilder and businessman, founded Kaiser Shipyards (died 1967)
- 1883 – José Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher, author, and critic (died 1955)
- 1884 – Valdemar Psilander, Danish actor (died 1917)
- 1885 – Gianni Vella, Maltese artist (died 1977)
- 1888 – Francesco Baracca, Italian fighter pilot (died 1918)
- 1888 – Rolf de Maré, Swedish art collector (died 1964)
- 1892 – Zita of Bourbon-Parma, last Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (died 1989)
- 1893 – William Moulton Marston, American psychologist and author (died 1947)
- 1894 – Benjamin Graham, British-American economist, professor, and investor (died 1976)
- 1895 – Richard Barthelmess, American actor (died 1963)
- 1895 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (died 1961)
- 1895 – Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (died 1989)
- 1896 – Richard Day, Canadian-American art director and set decorator (died 1972)
- 1900 – Maria Malicka, Polish stage and film actress (died 1992)
- 1907 – Jackie Grant, Trinidadian cricketer (died 1978)
- 1907 – Baldur von Schirach, German politician (died 1974)
- 1908 – Billy Jurges, American baseball player and manager (died 1997)
- 1909 – Gordon Bunshaft, American architect, designed the Solow Building (died 1990)
- 1912 – Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican-American actor (died 1963)
- 1914 – Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian conductor and director (died 2005)
- 1914 – J. Merrill Knapp, American musicologist (died 1993)
- 1914 – Hank Snow, Canadian-American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1999)
- 1918 – Mike Wallace, American journalist (died 2012)
- 1921 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest, poet, and activist (died 2016)
- 1921 – Sophie Scholl, German activist (died 1943)
- 1924 – Bulat Okudzhava, Russian singer, poet, and author (died 1997)
- 1927 – Manfred Eigen, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2019)
- 1928 – Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (died 1995)
- 1928 – Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian figure skater (died 2012)
- 1930 – Joan Sims, English actress (died 2001)
- 1931 – Vance D. Brand, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut
- 1932 – Geraldine McEwan, English actress (died 2015)
- 1934 – Alan Bennett, English screenwriter, playwright, and novelist
- 1935 – Nokie Edwards, American guitarist (died 2018)
- 1936 – Albert Finney, English actor (died 2019)
- 1936 – Glenda Jackson, English actress and politician (died 2023)
- 1938 – Carroll Cole, American serial killer (died 1985)
- 1938 – Charles Simić, Serbian-American poet and editor (died 2023)
- 1939 – Ion Țiriac, Romanian tennis player and manager
- 1940 – James L. Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1941 – Dorothy Hyman, English sprinter
- 1942 – John Ashcroft, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General
- 1942 – David Gergen, American political consultant (died 2025)
- 1943 – Vince Cable, English economist and politician, former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
- 1943 – Colin Pillinger, English astronomer, chemist, and academic (died 2014)
- 1945 – Jupp Heynckes, German footballer and manager
- 1946 – Candice Bergen, American actress and producer
- 1947 – Yukiya Amano, Japanese diplomat (died 2019)
- 1948 – Calvin Murphy, American basketball player and radio host
- 1949 – Billy Joel, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1951 – Alley Mills, American actress
- 1951 – Joy Harjo, American poet, musician, playwright and author, 23rd United States Poet Laureate
- 1955 – Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (died 2012)
- 1955 – Anne Sofie von Otter, Swedish soprano and actress
- 1956 – Wendy Crewson, Canadian actress and producer
- 1956 – Jana Wendt, Australian television host
- 1958 – Chuck Russell, American film director and producer (died 2026)
- 1960 – Tony Gwynn, American baseball player and coach (died 2014)
- 1961 – John Corbett, American actor
- 1965 – Steve Yzerman, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1968 – Ruth Kelly, British economist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
- 1968 – Marie-José Pérec, French sprinter
- 1970 – Doug Christie, American basketball player and coach
- 1970 – Hao Haidong, Chinese footballer
- 1970 – Ghostface Killah, American rapper and actor
- 1973 – Tegla Loroupe, Kenyan runner
- 1975 – Tamia, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1977 – Averno, Mexican wrestler
- 1977 – Marek Jankulovski, Czech footballer
- 1977 – Svein Tuft, Canadian cyclist
- 1979 – Rosario Dawson, American actress
- 1979 – Brandon Webb, American baseball player
- 1980 – Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
- 1983 – Gilles Müller, Luxembourgian tennis player
- 1984 – Prince Fielder, American baseball player
- 1987 – Scott Bolton, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Kevin Gameiro, French footballer
- 1988 – J. R. Fitzpatrick, Canadian racing driver
- 1989 – Ellen White, English footballer
- 1989 – Daniel Rosenfeld, German musician
- 1991 – Majlinda Kelmendi, Kosovar judoka
- 1992 – Dan Burn, English footballer
- 1995 – Tommy Edman, American baseball player
- 1995 – Beth Mead, English footballer
- 1995 – Shaboozey, American rapper and singer-songwriter
- 1996 – Noah Centineo, American actor
- 2000 – Trey Lance, American football player
Deaths 106
- 480 – Julius Nepos, Western Roman Emperor
- 729 – Osric, king of Northumbria
- 893 – Shi Pu, warlord of the Tang Dynasty
- 909 – Adalgar, archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen
- 934 – Wang Sitong, Chinese general and governor (born 892)
- 1280 – Magnus VI of Norway
- 1315 – Hugh V, Duke of Burgundy (born 1282)
- 1329 – John Drokensford, Bishop of Bath and Wells
- 1443 – Niccolò Albergati, Italian Cardinal and diplomat (born 1373)
- 1446 – Mary of Enghien (born 1368)
- 1590 – Charles de Bourbon French cardinal and pretender to the throne (born 1523)
- 1657 – William Bradford, English-American politician, 2nd Governor of Plymouth Colony (born 1590)
- 1707 – Dieterich Buxtehude, German-Danish organist and composer (born 1637)
- 1736 – Diogo de Mendonça Corte-Real, Portuguese judge and politician (born 1658)
- 1745 – Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (born 1663)
- 1747 – John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, Scottish field marshal and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (born 1673)
- 1760 – Nicolaus Zinzendorf, German bishop and saint (born 1700)
- 1789 – Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval, French general and engineer (born 1715)
- 1790 – William Clingan, American politician (born 1721)
- 1791 – Francis Hopkinson, American judge and politician (born 1737)
- 1805 – Friedrich Schiller, German poet, playwright, and historian (born 1759)
- 1850 – Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, French chemist and physicist (born 1778)
- 1850 – Garlieb Merkel, Baltic German author and activist (born 1769)
- 1861 – Ernst von Lasaulx, German philologist and politician (born 1805)
- 1864 – John Sedgwick, American general and educator (born 1813)
- 1889 – William S. Harney, American general (born 1800)
- 1906 – Oscar von Gebhardt, German theologian and academic (born 1844)
- 1911 – Thomas Wentworth Higginson, American abolitionist (born 1823)
- 1914 – C. W. Post, American businessman, founded Post Foods (born 1854)
- 1915 – François Faber, Luxembourgian-French cyclist and soldier (born 1887)
- 1915 – Anthony Wilding, New Zealand tennis player and cricketer (born 1883)
- 1918 – George Coșbuc, Romanian journalist and poet (born 1866)
- 1931 – Albert Abraham Michelson, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1852)
- 1933 – John Arthur Jarvis, English swimmer (born 1872)
- 1935 – Ernst Bresslau, German zoologist (born 1877)
- 1938 – Thomas B. Thrige, Danish businessman (born 1866)
- 1942 – Józef Cebula, Polish priest and saint (born 1902)
- 1944 – Han Yong-un, Korean poet and social reformer (born 1879)
- 1949 – Louis II, Prince of Monaco (born 1870)
- 1950 – Esteban Terradas i Illa, Spanish mathematician and engineer (born 1883)
- 1957 – Ernest de Silva, Sri Lankan banker and businessman (born 1887)
- 1957 – Ezio Pinza, Italian actor and singer (born 1892)
- 1959 – Bhaurao Patil, Indian activist and educator (born 1887)
- 1965 – Leopold Figl, Austrian engineer and politician, 18th Chancellor of Austria (born 1902)
- 1968 – Mercedes de Acosta, American author, poet, and playwright (born 1893)
- 1968 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (born 1894)
- 1968 – Marion Lorne, American actress (born 1883)
- 1968 – Finlay Currie, British actor (born 1878)
- 1970 – Walter Reuther, American union leader (born 1907)
- 1976 – Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (born 1920)
- 1976 – Ulrike Meinhof, German militant, co-founded the Red Army Faction (born 1934)
- 1977 – James Jones, American novelist (born 1921)
- 1978 – Giuseppe Impastato, Italian journalist and activist (born 1948)
- 1978 – Aldo Moro, Italian lawyer and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1916)
- 1979 – Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American banker, businessman, and philanthropist (born 1883)
- 1979 – Eddie Jefferson, American singer and lyricist (born 1918)
- 1980 – Kate Molale, South African activist (born 1928)
- 1981 – Nelson Algren, American novelist and short story writer (born 1909)
- 1981 – Rolf Just Nilsen, Norwegian singer and actor (born 1931)
- 1983 – Henry Bachtold, Australian soldier and railway engineer (born 1891)
- 1985 – Edmond O'Brien, American actor and director (born 1915)
- 1986 – Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese mountaineer (born 1914)
- 1987 – Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian lawyer and politician (born 1909)
- 1989 – Keith Whitley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1954)
- 1993 – Penelope Gilliatt, English novelist, short story writer, and critic (born 1932)
- 1994 – Elias Motsoaledi, South African activist (born 1924)
- 1997 – Rawya Ateya, Egyptian captain and politician (born 1926)
- 1997 – Marco Ferreri, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1928)
- 1998 – Alice Faye, American actress and singer (born 1915)
- 1998 – Talat Mahmood, Indian singer and actor (born 1924)
- 2003 – Russell B. Long, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (born 1918)
- 2004 – Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen cleric and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic (born 1951)
- 2004 – Alan King, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1927)
- 2004 – Brenda Fassie, South African singer (born 1964)
- 2007 – Dwight Wilson, Canadian soldier (born 1901)
- 2008 – Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1929)
- 2008 – Baptiste Manzini, American football player (born 1920)
- 2008 – Nuala O'Faolain, Irish journalist and producer (born 1942)
- 2008 – Pascal Sevran, French singer, television host, and author (born 1945)
- 2009 – Chuck Daly, American basketball player and coach (born 1930)
- 2010 – Lena Horne, American singer, actress, and activist (born 1917)
- 2010 – Otakar Motejl, Czech lawyer and politician (born 1932)
- 2011 – Wouter Weylandt, Belgian cyclist (born 1984)
- 2012 – Bertram Cohler, American psychologist, psychoanalyst, and academic (born 1938)
- 2012 – Geoffrey Henry, Cook Islander lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (born 1940)
- 2012 – Vidal Sassoon, English-American hairdresser and businessman (born 1928)
- 2013 – Ramón Blanco Rodríguez, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1952)
- 2013 – George M. Leader, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Pennsylvania (born 1918)
- 2013 – Humberto Lugo Gil, Mexican lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Hidalgo (born 1933)
- 2013 – Ottavio Missoni, Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni (born 1921)
- 2014 – Giacomo Bini, Italian priest and missionary (born 1938)
- 2014 – Harlan Mathews, American lawyer and politician (born 1927)
- 2014 – Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy, Indian politician, 12th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (born 1935)
- 2014 – Mary Stewart, British author and poet (born 1916)
- 2015 – Edward W. Estlow, American football player and journalist (born 1920)
- 2015 – Kenan Evren, Turkish general and politician, 7th President of Turkey (born 1917)
- 2015 – Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (born 1921)
- 2017 – Robert Miles, a Swiss-born Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ (born 1969)
- 2018 – Per Kirkeby, Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor (born 1938)
- 2019 – Freddie Starr, English comedian, impressionist, singer and actor (born 1943)
- 2020 – Little Richard, American singer, songwriter, and pianist (born 1932)
- 2022 – John Leo, American a writer and journalist (born 1935)
- 2022 – Rieko Kodama, Japanese game developer (born 1963)
- 2024 – Sean Burroughs, American baseball player (born 1980)
- 2024 – Roger Corman, American film director, producer, and actor (born 1926)
- 2024 – Rex Murphy, Canadian political commentator (born 1947)
Holidays and observances 20
- Christian feast day: Beatus of Vendome Christopher (Eastern Orthodox Church) George Preca Gerontius of Cervia Gregory of Nazianzen (The Episcopal Church (US) and traditional Roman Catholic calendar) Blessed Karolina Gerhardinger Nicolaus Zinzendorf (Lutheran) Pachomius the Great Blessed Thomas Pickering Tudy of Landevennec May 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Beatus of Vendome
- Christopher (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- George Preca
- Gerontius of Cervia
- Gregory of Nazianzen (The Episcopal Church (US) and traditional Roman Catholic calendar)
- Blessed Karolina Gerhardinger
- Nicolaus Zinzendorf (Lutheran)
- Pachomius the Great
- Blessed Thomas Pickering
- Tudy of Landevennec
- May 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commemoration of the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands related observances: Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. (Guernsey and Jersey) National Day (Alderney)
- Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. (Guernsey and Jersey)
- National Day (Alderney)
- Europe Day, commemorating the Schuman Declaration. (European Union, Kosovo, Moldova, Ukraine)
- Victory Day observances, celebration of the Soviet Union victory over Nazi Germany (Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) Victory and Peace Day, marks the capture of Shusha (1992) in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the end of World War II. (Armenia)
- Victory and Peace Day, marks the capture of Shusha (1992) in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the end of World War II. (Armenia)
- Home Front Heroes Day in the United States (proposed; locally observed in Dallas, Texas)
- Goku Day (Japan), commemorating the fictional character Goku.