May 9

For the World War II-related holiday in some of the Eastern Bloc countries, see Victory Day (9 May).

Events

Pre-1600

• 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.

1601–1900

• 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–present

• 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.
• 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

Pre-1600

• 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)

1601–1900

• 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)

1901–present

• 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
• 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 – 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

Pre-1600

• 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)

1601–1900

• 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)

1901–present

• 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

• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• Home Front Heroes Day in the United States (proposed; locally observed in Dallas, Texas)
• Goku Day (Japan), commemorating the fictional character Goku.

External links

• BBC: On This Day Archived 2022-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
• Template:NYT On this day
• Historical Events on May 9 Archived 2020-09-16 at the Wayback Machine