YouTube download / AP video / Highlights of this day in history: William Jennings Bryan gives his 'Cross of Gold' speech; Britain's Princess Elizabeth engaged; Boxer Mike Tyson punished for biting Evander Holyfield's ear; Actor Tom Hanks born; Actor Rod Steiger dies. (July 9)
July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 175 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events:
- 1776 – George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British troops on Staten Island prepare for the Battle of Long Island.
- 1790 – The Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian Baltic fleet.
- 1793 – The Act Against Slavery in Upper Canada bans the importation of slaves and will free those who are born into slavery after the passage of the Act at 25 years of age.
- 1816 – Argentina declares independence from Spain.
- 1821 – Four hundred and seventy prominent Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos are executed in response to Cypriot aid to the Greek War of Independence
- 1850 – U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies after eating raw fruit and iced milk, he is succeeded in office by Vice President Millard Fillmore.
- 1850 – Persian prophet Báb is executed in Tabriz, Persia.
- 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
- 1875 – The Herzegovina Uprising against Ottoman rule begins, which would last until 1878 and have far-reaching implications throughout the Balkans.
- 1877 – The inaugural Wimbledon Championships begins.
- 1896 – William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetallism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
- 1900 – The Governor of Shanxi province in North China orders the execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children.
- 1918 – In Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collides with an outbound express, killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest rail accident in United States history.
- 1922 – Johnny Weissmuller swims the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the 'minute barrier'.
- 1937 – The silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation are destroyed by the 1937 Fox vault fire.
- 1943 – The Allied invasion of Sicily soon causes the downfall of Mussolini and forces Hitler to break off the Battle of Kursk.
- 1944 – American forces take Saipan, bringing the Japanese archipelago within range of B-29 raids, and causing the downfall of the Tojo government.
- 1944 – Finland wins the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in northern Europe. The Red Army withdraws its troops from Ihantala and digs into a defensive position, thus ending the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive.
- 1955 – The Russell–Einstein Manifesto calls for a reduction of the risk of nuclear warfare.
- 1982 – Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana, killing all 145 people on board and eight others on the ground.
- 1986 – The New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.
- 1995 – The Navaly church bombing is carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force killing 125 Tamil civilian refugees.
- 1999 – Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran.
- 2006 – 125 people are killed when S7 Airlines Flight 778, a Airbus A310 passenger jet, veers off the runway while landing in wet conditions at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia.
- 2011 – South Sudan gains independence and secedes from Sudan.
- 2014 – A gunman kills six people including four children near Spring, Texas.
Famous Births:
Shown here: Brian Dennehy, John Tesh, Jim Kerr, Kevin Nash & Courtney Love.
- 1932 – Donald Rumsfeld, American captain and politician, 13th United States Secretary of Defense
- 1938 – Brian Dennehy, American actor
- 1947 – O. J. Simpson, American football player and actor
- 1950 – Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian engineer and politician, 4th President of Ukraine
- 1952 – John Tesh, American pianist, composer, and radio and television host
- 1955 – Jimmy Smits, American actor and producer
- 1957 – Kelly McGillis, American actress
- 1957 – Jim Paxson, American basketball player and manager
- 1959 – Jim Kerr, Scottish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1959 – Kevin Nash, American wrestler
- 1964 – Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1975 – Shelton Benjamin, American wrestler
- 1975 – Jack White, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1976 – Fred Savage, American actor, director, and producer
- 1990 – Earl Bamber, New Zealand race car driver
Famous Deaths:
- 1850 – Zachary Taylor, American general and politician, 12th President of the United States (b. 1784)
- 1974 – Earl Warren, American jurist and politician, 14th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1891)
- 1992 – Eric Sevareid, American journalist (b. 1912)
- 2002 – Rod Steiger, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1940)
- 2015 – David M. Raup, American paleontologist and academic (b. 1933)
Holidays & Observances:
- Arbor Day (Cambodia)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Agilulfus of Cologne
- Amandina of Schakkebroek (one of Martyrs of Southern Hunan)
- Blessed Marija Petković
- Everilda
- Gregorio Grassi (one of Martyrs of Shanxi)
- Martyr Saints of China
- Martyrs of Gorkum
- Our Lady of Itatí
- Our Lady of Peace, Octave of the Visitation
- Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá
- Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus
- Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury (Anglican commemoration)
- Veronica Giuliani
- July 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Australia
Source, Wikipedia forJuly 9
Facebook Birthdays:
Greg Snell, a private attorney in Daytona Beach, is shown here.
Greg Snell of Daytona Beach, Flagler Organics of Bunnell and Sumit Yadav of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India...
-- Compiled by Henry Frederick, Headline Surfer