April 9th in History

193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans).

537 - Siege of Rome: The Byzantine general Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements, 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. He starts, despite of shortages, raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges is forced into a stalemate.


1413 - Henry V is crowned King of England.

1440 - Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark.


1585 - The expedition organised by Sir Walter Raleigh departs England for Roanoke Island (now in North Carolina) to establish the Roanoke Colony.

1609 - Eighty Years' War: Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of Antwerp to initiate twelve years of truce.

1682 - Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the Mississippi River, claims it for France and names it Louisiana.

1860 - On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the oldest known recording of an audible human voice.

1865 - American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the war.

1867 - Alaska purchase: Passing by a single vote, the United States Senate ratifies a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska.

1917 - World War I: The Battle of Arras – the battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.

1918 - The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.


1940 - World War II: Operation Weserübung – Germany invades Denmark and Norway.

1940 - Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway.


1945 - World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.

1945 - The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed.

1948 - Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia known as La violencia.

1957 - The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping.

1967 - The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight.

1989 - The April 9 tragedy in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR an anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strikes, demanding restoration of Georgian independence is dispersed by the Soviet army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.


1992 - John Major's Conservative Party wins an unprecedented fourth general election victory in the United Kingdom.

2003 - 2003 invasion of Iraq: Baghdad falls to American forces;Saddam Hussein statue topples as Iraqis turn on symbols of their former leader, pulling down the statue and tearing it to pieces.

2005 - Wedding of HRH Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles; Charles, Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall.

2009 - In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili.

Famous Birthdays

1498 - John, Cardinal of Lorraine

1634 - Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau

1835 - King Leopold II of Belgium

1867 - Chris Watson, Prime Minister of Australia

1882 - Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

1901 - Paul Willis, actor

1917 - Brad Dexter, actor

1926 - Hugh Hefner, magazine publisher, founder of Playboy Enterprises

1930 - Wallace McCain, businessman, founder of McCain Foods

1942 - Brandon deWilde, actor

1964 - Margaret Peterson Haddix, author

1965 - Mark Pellegrino, actor

1971 - Austin Peck, actor

1978 - Veronica Taylor, actress

1980 - Ryan Northcott, actor

1983 - Ryan Clark, actor

1988 - Jeremy Metcalfe, race car driver

1990 - Kristen Stewart, actress

1998 - Elle Fanning, actress