May 9th is History

1092 - Lincoln Cathedral is consecrated.

1671 - Colonel Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.

1873 - Der Krach: Vienna stock market crash heralds the Long Depression.

1901 - Australia opens its first parliament in Melbourne.

1915 - World War I: Second Battle of Artois between German and French forces.


1927 - The Australian Parliament first convenes in Canberra.

1936 - Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after taking the capital Addis Ababa on May 5th.


1945 - World War II: Ratification in Berlin-Karlshorst of the German unconditional surrender of May 8 in Rheims, France, with the signatures of Marshal Georgy Zhukov for the Soviet Union, and for the Western Headquarters Sir Arthur Tedder, British Air Marshal and Eisenhower's deputy, and for the German side of Colonel-General Hans-Jürgen Stumpff as the representative of the Luftwaffe, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel as the Chief of Staff of OKW, and Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg as Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine.

1945 - World War II: The Channel Islands are liberated by the British after five years of German occupation.

1946 - King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Humbert II.

1948 - Czechoslovakia's Ninth-of-May Constitution comes into effect.

1949 - Rainier III of Monaco becomes Prince of Monaco.

1955 - Cold War: West Germany joins NATO.

1964 - Ngo Dinh Can, de facto ruler of central Vietnam under his brother President Ngo Dinh Diem before the family's toppling, is executed.


1970 - Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 75,000 to 100,000 war protesters demonstrate in front of the White House.

1974 - Watergate Scandal: The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.

1992 - Armenian forces capture Shusha, marking a major turning point in the Karabakh War.

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.

2004 - Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov is killed by a land mine under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial victory parade in Grozny, Chechnya.

Famous Birthdays

1740 - Giovanni Paisiello, composer

1892 - Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Empress consort of Austria, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia

1907 - Baldur von Schirach, Nazi official

1920 - Richard Adams, author

1935 - Nokie Edwards, guitarist and actor

1949 - Billy Joel, singer-songwriter and pianist

1968 - Marie-José Pérec, athlete

1971 - Paul McGuigan, bassist

1979 - Rosario Dawson, actress

1985 - Henrique Andrade Silva, footballer

1986 - Grace Gummer, actress

1992 - Chris Gutierrez, actor