TODAY HISTORY LESSON: APRIL 9
0193 In the Balkans, the distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
0715 Constantine ended his reign as Catholic Pope.
1483 Edward V (aged 12) succeeds his father Edward IV as king of England. He is never crowned, and disappears presumed murdered, after incarceration in the Tower of London with his younger brother Richard (the “Princes in the Tower”)
1682 Robert La Salle claims lower Mississippi River and all lands that touch it for France.
1731 British Captain Robert Jenkins loses an ear to a band of Spanish brigands, starting a war between Britain and Spain: The War of Jenkins’ Ear.
1770 Captain James Cook discovers Botany Bay (Australia)
1833 1st tax-supported public library (Peterborough NH)
1860 The world’s first recording of the human voice is created
1865 At Appomattox Court House, Virginia, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of Wilmer McClean’s home. Grant allowed Rebel officers to keep their sidearms and permitted soldiers to keep their horses and mules. Though there were still Confederate armies in the field, the war was officially over. The four years of fighting had killed 360,000 Union troops and 260,000 Confederate troops.
1866 Civil Rights Bill passes over President Andrew Johnson’s veto
1869 Hudson Bay Company cedes its territory to Canada
1914 The first full-color film, The World, The Flesh and the Devil, was shown in London.
1916 The German army launches its third offensive during the Battle of Verdun.
1942 American and Philippine troops on Bataan were overwhelmed by Japanese forces during World War II. The “Bataan Death March” began soon after.
1952 The Bolivian National Revolution overthrows Hugo Ballivián’s government
1953 “TV Guide” publishes 1st issue
1959 NASA announced the selection of America’s first astronauts, including Alan Shepard and John Glenn.
1963 Winston Churchill becomes the first honorary U.S. citizen.
1965 “TIME” magazine featured a cover with the entire “Peanuts” comic gang.
1967 The first Boeing 737 takes off on its maiden flight
1974 San Diego Padres owner Ray Kroc, addresses fans “Ladies & gentlemen, I suffer with you I’ve never seen such stupid baseball playing in my life”
1985 Japanese Premier Nakasone urged Japanese people to buy foreign products.
1992 Former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega was convicted of drug and racketeering charges.
1998 The National Prisoner of War Museum opened in Andersonville, GA, at the site of an infamous Civil War camp.
1998 More than 150 Muslims died in stampede in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on last day of the haj pilgrimage.
2003 Baghdad falls to U.S. forces, ending the Invasion of Iraq, but resulting in widespread looting
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
