Historical Events on 9 Jul

Historical Events on 9 Jul

1357 - Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor assists laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague.
1540 - Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
1541 - Estevão da Gama departs Massawa, leaving behind 400 matchlock men and 150 slaves under his brother Christovão da Gama, with orders to help the Emperor of Ethiopia defeat Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi who has invaded his Empire.
1755 - French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition - British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat by French and Native American forces.
1789 - In Versailles, the National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for a French constitution.
1790 - Russo-Swedish War: Second Battle of Svensksund - in the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian fleet.
1793 - The Act Against Slavery is passed in Upper Canada and the importation of slaves into Lower Canada is prohibited.
1807 - Treaties of Tilsit signed by Napoleon I and Alexander I.
1810 - Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire.
1815 - Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince de Benevente becomes Prime Minister of France.
1816 - Argentina declares independence from Spain.
1846 - The territory of the District of Columbia south of the Potomac River (39 mi² or about 100 km²) is returned to Virginia through an Act of Congress.
1850 - President Zachary Taylor dies and Millard Fillmore becomes the 13th President of the United States.
1863 - American Civil War: the Siege of Port Hudson ends.
1867 - An unsuccessful expedition led by E.D Young sets out to search for Dr David Livingstone (Scottish missionary and explorer).
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.
1900 - Queen Victoria gives royal assent to an Act creating the Commonwealth of Australia thus uniting separate colonies on the continent under one federal government.
1918 - Great train wreck of 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'.
1932 - The state of São Paulo revolts against the Brazilian Federal Government, starting the Constitutionalist Revolution
1943 - World War II: Operation Husky - Allied forces perform an amphibious invasion of Sicily.
1944 - World War II: Battle of Normandy - British and Canadian forces capture Caen, France.
1944 - World War II: Battle of Saipan - Americans take Saipan.
1948 - Pakistan issues its first set of Postage stamps, bearing images of the Constituent Assembly, the Jinnah International Airport (Quaid-e-Azam International Airport), and the Shahi Fort.
1955 - The Russell-Einstein Manifesto is released by Bertrand Russell in London.
1975 - The National Assembly of Senegal passes a law that paves way for a (albeit highly restricted) multi-party system.
1979 - A car bomb destroys a Renault owned by famed "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.
1981 - Senegalese political parties Party of Independence and Work and Democratic League - Movement for the Labour Party are legally recognized.
1982 - A Boeing 727 carrying Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana killing all 146 people on board and eight others on the ground.
1984 - York Minster is struck by a lightning bolt and the resulting fire rampages through most of the building. However the cathedral valuables are rescued by clergymen and the "Rose Window" is not affected.
1986 - The New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.
1989 - Two bombs explode in Mecca, killing one pilgrim and wounding 16 others.
1991 - South Africa is readmitted into the Olympic movement after 30 years of exclusion.
1995 - The Grateful Dead play their 2,318th, and last concert of their 30 year career, at Chicago's Soldier Field.
1999 - Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran.
2002 - The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The first chairman is Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa.
2006 - At least 122 people are killed after a Sibir Airlines Airbus A310 passenger jet, carrying 200 passengers on board veers off the runway while landing at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia in wet conditions.
455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed emperor of the Western Roman Empire.