June 9 in History: Donald Duck Debuts, Secretariat Wins the Triple Crown, and the Soo Locks Become Free

Discover what happened on June 9 in history, along with notable events that shaped transportation, sports, entertainment, medicine, and Michigan history.

What Happened on June 9 in History?

Important events on this day include Donald Duck making his cartoon debut, Secretariat winning the Triple Crown, Michigan turning the Soo Locks over to the federal government, the release of the Challenger disaster report, and Pixar’s Cars opening in theaters.

JUNE 9 – TODAY IN HISTORY:

1790 – John Barry copyrighted “Philadelphia Spelling Book.” It was the first American book to be copyrighted.

1845 – St. Vincent’s, the first hospital in Michigan, opened in Detroit. It was housed in a log building by the Sister’s of Charity. It was later renamed St. Mary’s Hospital.

1881 – The State of Michigan turned over ownership of the Soo Locks and canal to the United States Government and made passage free to all vessels. Since the locks opened in 1855 until 1877, the state had collected a four cents toll (later reduced to 3 cents), except from United States government ships.

1931 – Robert H. Goddard patented a rocket-fueled aircraft design.

1934 – Donald Duck made his debut in the Silly Symphonies cartoon “The Wise Little Hen”.

1943 – The withholding tax on payrolls was authorized by Congress.

1959 – The first ballistic missile carrying submarine, the USS George Washington, was launched.

1965 – Michel Jazy ran the mile in 3 minutes, 53.6 seconds. He broke the record set by Peter Snell in 1964.

1973 – Race horse “Secretariat” captured the Triple Crown.

1980 – Comedian Richard Pryor was severely burned by an explosion while freebasing cocaine at his California home. He was hospitalized more than two months.

1984 – In Las Vegas, NV, Larry Holmes beat Ken Norton to retain the heavyweight boxing championship.

1985 – Thomas Sutherland, an American educator, was kidnapped in Lebanon. He was not released until November 1991.

1986 – The Rogers Commission released a report on the Challenger disaster. The report explained that the spacecraft blew up as a result of a failure in a solid rocket booster joint.

1993 – The U.S. Postal Service debuted its Legends of American Music, Rock and Roll-Rhythm and Blues stamp collection. The set featured Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Clyde McPhatter, Otis Redding, Ritchie Valens, Dinah Washington, and Elvis Presley.

1994 – Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes (TLC) set fire to her boyfriend’s house. Her boyfriend was Andre Rison of the Atlanta Falcons.

2000 – Canada and the United States signed a border security agreement. The agreement called for the establishment of a border-enforcement team.

2000 – The U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal gift and estate taxes. The bill called for the taxes to be phased out over 10 years.

2001 – Patrick Roy (Colorado Avalanche) became the first National Hockey League player to win three Conn Smythe Trophies. The award is given to the playoff’s Most Valuable Player.

2003 – Hillary Rodham Clinton’s memoir, “Living History”, was published to mixed reviews and record sales.

2006 – The Disney/Pixar animated movie “Cars”, featuring the character Lightning McQueen, opened in theaters

2011 – The world’s first artificial organ transplant was performed. It was an artificial windpipe coated with stem cells.

2022 – Two people had to be rescued after falling into a tank of chocolate at the M&M Mars factory in Pennsylvania.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JUNE 9:

Dick Vitale – 87 years old (1939) – Basketball player, coach, and sportscaster

Joe Haldeman – 83 years old (1943) – Sci-fi author

Wally Gabler – 82 years old (1944) – Football player and sportscaster

Jim Bailey – 78 years old (1948) – Football player

Fred Jackson – 76 years old (1950) – Football player and coach

Giorgos Kastrinakis – 76 years old (1950) – Greek-American basketball player

James Newton Howard – 75 years old (1951) – Composer, conductor, and producer

Brian Taylor – 75 years old (1951) – Basketball player

Billy Knight – 74 years old (1952) – Basketball player

Ken Navarro – 73 years old (1953) – Italian-American guitarist and composer

Gregory Maguire – 72 years old (1954) – Author

Elizabeth May – 72 years old (1954) – American-Canadian environmentalist, lawyer, and politician

Patricia Cornwell – 70 years old (1956) – Journalist and author

David Ancrum – 68 years old (1958) – Basketball player and coach

Thomas Benson – 65 years old (1961) – Football player

Michael J. Fox – 65 years old (1961) – Canadian-American actor, producer, and author

Aaron Sorkin – 65 years old (1961) – Screenwriter, producer, and playwright

Ken Rose – 64 years old (1962) – Football player

Johnny Depp – 63 years old (1963) – Actor

David Koepp – 63 years old (1963) – Director, producer, and screenwriter

Gloria Reuben – 62 years old (1964) – Canadian-American actress

Eric Wynalda – 57 years old (1969) – Soccer player, coach, and sportscaster

Tedy Bruschi – 53 years old (1973) – Football player and sportscaster

Olin Kreutz – 49 years old (1977) – Football player

Shandi Finnessey – 48 years old (1978) – Model and actress, Miss USA 2004

Heather Mitts – 48 years old (1978) – Soccer player

Hayden Schlossberg – 48 years old (1978) – Director, producer, and screenwriter

Amanda Lassiter – 47 years old (1979) – Basketball player

Mike Fontenot – 46 years old (1980) – Baseball player

Udonis Haslem – 46 years old (1980) – Basketball player

Natalie Portman – 45 years old (1981) – Israeli-American actress

Josh Cribbs – 43 years old (1983) – Football player

Dwayne Jones – 43 years old (1983) – Basketball player

Danny Richar – 43 years old (1983) – Dominican-American baseball player

Sebastian Telfair – 41 years old (1985) – Basketball player

Doug Legursky – 40 years old (1986) – Football player

Ashley Postell – 40 years old (1986) – Gymnast

Mae Whitman – 38 years old (1988) – Actress

Aaron M. Johnson – 35 years old (1991) – Jazz saxophonist

DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JUNE 9:

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