Discover what happened on April 9 in history, along with notable events that shaped American history, exploration, and music.
What Happened on April 9 in History?
Important moments on this day range from the end of the Civil War to major U.S. expansion and a pivotal breakup in music history.
APRIL 9 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1682 – Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovered the mouth of the Mississippi River. He claimed it for France and named it Louisiana.
1833 – Peterborough, NH, opened the first municipally supported public library in the United States.
1865 – Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendere his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
1866 – The Civil Rights Bill passed over President Andrew Johnson’s veto.
1867 – The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty with Russia that purchased the territory of Alaska by one vote.
1872 – S.R. Percy received a patent for dried milk.
1912 – The first exhibition baseball game was held at Fenway Park in Boston, MA. The game was between Red Sox and Harvard.
1913 – On opening day at Ebbets Field, the new home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, fans had to wait for an hour to get into the ballpark because nobody brought the key. The Dodgers lost to Philadelphia 1-0.
1914 – In London, the first full-color movie, “The World, The Flesh & the Devil”, was shown.
1940 – Patent number 2,196,914 was awarded to Sylvan Goldman for his “folding basket carriers”. Today we call it a shopping cart.
1945 – The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was formed.
1945 – National Football League officials made it mandatory for football players to wear socks in all league games.
1950 – Bob Hope made his first television appearance on “Star-Spangled Review” on NBC-TV.
1957 – The Suez Canal was cleared for all shipping.
1959 – NASA announced the selection of America’s first seven astronauts. The news media begins to refer to them as the “Mercury Seven”.
1965 – “TIME” magazine featured a cover with the entire “Peanuts” comic gang.
1965 – The Houston Astrodome opened in Houston, TX. The first indoor baseball game was played.
1967 – The first Boeing 737 made its maiden flight.
1968 – Murdered civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., was buried.
1970 – Paul McCartney quit the Beatles.
1983 – The Space Shuttle Challenger concluded it first flight.
1984 – The song “Flashdance…What a Feeling”, by Irene Cara, won Best Song at the Oscars.
1986 – It was announced that Patrick Duffy’s character on the TV show Dallas would be returning after being killed off.
1987 – Dikye Baggett became the first person to undergo corrective surgery for Parkinson’s disease.
1992 – President George H.W. Bush fell ill at a state dinner in Japan. He became pale, slumped in his chair, and threw up on the Japanese Prime Minister.
2000 – CBS-TV aired “Failsafe.” It was the first live full-length show to by aired by CBS in 39 years.
2001 – American Airlines’ parent company acquired the bankrupt TWA and becomes America’s largest carrier.
2003 – Baghdad fell to American forces. Iraqis turned on symbols of their former leader Saddam Hussein, pulling down a statue of him and tearing it into pieces.
2005 – Prince Charles married longtime love Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, in a civil ceremony in London.
2007 – The iTunes Music Store reached 2.5 billion songs sold.
2007 – Apple announced it had sold its one-hundred millionth iPod.
2009 – The television show “Parks and Recreation” premiered on NBC.
2017 – After 38 years, the Detroit Red Wings played their last game at Joe Louis Arena, beating the New Jersey Devils 4-1 in front of 20,027 fans.
2017 – After refusing to give up his seat on an overbooked United Airlines flight, Dr. David Dao Duy Anh was forcibly dragged off the flight by security officers. This lead to major criticism of United Airlines.
2020 – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended the state’s “Stay Home” order until May 1st.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON APRIL 9:
Richard Rose – 93 years old (1933) – Political scientist and academic
Michael Learned – 87 years old (1939) – Actress
Kay Adams – 85 years old (1941) – Singer-songwriter
Joe Brinkman – 82 years old (1944) – Baseball player and umpire
Steve Gadd – 81 years old (1945) – Drummer and percussionist
Robert Clark – 74 years old (1952) – Author
Ken Kalfus – 72 years old (1954) – Journalist and author
Dennis Quaid – 72 years old (1954) – Actor
Kirk McCaskill – 65 years old (1961) – Canadian-American baseball and hockey player
John Eaves – 64 years old (1962) – Production designer and illustrator
Jeff Turner – 64 years old (1962) – Basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
Marc Jacobs – 63 years old (1963) – American-French fashion designer
Joe Scarborough – 63 years old (1963) – Journalist, lawyer, and politician
Rob Awalt – 62 years old (1964) – German-American football player
Doug Ducey – 62 years old (1964) – Politician and businessman, 23rd Governor of Arizona
Margaret Peterson Haddix – 62 years old (1964) – Author
Rick Tocchet – 62 years old (1964) – Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
Paulina Porizkova – 61 years old (1965) – Czech-born Swedish-American model and actress
Jeff Zucker – 61 years old (1965) – Businessman
Mark Pellegrino – 61 years old (1965) – Actor
Cynthia Nixon – 60 years old (1966) – Actress
Sam Harris – 59 years old (1967) – Author, philosopher, and neuroscientist
Jay Chandrasekhar – 58 years old (1968) – Actor, comedian, writer and director
Austin Peck – 55 years old (1971) – Actor
Jenna Jameson – 52 years old (1974) – Actress and pornographic performer
David Gordon Green – 51 years old (1975) – Director and screenwriter
Kyle Peterson – 50 years old (1976) – Baseball player and sportscaster
Gerard Way – 49 years old (1977) – Singer-songwriter and comic book writer
Jeff Reed – 47 years old (1979) – Football player
Keshia Knight Pulliam – 47 years old (1979) – Actress
Albert Hammond Jr. – 46 years old (1980) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
A. J. Ellis – 45 years old (1981) – Baseball player
Dennis Sarfate – 45 years old (1981) – Baseball player
Kathleen Munroe – 44 years old (1982) – Canadian-American actress
David Robertson – 41 years old (1985) – Baseball player
Mike Hart – 40 years old (1986) – Football player
Leighton Meester – 40 years old (1986) – Actress
Graham Gano – 39 years old (1987) – Football player
Craig Mabbitt – 39 years old (1987) – Singer
Jesse McCartney – 39 years old (1987) – Singer-songwriter and actor
Jazmine Sullivan – 39 years old (1987) – Singer-songwriter
Bianca Belair – 37 years old (1989) – Wrestler
Danielle Kahle – 37 years old (1989) – Figure skater
Kristen Stewart – 36 years old (1990) – Actress
Ryan Williams – 36 years old (1990) – Football player
Ryan Kelly – 35 years old (1991) – Basketball player
Mary Killman – 35 years old (1991) – Synchronized swimmer
Joshua Ledet – 34 years old (1992) – Singer
Raheem Mostert – 34 years old (1992) – Football player
Alexandra Hunt – 33 years old (1993) – Politician
Joey Pollari – 32 years old (1994) – Actor
Elle Fanning – 28 years old (1998) – Actress
Lil Nas X – 27 years old (1999) – Rapper
Jackie Evancho – 26 years old (2000) – Singer
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR APRIL 9:
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For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
