09 April History
- 193 - In the Balkans, the distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
- 715 - Constantine ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
- 1241 - In the Battle of Liegnitz, Mongol armies defeat Poles and Germans.
- 1454 - The city states of Venice, Milan and Florence sign a peace agreement at Lodi, Italy.
- 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 on the Australian continent.
- 1859 - Realizing that France has encouraged the Piedmontese forces to mobilize for invading Italy, Austria begins mobilizing its army.
- 1865 - General Robert E. Lee surrenders his rebel forces to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Va.
- 1900 - British forces route Boers at Kroonstadt, South Africa.
- 1916 - The German army launches its third offensive during the Battle of Verdun.
- 1917 - The Battle of Arras begins as Canadian troops begin a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
- 1921 - Russo-Polish conflict ends with signing of the Riga Treaty.
- 1940 - Germany invades Norway and Denmark.
- 1942 - In the Battle of Bataan, American and Filipino forces are overwhelmed by the Japanese Army.
- 1945 - The Red Army is repulsed at the Seelow Heights on the outskirts of Berlin.
- 1950 - Comedian Bob Hope makes his first television appearance.
- 1963 - Winston Churchill becomes the first honorary U.S. citizen.
- 1966 - The statue of Winston Churchill is dedicated at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.
- 1968 - Murdered civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., is buried.
- 1970 - Paul McCartney announces the official break-up of the Beatles.
09 April Birthdays
- 1649 - James Scott, Duke of Monmouth.
- 1821 - Charles Baudelaire, French poet.
- 1826 - Chatham Roberdeau Wheat, Confederate commander during the American Civil War.
- 1865 - Erich Ludendorff, German general during World War I.
- 1879 - W.C. Fields (Claude William Dukenfield), comedian and actor.
- 1898 - Paul Robeson, actor and activist.
- 1905 - J. William Fulbright, U.S. senator from Arkansas.
- 1926 - Hugh Hefner, founder and publisher of Playboy magazine.