09 April History


Month:                           Date:     

  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.