On this day in history

July 9

26 births · 11 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

1952 Summer Olympics

74 years ago

Born this day

1956

Tom Hanks

Turns 70

Oldest record

448th

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor

birth anniversary

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Famous births26

1578 · 448 yrs

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria, who were devout Catholics.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 58

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Photo: Unidentified painter · Public domain

1764 · 262 yrs

Ann Radcliffe

Ann Radcliffe (née Ward; 9 July 1764 – 7 February 1823) was an English novelist and poet who pioneered the Gothic novel. Her fourth and most popular novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho, was published in 1794.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 58

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1834 · 192 yrs

Jan Neruda

Jan Nepomuk Neruda (Czech:; 10 July 1834 – 22 August 1891) was a Czech journalist, writer, poet and art critic; one of the most prominent representatives of Czech Realism and a member of the "May School".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 57

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Photo: Jan Vilímek (1860–1938) · Public domain

1858 · 168 yrs

Franz Boas

Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. He was a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScholarshipDied aged 84

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1901 · 125 yrs

Barbara Cartland

Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000) was an English writer and socialite who published both contemporary and historical romance novels, the latter set primarily during the Victorian or Edwardian period. Cartland is one of the best-selling authors worldwide of the 20th century.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 125

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Photo: Allan warren · CC BY-SA 3.0

1911 · 115 yrs

John Archibald Wheeler

John Archibald Wheeler (July 9, 1911 – April 13, 2008) was an American theoretical physicist. He was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr to explain the basic principles of nuclear fission.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 115

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Photo: Emielke · CC BY-SA 3.0

1916 · 110 yrs

Edward Heath

Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath also served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1950 to 2001.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 110

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Photo: Moshe Milner · Public domain

1926 · 100 yrs

Ben Roy Mottelson

Benjamin Roy Mottelson (9 July 1926 – 13 May 2022) was an American-Danish nuclear physicist. He won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the non-spherical geometry of atomic nuclei.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 100

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Photo: GFHund · CC BY 3.0

1929 · 97 yrs

Hassan II

Hassan II (Hassan bin Mohammed Al Alaoui; 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. Hassan was born in Rabat during the reign of his father, Mohammed V, who would later lead Morocco to independence from French and Spanish rule.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyWould be 97

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Photo: Christian Lambiotte · CC BY 4.0

1932 · 94 yrs

Donald Rumsfeld

Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, naval officer, and diplomat who served as the 13th United States secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again as the 21st secretary of defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 94

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Photo: Scott Davis, U.S. Army · Public domain

1933 · 93 yrs

Oliver Sacks

Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in London, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the United States, where he spent most of his career.

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LiteratureWould be 93

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Photo: Maria Popova · CC BY-SA 3.0

1935 · 91 yrs

Mercedes Sosa

Haydée Marta Mercedes Sosa Girón (9 July 1935 – 4 October 2009) was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout Latin America and many countries outside the region. With her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of the nuevo cancionero ('new songbook') movement.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 91

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Photo: Annemarie Heinrich · Public domain

Showing 12 of 26

Famous deaths11

1746 · 280 yrs

Philip V of Spain

Philip V (Spanish: Felipe V; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746), known as "the Spirited" (el Animoso), was king of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 62

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Photo: Jean Ranc · Public domain

1797 · 229 yrs

Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke (12 January 1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish writer, philosopher, and politician who is widely credited as the founder of the cultural and political philosophy of conservatism.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 68

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Photo: Joshua Reynolds · Public domain

1850 · 176 yrs

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850.

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PoliticsDied aged 65

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Photo: James Lambdin · Public domain

1850 · 176 yrs

Báb

The Báb (born ʻAlí-Muḥammad Shírází;; Persian: علی‌محمد شیرازی; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850) was an Iranian religious leader who founded Bábism, and is also one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 30

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1856 · 170 yrs

Amedeo Avogadro

Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro, Count of Quaregna and Cerreto (also US:, Italian:; 9 August 1776 – 9 July 1856) was an Italian scientist, most noted for his contribution to molecular theory now known as Avogadro's law, which states that equal volumes of gases under the same conditions of temperature and pressure…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 80

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Photo: The original uploader was Anton at German Wikipedia . · Public domain

1962 · 64 yrs

Georges Bataille

Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (French:; 10 September 1897 – 8 July 1962) was a French intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 129

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1977 · 49 yrs

Alice Paul

Alice Stokes Paul (January 11, 1885 – July 9, 1977) was an American Quaker, suffragette, suffragist, feminist, and women's rights activist, and one of the foremost leaders and strategists of the campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits sex discrimination in the right to…

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ActivismWould be 141

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Photo: Unknown · Public domain

2002 · 24 yrs

Rod Steiger

Rodney Stephen Steiger ( STY-gər; April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 101

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Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain

2019 · 7 yrs

Rip Torn

Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned roughly 60 years.

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FilmWould be 95

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Photo: Alan Light ; cropped by Beyond My Ken ( talk ) 07:41, 26 January 2011 (UTC) · CC BY 2.0

2019 · 7 yrs

Ross Perot

Henry Ross Perot ( pə-ROH; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

BusinessWould be 96

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Photo: Allan Warren · CC BY-SA 3.0

2023 · 3 yrs

Luis Suárez

Luis Suárez Miramontes (Spanish pronunciation:; 2 May 1935 – 9 July 2023) was a Spanish professional footballer and manager. He played as a midfielder for Deportivo de La Coruña, España Industrial, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Sampdoria; he also represented the Spain national team between 1957 and 1972.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 91

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

Events5

1940 · 86 yrs

Action off Calabria

The Battle of Calabria (Battaglia di Punta Stilo) on 9 July 1940, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War between ships of the Regia Marina and those of the Mediterranean Fleet. The battle took place 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) to the east of Punta Stilo, Calabria.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1943 · 83 yrs

Allied invasion of Sicily

The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which Allied forces invaded the Italian island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis forces. The island was defended by the Italian 6th Army and the German XIV Panzer Corps.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1952 · 74 yrs

1952 Summer Olympics

The 1952 Summer Olympics (Finnish: Kesäolympialaiset 1952, Swedish: Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (Finnish: XV olympiadin kisat, Swedish: Spel i XV Olympiaden) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

1961 · 65 yrs

Profumo Affair

The Profumo affair was a major scandal in British politics during the early 1960s. John Profumo, the 46-year-old Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with then 19-year-old model Christine Keeler beginning in 1961.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

2006 · 20 yrs

2006 FIFA World Cup Final

The final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 18th edition of FIFA's competition for national football teams, was played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, on 9 July 2006, and was contested between Italy and France.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

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