World History of June 9

The Roman emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia.

Nero dies by suicide after quoting Vergil's Aeneid, thus ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty and starting the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors.

The Athenian coup succeeds, forming a short-lived oligarchy.

Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse.

Abbasid Revolution: Abu Muslim Khorasani begins an open revolt against Umayyad rule, which is carried out under the sign of the Black Standard.

Duccio's Maestà, a seminal artwork of the early Italian Renaissance, is unveiled and installed in Siena Cathedral in Siena, Italy.

The Parisian Faculty of Theology fines Simon de Colines for publishing the Biblical commentary Commentarii initiatorii in quatuor Evangelia by Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples.

Jacques Cartier is the first European to describe and map the Saint Lawrence River.

James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of the future U.S. state of Georgia.

The British schooner Gaspee is burned in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.

Irish Rebellion of 1798: Battles of Arklow and Saintfield.

End of the Congress of Vienna: The new European political situation is set.

Five hundred Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa for the Mormon Trail.

American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson concludes his successful Shenandoah Valley Campaign with a victory in the Battle of Port Republic.

American Civil War: The Battle of Brandy Station in Virginia, the largest cavalry battle on American soil, ends Confederate cavalry dominance in the eastern theater.

Treaty of Tientsin is signed to end the Sino-French War, with China eventually giving up Tonkin and Annam - most of present-day Vietnam - to France.

Indian nationalist Birsa Munda dies of cholera in a British prison.

William Jennings Bryan resigns as Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State over a disagreement regarding the United States' handling of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.

Åland's Regional Assembly convened for its first plenary session in Mariehamn, Åland; today, the day is celebrated as Self-Government Day of Åland.

Bulgaria's military takes over the government in a coup.

Charles Kingsford Smith completes the first trans-Pacific flight in a Fokker Trimotor monoplane, the Southern Cross.

A Chicago Tribune reporter, Jake Lingle, is killed during rush hour at the Illinois Central train station by Leo Vincent Brothers, allegedly over a $100,000 gambling debt owed to Al Capone.

World War II: Ninety-nine civilians are hanged from lampposts and balconies by German troops in Tulle, France, in reprisal for maquisards attacks.

World War II: The Soviet Union invades East Karelia and the previously Finnish part of Karelia, occupied by Finland since 1941.

Foundation of the International Council on Archives under the auspices of the UNESCO.

The Flint-Worcester tornado outbreak sequence kills 94 people in Massachusetts.

Joseph N. Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy hearings, giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, "You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

First ascent of Broad Peak by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, and Hermann Buhl.

Aeroflot Flight 105 crashes on approach to Magdan-13 Airport, killing 24.

The USS George Washington is launched. It is the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.

The civilian Prime Minister of South Vietnam, Phan Huy Quát, resigns after being unable to work with a junta led by Nguyễn Cao Kỳ.

Vietnam War: The Viet Cong commences combat with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in the Battle of Đồng Xoài, one of the largest battles in the war.

Six-Day War: Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria.

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a national day of mourning following the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Severe rainfall causes a dam in the Black Hills of South Dakota to burst, creating a flood that kills 238 people and causes $160 million in damage.

In horse racing, Secretariat wins the U.S. Triple Crown.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens its priesthood to "all worthy men", ending a 148-year-old policy of excluding black men.

The Ghost Train fire at Luna Park Sydney, Australia, kills seven.

Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 crashes into the Tararua Range during approach to Palmerston North Airport on the North Island of New Zealand, killing four.

Kosovo War: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO sign a peace treaty.

Two bombs explode at a train station near Algiers, Algeria, killing at least 13 people.

An explosion kills 17 people and injures at least 46 at a hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan.

At least 40 people are killed and more than 70 wounded in a suicide bombing at a wedding party in Arghandab, Kandahar.

Deokjong of Goryeo, ruler of Korea (died 1034)

Blanche II of Navarre (died 1464)

Daniel Heinsius, Belgian poet and scholar (died 1655)

Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer and theorist (died 1666)

Władysław IV Vasa, Polish king (died 1648)

Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, Dutch painter (died 1665)

Sarah Rapelje, the "first white child" of New Netherland (died 1685)

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1705)

Feodor III of Russia (died 1682)

Peter the Great, Russian emperor (died 1725)

Andrey Osterman, German-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1747)

Shiva Rajaram, infant Chattrapati of the Maratha Empire (died 1726)

Giuseppe Demachi, Italian violinist and composer (died 1791)

Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, English general and politician, Governor of Barbados (died 1815)

Samuel Slater, English-American engineer and businessman (died 1835)

George Stephenson, English engineer, designed the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (died 1848)

Otto Nicolai, German composer and conductor (died 1849)

Johann Gottfried Galle, German astronomer and academic (died 1910)

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician and politician (died 1917)

Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie, English author (died 1919)

Michele Rua, Italian Catholic priest and saint (died 1910)

Hazard Stevens, American military officer, mountaineer, politician and writer (died 1918)

Bertha von Suttner, Austrian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1914)

Frank Norton, American baseball player (died 1920)

Michael Ancher, Danish painter and academic (died 1927)

Charles Joseph Bonaparte, American lawyer and politician, 46th United States Attorney General (died 1921)

Pierre Duhem, French physicist, mathematician, and historian (died 1916)

Gustav Heinrich Johann Apollon Tammann, Russian-German chemist and physicist (died 1938)

Jeanne Bérangère, French actress (died 1928)

Albéric Magnard, French composer and educator (died 1914)

Carl Nielsen, Danish violinist, composer, and conductor (died 1931)

Jane Avril, French model and dancer (died 1943)

Launceston Elliot, Scottish weightlifter and wrestler (died 1930)

Henry Hallett Dale, English pharmacologist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1968)

Harry DeBaecke, American rower (died 1961)

Robert Kerr, Irish-Canadian sprinter and coach (died 1963)

Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, Polish general and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Poland (died 1962)

Leslie Banks, English actor, director, and producer (died 1952)

Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter (died 1964)

Irish Meusel, American baseball player and coach (died 1963)

Archie Weston, American football player and journalist (died 1981)

Luigi Fagioli, Italian race car driver (died 1952)

Fred Waring, American singer, bandleader, and television host (died 1984)

Skip James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1969)

Felice Bonetto, Italian race car driver (died 1953)

Marcia Davenport, American author and critic (died 1996)

Robert Klark Graham, American eugenicist and businessman, founded Repository for Germinal Choice (died 1997)

Luis Kutner, American lawyer, author, and activist (died 1993)

Branch McCracken, American basketball player and coach (died 1970)

Robert Cummings, American actor, singer, and director (died 1990)

Ted Hicks, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (died 1984)

Ingolf Dahl, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1970)

Jim McDonald, American football player and coach (died 1997)

Les Paul, American guitarist and songwriter (died 2009)

Jurij Brězan, German soldier and author (died 2006)

Siegfried Graetschus, German SS officer (died 1943)

Robert McNamara, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (died 2009)

Eric Hobsbawm, Egyptian-English historian and author (died 2012)

John Hospers, American philosopher and politician (died 2011)

Arthur Hertzberg, American rabbi and scholar (died 2006)

Jean Lacouture, French journalist, historian, and author (died 2015)

George Axelrod, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2003)

Hein Eersel, Surinamese linguist and Minister of Education (died 2022)

John Gillespie Magee Jr., Anglo-American pilot and poet (died 1941)

Fernand Seguin, Canadian biochemist and academic (died 1988)

Gerald Götting, German politician (died 2015)

Ed Farhat, American wrestler and manager (died 2003)

Keith Laumer, American soldier and author (died 1993)

Herman Sarkowsky, German-American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded the Seattle Seahawks (died 2014)

Calvin "Fuzz" Jones, American singer and bass player (died 2010)

Happy Rockefeller, American philanthropist, 31st Second Lady of the United States (died 2015)

George Nigh, American politician, 17th and 22nd Governor of Oklahoma (died 2025)

Jim Nolan, American basketball player (died 1983)

R. Geraint Gruffydd, Welsh critic and academic (died 2015)

Johnny Ace, American singer and pianist (died 1954)

Barbara, French singer (died 1997)

Jordi Pujol, Spanish physician and politician, 126th President of the Generalitat de Catalunya

Jackie Mason, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (died 2021)

Nandini Satpathy, Indian author and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Odisha (died 2006)

Bill Virdon, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 2021)

Al Cantello, American javelin thrower and coach (died 2024)

Michael Mates, English colonel and politician

Jackie Wilson, American singer-songwriter (died 1984)

Dutch Savage, American wrestler and promoter (died 2013)

Nell Dunn, English playwright, screenwriter and author

Mick O'Dwyer, Irish Gaelic footballer and manager (died 2025)

George Radda, Hungarian chemist and academic

Harald Rosenthal, German hydrobiologist and academic

Jeremy Hardie, English economist and businessman

Giles Havergal, Scottish actor, director, and playwright

Charles Wuorinen, American composer and educator (died 2020)

Ileana Cotrubaș, Romanian soprano and actress

Eric Fernie, Scottish historian and academic

David Hobbs, English race car driver and sportscaster

Dick Vitale, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster

Charles Webb, American author (died 2020)

André Vallerand, Canadian businessman and politician

Richard A. Cash, American global health researcher (died 2024)

Jon Lord, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (died 2012)

Anton Burghardt, German footballer and manager (died 2022)

Nicholas Lloyd, English journalist

John Fitzpatrick, English race car driver

Charles Saatchi, Iraqi-English businessman, co-founded Saatchi & Saatchi

Janric Craig, 3rd Viscount Craigavon, English accountant and politician

Wally Gabler, American football player and sportscaster

Deyda Hydara, Gambian journalist and publisher, co-founded The Point (died 2004)

James Kelman, Scottish author and playwright

Peter Kilfoyle, English politician

Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata, Italian politician and diplomat, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Robert Indermaur, Swiss painter

Robbie Vincent, UK disc jockey and radio presenter

Jim Bailey, American football player

Gudrun Schyman, Swedish social worker and politician

Tim Sullivan, American novelist (died 2024)

Kiran Bedi, Indian police officer and activist

Trevor Bolder, English bass player, songwriter, and producer (died 2013)

Fred Jackson, American football player and coach

Giorgos Kastrinakis, Greek-American basketball player

Michael Patrick Cronan, American graphic designer and academic (died 2013)

James Newton Howard, American composer, conductor, and producer

Dave Parker, American baseball player and coach (died 2025)

Brian Taylor, American basketball player

Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer-songwriter (died 2004)

Billy Knight, American basketball player

Ken Navarro, Italian-American guitarist and composer

Pete Byrne, English singer-songwriter

Paul Chapman, Welsh guitarist and songwriter (died 2020)

Gregory Maguire, American author

Elizabeth May, American-Canadian environmentalist, lawyer, and politician

George Pérez, American author and illustrator (died 2022)

Berit Aunli, Norwegian skier

Patricia Cornwell, American journalist and author

Marek Gazdzicki, Polish nuclear physicist

Joaquín, Spanish footballer

John Le Lievre, British squash player (died 2021)

Kayhan Mortezavi, Iranian director

Francine Raymond, French Canadian singer-songwriter

Nikolai Tsonev, Bulgarian politician

Rudolf Wojtowicz, Polish footballer

Randy Read, English crystallographer and academic

David Ancrum, American basketball player and coach

Peter Fowler, Australian golfer

Steve Paikin, Canadian journalist and author

Thomas Benson, American football player

Michael J. Fox, Canadian-American actor, producer, and author

Aaron Sorkin, American screenwriter, producer, and playwright

Yuval Banai, Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist

Ken Rose, American football player

David Trewhella, Australian rugby league player

Gilad Atzmon, Israeli-English saxophonist, author, and activist

Johnny Depp, American actor

David Koepp, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Gloria Reuben, Canadian-American actress

Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and bass player (died 2009)

Rubén Maza, Venezuelan runner

Jian Ghomeshi, Iranian-Canadian radio personality

Niki Bakoyianni, Greek high jumper and coach

André Racicot, Canadian ice hockey player

Eric Wynalda, American soccer player, coach, and sportscaster

Gilles De Bilde, Belgian footballer and sportscaster

Jean Galfione, French pole vaulter and sportscaster

Jackie McKeown, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist

Matt Horsley, Australian footballer and coach

Aigars Apinis, Latvian discus thrower and shot putter

Tedy Bruschi, American football player and sportscaster

Frédéric Choffat, Swiss director, producer, and cinematographer

Grant Marshall, Canadian ice hockey player

Samoth, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Otto Addo, German-Ghanaian footballer and manager

Ameesha Patel, Indian actress and model

Andrew Symonds, English-Australian cricketer (died 2022)

Usman Afzaal, Pakistani-English cricketer

Paul Hutchison, English cricketer

Olin Kreutz, American football player

Peja Stojaković, Serbian basketball player

Matt Bellamy, English singer, musician and songwriter

Shandi Finnessey, American model and actress, Miss USA 2004

Miroslav Klose, German footballer

Heather Mitts, American soccer player

Hayden Schlossberg, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Dario Dainelli, Italian footballer

Amanda Lassiter, American basketball player

D'banj, Nigerian singer-songwriter and harmonica player

Mike Fontenot, American baseball player

Udonis Haslem, American basketball player

Lehlohonolo Seema, South African footballer

Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress

Parinya Charoenphol, Thai boxer, model, and actress

Yoshito Ōkubo, Japanese footballer

Christina Stürmer, Austrian singer-songwriter

Firas Al-Khatib, Syrian footballer

Josh Cribbs, American football player

Dwayne Jones, American basketball player

Danny Richar, Dominican-American baseball player

Yulieski Gourriel, Cuban baseball player

Jake Newton, Guyanese footballer

Asko Paade, Estonian basketball player

Masoud Shojaei, Iranian footballer

Wesley Sneijder, Dutch footballer

Richard Kahui, New Zealand rugby player

Sonam Kapoor, Indian model and actress

Sebastian Telfair, American basketball player

Doug Legursky, American football player

Yadier Pedroso, Cuban baseball player (died 2013)

Ashley Postell, American gymnast

Jaan Mölder, Estonian race car driver

Jason Demers, Canadian ice hockey defenseman

Sara Isaković, Slovenian swimmer

Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Greek footballer

Mae Whitman, American actress

Dídac Vilà, Spanish footballer

Matthias Mayer, Austrian skier

Antonella Alonso, Venezuelan pornographic actress

Aaron M. Johnson, American jazz saxophonist

Zach Hyman, Canadian ice hockey player

Yannick Agnel, French swimmer

Boyd Cordner, Australian rugby league player

George Jennings, Australian rugby league player

Diego Lainez, Mexican footballer

Nero, Roman emperor (born 37)

Ephrem the Syrian, hymnographer and theologian (born 306)

Spearthrower Owl, Teotihuacan figure active in Mayan Tikal

Columba, Irish missionary and saint (born 521)

Shahrbaraz, king of the Persian Empire

Yang Wo, Prince of Hongnong

Gebhard of Supplinburg, Saxon count

Otto I of Olomouc (born 1045)

Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester

Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Sienese painter (born 1290)

Philippe de Vitry, French composer and poet (born 1291)

William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, English accountant and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (born 1506)

Jeanne d'Albret, Navarrese queen and Huguenot leader (born 1528)

Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1525)

José de Anchieta, Spanish Jesuit missionary (born 1534)

Leonard Calvert, Colonial governor of Maryland (born 1606)

Thomas Tomkins, Welsh-English composer (born 1572)

William Lilly, English astrologer (born 1602)

Banda Singh Bahadur, Indian commander (born 1670)

Jeanne Guyon, French mystic and author (born 1648)

Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Caribbean-French violinist, composer, and conductor (born 1745)

William Carey, English minister and missionary (born 1761)

Charles Dickens, English novelist and critic (born 1812)

Anna Atkins, English botanist and photographer (born 1799)

Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist and conchologist (born 1795)

Mike Burke, American baseball player (born 1854)

William Grant Stairs, Canadian-English captain and explorer (born 1863)

Adolf Bötticher, German historian and author (born 1842)

Sarah Roberts, English woman who was the subject of a vampire legend (born 1872).

Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (born 1846)

Victoria Woodhull, American activist for women's rights (born 1838)

Louis Bennison, American stage and silent film actor (born 1884)

Margaret Lawrence, American stage actress (born 1889)

Alice Gossage, American journalist (born 1861)

František Erben, Czech gymnast (born 1874)

Adolf Busch, German-Austrian violinist and composer (born 1891)

Ernest Graves Sr., American football player, coach, and general (born 1880)

Chandrashekhar Agashe, Indian industrialist and lawyer (born 1888)

Hans Bergsland, Norwegian fencer (born 1878)

Thomas Hicks, Australian tennis player (born 1869)

Ferdinand Jodl, German general (born 1896)

Robert Donat, English actor (born 1905)

Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1876)

Harry S. Hammond, American football player and businessman (born 1884)

Camille Guérin, French veterinarian, bacteriologist and immunologist (born 1872)

Jacques Villon, French painter (born 1875)

Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, British businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (born 1879)

Bernard Cronin, Australian author and journalist (born 1884)

Gilberto Parlotti, Italian motorcycle racer (born 1940)

Chuck Bennett, American football player and coach (born 1907)

John Creasey, English author and politician (born 1908)

Erich von Manstein, German general (born 1887)

Miguel Ángel Asturias, Guatemalan journalist, author, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1899)

Cyclone Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player and civil servant (born 1884)

Allen Ludden, American game show host (born 1917)

Helen Hardin, American painter (born 1943)

George Wells Beadle, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1903)

Claudio Arrau, Chilean-American pianist and educator (born 1903)

Alexis Smith, Canadian-born American actress (born 1921)

Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1903)

Stanley Knowles, American-Canadian academic and politician (born 1908)

Lois Mailou Jones, American painter and academic (born 1905)

John Abramovic, American basketball player (born 1919)

Jacob Lawrence, American painter and academic (born 1917)

Rosey Brown, American football player and coach (born 1932)

Brian Williamson, Jamaican activist, co-founded J-FLAG (born 1945)

Drafi Deutscher, German singer-songwriter (born 1946)

Frankie Abernathy, American purse designer, cast-member on The Real World: San Diego (born 1981)

Algis Budrys, Lithuanian-American author and critic (born 1931)

Suleiman Mousa, Jordanian historian and author (born 1919)

Dick May, American race car driver (born 1930)

Ken Brown, British Guitarist who was a member of The Quarrymen (born 1940)

M. F. Husain, Indian painter and director (born 1915)

Tomoko Kawakami, Japanese voice actress (born 1970)

Mike Mitchell, American basketball player (born 1956)

Régis Clère, French cyclist (born 1956)

John Maples, Baron Maples, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence (born 1943)

Ivan Minatti, Slovene poet and translator (born 1924)

Hawk Taylor, American baseball player and coach (born 1939)

Abram Wilson, American-English trumpet player and educator (born 1973)

Iain Banks, Scottish author (born 1954)

Bruno Bartoletti, Italian conductor (born 1926)

John Burke, English rugby player (born 1948)

Walter Jens, German philologist, historian, and academic (born 1923)

Zdeněk Rotrekl, Czech poet and historian (born 1920)

Bernard Agré, Ivorian cardinal (born 1926)

Stuart Long, American boxer and Catholic priest (born 1963)

Rik Mayall, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1958)

Elsie Quarterman, American ecologist and academic (born 1910)

Alicemarie Huber Stotler, American lawyer and judge (born 1942)

Gustave Tassell, American fashion designer (born 1926)

Bob Welch, American baseball player and coach (born 1956)

Pumpkinhead, American rapper (born 1975)

Pedro Zerolo, Spanish lawyer and politician (born 1960)

Adam West, American actor and investor (born 1928)

Fadil Vokrri, Kosovo Albanian football administrator and player (born 1960)

Bushwick Bill, Jamaican-American rapper (born 1966)

Julee Cruise, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress (born 1956)

Billy Kametz, American voice actor (born 1987)

Matt Zimmerman, Canadian actor (born 1934)

Amir Liaquat Hussain, Pakistani politician, columnist and television host. (born 1971)

Alain Touraine, French sociologist (born 1925)

James Lawson, American activist, professor, and minister (born 1928)

Sly Stone, American musician and record producer (Sly and the Family Stone)