Major Events
- 1401 Turko-Mongol ruler Tamerlane (Timur) destroys Baghdad, killing 20,000
- 1790 Russo-Swedish War: Second Battle of Svensksund - in the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian fleet
- 1868 Louisiana and South Carolina are the last states to ratify the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing civil rights
- 1893 Daniel Hale Williams repairs the torn pericardium of a knife wound patient, James Cornish, without penicillin or blood transfusion
- 1917 British battleship HMS Vanguard explodes at Scapa Flow (the result of an internal explosion of faulty cordite), killing 804
- 1971 Henry Kissinger visits the People's Republic of China to negotiate a detente between the US and China
- 2002 The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The first chairman is Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa.
- 2017 Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proclaims victory over Islamic State forces in Mosul
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Jul 9 in Film & TV
- 2001 "The Office" mockumentary created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, starring Ricky Gervais and Martin Freeman premieres on BBC Two in the UK
- 2023 Fantasy comedy film "Barbie", starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and directed by Greta Gerwig premieres at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles
Jul 9 in Music
- 1955 Bill Haley & His Comets "Rock Around the Clock" tops the billboards chart, one of the best-selling singles ever
Jul 9 in Sport
- 1877 First ever Wimbledon tennis championship begins - first official lawn tennis tournament - men's singles only
Did You Know?
Nintendo release arcade game "Donkey Kong" created by Shigeru Miyamoto in Japan (July 31 in the US)
Fun Fact About July 9
Bright pink is the world's oldest biological colour according to scientists, produced by tiny cyanobacteria in 1.1bn-year-old marine shale rock from Taoudeni basin, Mauritania
Famous Weddings
- 1735 Author, poet, critic and lexicographer and writer of the first English dictionary Dr. Samuel Johnson (25) marries the widow Elizabeth "Tetty" Porter, 21 years his senior
- 1842 American "The Scarlett Letter" writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (38) marries American painter and illustrator Sophia Peabody (33) in the Peabody's home, Boston, until his death in 1864
- 1894 Scottish "Peter Pan" creator J.M. Barrie (34) weds British actress Mary Ansell (33) in Kirriemuir, Scotland; divorce in 1909,
Famous Divorces
- 1540 English King Henry VIII annuls his 6 month marriage to his 4th wife Anne of Cleves, on the grounds of non-consummation and her pre-contract to Francis of Lorraine
- 2007 Former contestant on "The Apprentice" and beauty queen Jennifer Murphy (28) divorces "Extreme Makeover" Bill Dorfman (48) due to irreconcilable differences after 1 year of marriage
More July 9 Weddings
Articles, Photos and Quiz
Battle of Svolder
The Battle of Svolder, a naval battle fought between King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and an alliance of his enemies
July 9, 1000$48 Million Prize Money: Anyone For Tennis?
The first Wimbledon Men’s Singles championship began on this day. The winner received prize money of $15. In 2022 the champion took away more than $2 million.
July 9, 1877HMS Vanguard Disaster
HMS Vanguard in 1909
July 9, 1917