July 9th in History
Andy Warhol’s work “Campbell’s Soup Cans” premiers at the Ferus Gallery, Los Angeles, July 9, 1962. The 32-canvas series is now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Today in History
- Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves (1540)
- George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out loud to the Continental Army (1776)
- The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, guaranteeing equal protection under the law to all persons in the United States, is ratified (1868)
- William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech (1896)
- Australia becomes a united state (1900)
- Future dictator Joseph Stalin is exiled to Siberia for three years (1903)
- Johnny Weissmuller breaks the world record and the “minute barrier” for the 100 meter freestyle swim (1922)
- The silent film archives of Fox Film are destroyed in a vault fire (1937)
- World War II: The amphibious invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) begins (1943)
- World War II: US forces take Saipan (1944)
- Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans exhibition opens (1962)
- Donkey Kong is released by Nintendo, featuring the debut of Mario (1981)
Birthdays
- Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine (1819)
- Jan Neruda, journalist and poet (1834)
- Samuel Eliot Morison, admiral and historian (1887)
- Barbara Cartland, romance novelist (1901)
- Basil Wolverton, comics artist (1909)
- Mervyn Peake, fantasy author (1911)
- Murphy Anderson, comics artist (1926)
- Vince Edwards, actor (1928)
- Lee Hazlewood, singer-songwriter (1929)
- Donald Rumsfeld, politician (1932)
- Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author (1933)
- Brian Dennehy, actor (1938)
- Richard Roundtree, actor (1942)
- Edy Williams, actress (1942)
- Dean Koontz, thriller writer (1945)
- Root Boy Slim, singer-songwriter (1945)
- O. J. Simpson, football player and accused murderer (1947)
- John Tesh, composer and television host (1952)
- Jimmy Smits, actor (1955)
- Tom Hanks, actor and filmmaker (1956)
- Kelly McGillis, actress (1957)
- Courtney Love, singer-songwriter (1964)
- Marc Andreessen, software developer (1971)
- Fred Savage, actor (1976)
- Amanda Knox, accused murderer (1987)
Deaths
- Báb, religious leader (1850)
- King Gillette, businessman (1932)
- Benjamin Cardozo, US Supreme Court justice (1938)
- Fatima Jinnah, Pakistani politician (1967)
- Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court (1974)
- Cornelia Otis Skinner, author (1979)
- Eric Sevareid, television journalist (1992)
- Rod Steiger, actor (2002)
- Isabel Sanford, actress (2004)
- Eileen Ford, founder of the Ford Model Agency (2014)
Holidays and Celebrations
- Arbor Day (Cambodia)
- Constitution Day (Australia)
- Constitution Day (Palau)
- Constitutionalist Revolution Day (São Paulo)
- Day of the Employees of the Diplomatic Service (Azerbaijan)
- Independence Day (Argentina)
- Independence Day (South Sudan)
- Martyrdom of the Báb (Bahá’i)
- National Sugar Cookie Day
- Nunavut Day (Nunavut)
- Winston Churchill Day
July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years). There are 175 days remaining until the end of the year.