May 9th in History

Michael Dobson | May 9

Today in History

  • Admiral Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole, though later information casts doubt on their claim (1926)
  • The Royal Navy captures the German submarine U-110, acquiring an Enigma machine. (1941 — the film U-571 is based on this incident, but with Americans doing the capture)
  • The US FDA approves the world’s first oral contraceptive pill (1960)
  • US FCC Chairman Newton Minow gives his famous speech comparing television to a “vast wasteland” (1961)
  • Watergate: The US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opens impeachment hearings against Richard Nixon (1974)

Birthdays

  • John Brown, abolitionist (1800)
  • Adam Opel, car maker (1837)
  • J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan (1860)
  • Henry Kaiser, shipbuilder (1882)
  • José Ortega y Gasset, philosopher (1883)
  • William Moulton Marston, inventor and creator of Wonder Woman (1893)
  • Hank Snow, singer-songwriter (1914)
  • William Pène du Bois, children’s author (1916)
  • Mike Wallace, television journalist (1918)
  • Richard Adams, author (1920)
  • Daniel Berrigan, priest and activist (1921)
  • Pancho Gonzales, tennis player (1928)
  • Jessica Steele, romance author (1933)
  • Alan Bennett, actor and author (1934)
  • Albert Finney, actor (1936)
  • Glenda Jackson, actress (1936)
  • Dave Prater, partner in Sam & Dave (1937)
  • Tommy Roe, singer-songwriter (1942)
  • Candice Bergen, actress (1946)
  • Calvin Murphy, baseball player (1948)
  • Billy Joel, singer-songwriter (1949)
  • Tony Gwynn, baseball player (1960)
  • Ghostface Killah, rapper (1970)
  • Rosario Dawson, actress (1979)

Deaths

  • C. W. Post, cereal maker (1914)
  • Ezio Pinza, opera singer (1957)
  • Walter Reuther, union leader (1970)
  • Tenzing Norgay, mountaineer (1986)
  • Russell B. Long, politician (2003)
  • Alan King, actor (2004)
  • Chuck Daly, basketball player and coach (2009)
  • Vidal Sassoon, hairdresser (2012)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Anniversary of Dianetics (Scientology)
  • Europe Day/Schuman Day (European Union)
  • Independence Day (Romania)
  • Liberation Day (Guernsey, Jersey)
  • First day of Lemuria (ancient Rome)
  • Victory Day (countries of the former Soviet Union)
  • Victory and Peace Day (Armenia)
Informal and made-up holidays include Lost Sock Memorial Day, National Moscato Day, National Special-abled Pets Day, and Occupational Safety and Health Professionals Day.