What Happened on August 9
Significant Events
- 48 BC Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt.
- 378 Battle of Adrianople: Goth army defeats Roman forces under Emperor Valens
- 1790 Robert Gray's Columbia Rediviva returns to Boston after 3 year journey, 1st American ship to circumnavigate the Globe
- 1898 Rudolf Diesel of Germany patents the diesel internal combustion engine
- 1898 Rudolf Diesel obtains patent #608,845 for his internal combustion engine, later known as the diesel engine
- 1942 Mahatma Gandhi & 50 others arrested in Bombay after passing of a "quit India" campaign by the All-India Congress
- 1945 US drops 2nd atomic bomb "Fat Man" on Japan destroys part of Nagasaki
- 1965 Singapore separates from the Federation of Malaysia and gains its independence
- 1974 Richard Nixon resigns as US President and VP Gerald Ford swears the oath of office to take his place as the 38th US President
Famous Birthdays
Johann Michael Bach
(1648 - 1694)
Amedeo Avogadro
(1776 - 1856)
Bob Cousy
89 Years Old
Rod Laver
79 Years Old
Whitney Houston
(1963 - 2012)
Brett Hull
53 Years Old
Would You Believe?
Longest ever hunger strike ends, Indian human rights campaigner Irom Sharmila tastes honey after 16 years
On August 9, 2016
Famous Weddings
- 1832 King Leopold I of Belgium marries Louisa Maria
- 1949 Film and stage actor Jimmy Stewart (41) weds former model Gloria Hatrick McLean (31) at the Brentwood Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles
- 1958 Actor Robert Redford (21) weds Lola Van Wagenen in Las Vegas, Nevada
- 1968 Detective writer Erle Stanley Gardner (79) weds his long-time secretary Agnes Jean Bethell
- 1973 Actor Anthony Perkins (41) weds photographer Berinthia Berenson (25) in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Famous Divorces
- 1922 Actress Gloria Swanson (23) divorces businessman Herbert K. Somborn after almost 3 years of marriage
- 1955 Actress Elizabeth Montgomery (22) divorces socialite Frederick Gallatin Cammann after more than a year of marriage
Trajan
Hermann Hesse
Cecil Frank Powell
Sharon TateAugust in History
A Pill to Cure All Ills
Not well? Take a Beecham’s Pill was often the advice. So popular was it that nobody doubted it’s extravagant claim in the world’s first advertising slogan.
August 6, 1859
Ship Of Gold Sails Into Oblivion
A frigate with more than 150 souls on board, as well as nearly three tons of gold, sailed out of Melbourne on this day – never to be seen again.
August 12, 1853
First Faltering Steps of Jane Eyre
With hope, pride – and some subterfuge – Charlotte Brontë sent her hefty manuscript of Jane Eyre to publishers in London on this day, then crossed her fingers.
August 15, 1847
A Kiss For Adolf Hitler
A woman spectator leaned over and kissed Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympic Games on this day. Hitler pretended to be amused, but his guards were to suffer.
August 15, 1936