Vintage News · Odd history for October 9

What Happened On October 9

Q: What happened on October 9?

1780: The deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record began to impact the Caribbean, killing at least 20,000 people across the Antilles over the subsequent days. 1676: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek wrote a letter to the Royal Society describing "animalcules" – the first known description of protozoa (pictured). 1834: Opening of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first public railway on the island of Ireland. 1825: Restauration arrives in New York Harbor from Norway, the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States. 1918: The Finnish Parliament elects Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse as King of Finland, but he never accedes to the throne due to Germany's defeat in World War I. 1531: Pressed by a food embargo, the five Catholic cantons of Central Switzerland declare war on the Protestant canton of Zurich, starting the Second War of Kappel. 1410: The first known mention of the Prague astronomical clock. 2012: Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai (pictured) was severely injured by a Taliban gunman in a failed assassination attempt. 1962: Nick Holonyak, an engineer for General Electric, gave the first public demonstration of a light-emitting diode. 2024: Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 hurricane, causing US$34.3 billion in damage only two weeks after Hurricane Helene impacted the state.

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10 odd things that happened on October 9

1780 Oddly true
The deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record began to impact the Caribbean, killing at least 20,000 people across the Antilles over the subsequent days.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1676 First ever
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek wrote a letter to the Royal Society describing "animalcules" – the first known description of protozoa (pictured).
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1834 First ever
Opening of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first public railway on the island of Ireland.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1825 First ever
Restauration arrives in New York Harbor from Norway, the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1918 Weird
The Finnish Parliament elects Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse as King of Finland, but he never accedes to the throne due to Germany's defeat in World War I.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1531 Oddly true
Pressed by a food embargo, the five Catholic cantons of Central Switzerland declare war on the Protestant canton of Zurich, starting the Second War of Kappel.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1410 First ever
The first known mention of the Prague astronomical clock.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2012 Oddly true
Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai (pictured) was severely injured by a Taliban gunman in a failed assassination attempt.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1962 First ever
Nick Holonyak, an engineer for General Electric, gave the first public demonstration of a light-emitting diode.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2024 Oddly true
Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 hurricane, causing US$34.3 billion in damage only two weeks after Hurricane Helene impacted the state.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2024Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 hurricane, causing US$34.3 billion in damage only two weeks after Hurricane Helene impacted the state. Wikipedia →
2019Turkey begins its military offensive in north-eastern Syria. Wikipedia →
2016The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army launches its first attack on Myanmar security forces along the Bangladesh–Myanmar border. Wikipedia →
2012Pakistani Taliban attempt to assassinate outspoken schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai. Wikipedia →
2009First lunar impact of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program. Wikipedia →
2007The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its all-time high of 14,164 points before rapidly declining due to the 2008 financial crisis. Wikipedia →
2006North Korea conducts its first nuclear test. Wikipedia →
1995An Amtrak Sunset Limited train is derailed by saboteurs near Palo Verde, Arizona. Wikipedia →
1992The Peekskill meteorite, a 27.7 pounds (12.6 kg) meteorite crashed into a parked car in Peekskill, New York. Wikipedia →
1986The Phantom of the Opera, eventually the second longest running musical in London, opens at Her Majesty's Theatre. Wikipedia →
1986Fox Broadcasting Company (FBC) launches as the fourth US television network. Wikipedia →
1984The popular children's television show Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends, based on The Railway Series by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, premieres on ITV. Wikipedia →
1983South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan survives an assassination attempt in Rangoon, Burma, but the blast kills 21 and injures 17 others. Wikipedia →
1981President François Mitterrand abolishes capital punishment in France. Wikipedia →
1980Pope John Paul II greets the Dalai Lama during a private audience in Vatican City. Wikipedia →
1970The Khmer Republic is proclaimed in Cambodia. Wikipedia →
1969In Chicago, the National Guard is called in as demonstrations continue over the trial of the "Chicago Eight". Wikipedia →
1967A day after his capture, Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia. Wikipedia →
1966Vietnam War: the Republic of Korea Army commits the Binh Tai Massacre. Wikipedia →
1963In Italy, a large landslide causes a giant wave to overtop the Vajont Dam, killing over 2,000. Wikipedia →
1962Uganda becomes an independent Commonwealth realm. Wikipedia →
1950The Goyang Geumjeong Cave massacre in Korea begins. Wikipedia →
1942Australia's Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 receives royal assent. Wikipedia →
1941A coup in Panama declares Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango the new president. Wikipedia →
1937Murder of 9 Catholic priests in Zhengding, China, who protected the local population from the advancing Japanese army. Wikipedia →
1936Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam) begins to generate electricity and transmit it to Los Angeles. Wikipedia →
1934An Ustashe assassin kills King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, Foreign Minister of France, in Marseille. Wikipedia →
1919The Cincinnati Reds win the World Series, resulting in the Black Sox Scandal. Wikipedia →
1918The Finnish Parliament elects Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse as King of Finland, but he never accedes to the throne due to Germany's defeat in World War I. Wikipedia →
1914World War I: The Siege of Antwerp comes to an end. Wikipedia →
1913The steamship SS Volturno catches fire in the mid-Atlantic. Wikipedia →
1911An accidental bomb explosion triggers the Wuchang Uprising against the Qing dynasty, beginning the Xinhai Revolution. Wikipedia →
1900The Cook Islands become a territory of the United Kingdom. Wikipedia →
1874The Universal Postal Union is created by the Treaty of Bern. Wikipedia →
1873A meeting at the U.S. Naval Academy establishes the U.S. Naval Institute. Wikipedia →
1864American Civil War: Union cavalrymen defeat Confederate forces at Toms Brook, Virginia during Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley campaign. Wikipedia →
1861American Civil War: Union troops repel a Confederate attempt to capture Fort Pickens in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island. Wikipedia →
1847Slavery is abolished in the Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy. Wikipedia →
1834Opening of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first public railway on the island of Ireland. Wikipedia →
1831Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first head of state of independent Greece, is assassinated. Wikipedia →
1825Restauration arrives in New York Harbor from Norway, the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States. Wikipedia →
1820Guayaquil declares independence from Spain. Wikipedia →
1812War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia. Wikipedia →
1806Prussia begins the War of the Fourth Coalition against France. Wikipedia →
1804Hobart, capital of Tasmania, is founded. Wikipedia →
1799HMS Lutine sinks with the loss of 240 men and a cargo worth £1,200,000. Wikipedia →
1790A severe earthquake in northern Algeria causes severe damage and a tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea and kills three thousand. Wikipedia →
1779American Revolutionary War: A combined Franco-American assault on British defenses during the Siege of Savannah is repulsed with heavy casualties. Wikipedia →
1760Seven Years' War: Russian and Austrian troops briefly occupy Berlin. Wikipedia →
1740Dutch colonists and Javanese natives begin a massacre of the ethnic Chinese population in Batavia, eventually killing at least 10,000. Wikipedia →
1708Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya. Wikipedia →
1701The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) is chartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Wikipedia →
1683Allied Imperial and Polish-Lithuanian forces defeat the retreating Ottoman forces in the battle of Parkany. Wikipedia →
1635Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony after religious and policy disagreements. Wikipedia →
1604Kepler's Supernova is the most recent supernova to be observed within the Milky Way. Wikipedia →
1594Troops of the Portuguese Empire are defeated on Sri Lanka, bringing an end to the Campaign of Danture. Wikipedia →
1531Pressed by a food embargo, the five Catholic cantons of Central Switzerland declare war on the Protestant canton of Zurich, starting the Second War of Kappel. Wikipedia →
1410The first known mention of the Prague astronomical clock. Wikipedia →
1238James I of Aragon founds the Kingdom of Valencia. Wikipedia →
768Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned kings of the Franks. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2018The Guardian
EgyptAir magazine apologises for bizarre Drew Barrymore article
Publisher of Horus magazine says offensiveness was due to translation errors amid suggestions interview was made up
Read on The Guardian →
2016The Guardian
Honour for factory where female workers died in first world war
Site of Barnbow National Filling Factory where scores of women were killed in explosion becomes scheduled monument
Read on The Guardian →
2002The New York Times · Front page
Europeans Want Swiss To Tell All
European Union sharply steps up pressure on Switzerland to alter its strict banking secrecy laws and give its neighbo…
Read on NYTimes.com →

Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.