Discover what happened on October 9 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

October 9

Discover what happened on October 9 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on October 9 | HISTORY

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Riots in Detroit… San Francisco's Summer of Love… the Six-Day War in the Middle East… Elvis and Priscilla's Vegas wedding... 1967 was a momentous year around the world. It also a year of firsts: the first successful human heart transplant in South Africa (the recipient lasted 18 days), the confirmation of the first Black Supreme Court Justice in the U.S. (Thurgood Marshall) and the first McDonald’s Big Mac (price: 45 cents).

1967

1974 was a year of firsts. Richard Nixon, enmeshed in the Watergate scandal, became the first American president to resign from office. Hank Aaron became the first baseball player to top Babe Ruth’s career home run record. Scientists in Ethiopia found the first skeleton of a 3-million-year-old human ancestor that walked upright, while archaeologists in China unearthed an army of more than 8,000 lifesize terracotta warriors. In America, disco fever raged, and Archie Bunker broke TV sitcom ground with his blunt and bigoted take on hot-button social issues. 

1974

1975

1635

After a devastating Windsor Castle fire and assorted family crises, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II called 1992 her “annus horribilis,” or horrible year. The police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles sparked one of the worst riots in U.S. history, while exploding sewers in Mexico killed hundreds. On the brighter side, South Africa ended apartheid, the U.S. and Russia declared the Cold War over, Mae Jemison became the first Black woman in space and a big purple dinosaur named Barney hit TV, singing about love, kindness and cleaning up.

1992

The Spanish Civil War began in 1936. In England, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson. American Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, undermining Hitler’s claims of Aryan superiority. The British ocean liner Queen Mary and the German airship Hindenburg completed their maiden voyages, Girl Scout cookies began to be sold nationally and the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted its first five members, including the recently retired Babe Ruth.

1936

1946

1963

In 1942, the U.S. Navy defeated the Japanese Navy in the Battle of Midway, a turning point of the war in the Pacific, while in Germany, Nazi officials met to plan the “Final Solution” and Anne Frank’s family went into hiding. As FDR ordered Japanese Americans into wartime incarceration camps, false reports of a Japanese attack set California skies ablaze with anti-aircraft fire in the “Battle of Los Angeles.” Americans supported the war effort with scrap drives and victory gardens.

1942

1988

Colonial America was a vast land settled by Spanish, Dutch, French and English immigrants who established colonies such as St. Augustine, Florida; Jamestown, Virginia; and Roanoke in present-day North Carolina.

Colonial America

Latin America encompasses Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, including all of South America as well as Mexico, Central America, and islands of the Caribbean. Latin American history saw colonization by the Spaniards and Portuguese, from the 15th through the 18th century, as well as independence movements in the early 19th century.

Latin American History

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.

Inventions & Science

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

European History

Natural disasters and changes in the environment, such as global warming, the San Francisco Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Galveston Hurricane, the Krakatoa eruption and others, have profoundly shaped human history. Explore both the sudden and long-term impacts of natural and human-made disasters.

This Day In History: October 9

Che Guevara is executed

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Oskar Schindler—credited with saving 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust—dies

Andrei Sakharov wins Nobel Peace Prize

Rhode Island founder banished from Massachusetts

Meteorite crashes into Chevy Malibu

Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to Los Angeles

“The Iceman Cometh,” by Eugene O’Neill, opens on Broadway

Landslide kills thousands in Italy

A Chicago bootlegger escapes from prison

Rotary engine inventor Felix Wankel dies

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