Historical Events on December 9
- 1775: Colonial Virginia militia defeat British troops at the Battle of Great Bridge during the American Revolutionary War. Soon after, the British leave Virginia.
- 1793: Noah Webster publishes the first daily newspaper for New York City – the American Minerva.
- 1835: During the Texan Revolution, the Texan army captures the city of San Antonio, Texas.
- 1851: The first YMCA in North America opens in the city of Montreal, Canada.
- 1872: B. S. Pinchback is elected as the first African-American governor in a U.S state when he is elected to be Louisiana’s governor.
- 1875: The organization that would become America’s oldest active gun club -the Massachusetts Rifle Association -is founded on this day.
- 1911: 84 miners are killed when a mine near Briceville, Tennessee explodes.
- 1917: Jerusalem is captured by Field Marshal Allenby on this day during World War I.
- 1940: Major General Richard O’Connor leads Indian and British forces in an assault against Italian forces near Sidi Barrani, Egypt during Operation Compass of the Second World War.
- 1941: China, Guatemala and the Commonwealth of the Philippines all declare war on Japan and Germany during World War II.
- 1953: During the Red Scare of the 1950s, G.E announces that they will be discharging all employees who are communist from the company.
- 1961: Tanganyika gains its independence from Great Britain.
Famous Birthdays on December 9
- English poet and philosopher, John Milton is born in 1608.
- English poet Richard Lovelace is born in 1617.
- Irish chemist Thomas Andrews is born in 1813.
- American actress Margaret Hamilton is born in 1902.
- American actor and singer, Robert Livingston is born in 1904.
- American author and screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo is born in 1905.
- American captain and actor, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. is born in 1909.
- American actor Broderick Crawford is born in 1911.
- American actor Kirk Douglas is born in 1916.
- American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, James Rainwater is born in 1917.
- British actress Joyce Redman is born in 1918.
- American actor Redd Foxx is born in 1922.