On this day: April 9

Events on April 9

• 1387 The Byzantine city of Thessalonike surrenders to the Ottomans, though rule reverts back to the Byzantines after the battle of Ankara. Wikipedia
• 1511 Resettled Shiite Muslims rise up in the Şahkulu rebellion under the leadership of Şahkulu against the Ottoman Empire. Wikipedia
• 1917 First World War: The Canadian Corps began the first wave of attacks of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in Vimy, France. Wikipedia
• 1917 World War I: The Battle of Arras: The battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge. Wikipedia
• 1940 World War II: During the German invasion of Norway, Vidkun Quisling attempted to seize power in the first coup to be broadcast over radio. Wikipedia
• 1940 World War II: Operation Weserübung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: Japanese forces defeated Allied troops at the Battle of Bataan in the Philippines before beginning to forcibly transfer more than 90,000 prisoners of war to prison camps in the Bataan Death March. Wikipedia
• 1946 About 500 postal workers in Tel Aviv and Jaffa went on strike. Wikipedia
• 1947 The Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes killed 181 people and injured 970 others in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Wikipedia
• 1947 The Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Wikipedia
• 1947 The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court's 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel. Wikipedia
• 1948 Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia. Wikipedia
• 1948 Palestine war: Fighters from the Zionist paramilitary groups Irgun and Lehi attacked the village of Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing more than 100 Palestinian Arabs. Wikipedia
• 1948 Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist terror groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100 Palestinians. Wikipedia
• 1957 The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping following the Suez Crisis. Wikipedia
• 1959 NASA announced the selection of the Mercury Seven, the first astronauts in Project Mercury. Wikipedia
• 1959 Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States' first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the "Mercury Seven". Wikipedia
• 1960 Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and architect of apartheid, narrowly survives an assassination attempt by a white farmer, David Pratt in Johannesburg. Wikipedia
• 1980 The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture. Wikipedia
• 1989 Tbilisi massacre: An anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strike in Tbilisi, demanding restoration of Georgian independence, is dispersed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Wikipedia
• 1990 An IRA bombing in County Down, Northern Ireland, kills three members of the UDR. Wikipedia
• 1991 Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union. Wikipedia
• 1992 A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison. Wikipedia
• 2009 In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili. Wikipedia
• 2013 A 6.1–magnitude earthquake strikes Iran killing 32 people and injuring over 850 people. Wikipedia
• 2021 Prince Philip, the consort of Queen Elizabeth II, died at Windsor Castle aged 99. Wikipedia

Born on April 9

• 1096 Al-Muqtafi, caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate (died 1160) Wikipedia
• 1598 Johann Crüger, Sorbian-German composer and theorist (died 1662) Wikipedia
• 1802 Elias Lönnrot, Finnish physician and philologist (died 1884) Wikipedia
• 1821 Charles Baudelaire, French poet and critic (died 1867) Wikipedia
• 1835 Leopold II of Belgium (died 1909) Wikipedia
• 1865 Erich Ludendorff, German general and politician (died 1937) Wikipedia
• 1867 Charles Winckler, Danish tug of war competitor, discus thrower, and shot putter (died 1932) Wikipedia
• 1867 Chris Watson, Chilean-Australian journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Australia (died 1941) Wikipedia
• 1872 Léon Blum, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1950) Wikipedia
• 1906 Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French painter (died 1997) Wikipedia
• 1918 Jørn Utzon, Danish architect, designed the Sydney Opera House (died 2008) Wikipedia
• 1919 J. Presper Eckert, American engineer, invented the ENIAC (died 1995) Wikipedia
• 1926 Hugh Hefner, American publisher, founded Playboy Enterprises (died 2017) Wikipedia
• 1933 Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor and producer (died 2021) Wikipedia
• 1938 Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian businessman and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Russia (died 2010) Wikipedia
• 1948 Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress and politician Wikipedia
• 1954 Dennis Quaid, American actor Wikipedia
• 1967 Sam Harris, American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist Wikipedia
• 1971 Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver Wikipedia
• 1974 Jenna Jameson, American actress and pornographic performer Wikipedia
• 1990 Kristen Stewart, American actress Wikipedia
• 1998 Elle Fanning, American actress Wikipedia

Died on April 9

• 491 Zeno, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (born 425) Wikipedia
• 715 Constantine, pope of the Catholic Church (born 664) Wikipedia
• 1024 Benedict VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (born 980) Wikipedia
• 1483 Edward IV, king of England (born 1442) Wikipedia
• 1553 François Rabelais, French monk and scholar (born 1494) Wikipedia
• 1626 Francis Bacon, English jurist and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (born 1561) Wikipedia
• 1882 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (born 1828) Wikipedia
• 1904 Isabella II, Spanish queen (born 1830) Wikipedia
• 1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (born 1906) Wikipedia
• 1959 Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (born 1867) Wikipedia
• 1961 Zog I of Albania (born 1895) Wikipedia
• 1999 Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Nigerien general and politician, President of Niger (born 1949) Wikipedia
• 2011 Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1924) Wikipedia
• 2021 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of the United Kingdom, Prince of Greece and Denmark, Consort of Queen Elizabeth II (born 1921) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Acacius of Amida Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Casilda of Toledo Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Demetrius of Thessaloniki Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Anglicanism, Lutheranism) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Gaucherius Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Materiana Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Thomas of Tolentino Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Waltrude Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: April 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Baghdad Liberation Day (Iraqi Kurdistan) Wikipedia
• Constitution Day (Kosovo) Wikipedia
• Day of National Unity (Georgia) Wikipedia
• Day of Valor or Araw ng Kagitingan (Philippines) Wikipedia
• Feast of the Second Day of the Writing of the Book of the Law (Thelema) Wikipedia
• Martyr's Day (Tunisia) Wikipedia
• Mikael Agricola Day, also known as Day of the Finnish Language (Finland) Wikipedia
• National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day (United States) Wikipedia
• Remembrance for Haakon Sigurdsson (The Troth) Wikipedia
• Vimy Ridge Day (Canada) Wikipedia
• Valour Day (CRPF) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “April 9” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.