On this day: July 9

Events on July 9

• 455 The elderly noble Avitus is proclaimed Roman emperor by Gothic king Theoderic II in Toulouse. Wikipedia
• 1357 Emperor Charles IV assists in laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague. Wikipedia
• 1763 The Mozart family grand tour began, presenting the child prodigies Maria Anna and Wolfgang Amadeus across Western Europe. Wikipedia
• 1763 The Mozart family grand tour of Europe begins, lifting the profile of son Wolfgang Amadeus. Wikipedia
• 1776 George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British troops on Staten Island prepare for the Battle of Long Island. Wikipedia
• 1790 Russo-Swedish War: During the Battle of Svensksund in the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captured a third of the Russian fleet. Wikipedia
• 1810 Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire. Wikipedia
• 1811 British explorer David Thompson posted a notice at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (in modern Washington state, U.S.), claiming the area for Great Britain. Wikipedia
• 1811 Explorer David Thompson posts a sign near what is now Sacajawea State Park in Washington state, claiming the Columbia District for the United Kingdom. Wikipedia
• 1816 Argentina declares independence from Spain. Wikipedia
• 1821 Four hundred and seventy prominent Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos are executed in response to Cypriot aid to the Greek War of Independence. Wikipedia
• 1850 Persian prophet Báb is executed in Tabriz, Persia. Wikipedia
• 1863 American Civil War: The Siege of Port Hudson ends in a Union victory and, along with the fall of Vicksburg five days earlier, gives the Union complete control of the Mississippi River. Wikipedia
• 1875 The Herzegovina Uprising against Ottoman rule begins, which would last until 1878 and have far-reaching implications throughout the Balkans. Wikipedia
• 1896 William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetallism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Wikipedia
• 1932 The state of São Paulo revolts against the Brazilian Federal Government, starting the Constitutionalist Revolution. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: The Allied invasion of Sicily begins, leading to the downfall of Mussolini and forcing Hitler to break off the Battle of Kursk. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: The Battle of Saipan concluded after a mass Japanese suicide attack was repelled by American forces. Wikipedia
• 1955 Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell and nine other preeminent intellectuals and scientists issued the Russell–Einstein Manifesto, calling for a conference to assess the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction. Wikipedia
• 1961 Greece becomes the first member state to join the European Economic Community by signing the Athens Agreement, which is later suspended in 1967 during the Greek junta. Wikipedia
• 1962 In a seminal moment for pop art, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans exhibition opened at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. Wikipedia
• 1982 A British man named Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace and entered Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom when she was asleep. Wikipedia
• 1999 Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran. Wikipedia
• 2002 The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, replacing the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The organization's first chairman is Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa. Wikipedia
• 2006 One hundred and twenty-five people are killed when S7 Airlines Flight 778, an Airbus A310 passenger jet, veers off the runway while landing in wet conditions at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia. Wikipedia
• 2011 South Sudan gains independence and secedes from Sudan. Wikipedia

Born on July 9

• 1578 Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1637) Wikipedia
• 1764 Ann Ward, English author and poet (died 1823) Wikipedia
• 1819 Elias Howe, American inventor, invented the sewing machine (died 1867) Wikipedia
• 1834 Jan Neruda, Czech journalist and poet (died 1891) Wikipedia
• 1858 Franz Boas, German-American anthropologist and linguist (died 1942) Wikipedia
• 1894 Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1984) Wikipedia
• 1901 Barbara Cartland, English author (died 2000) Wikipedia
• 1910 Govan Mbeki, South African anti-apartheid and ANC leader and activist (died 2001) Wikipedia
• 1911 John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and author (died 2008) Wikipedia
• 1916 Edward Heath, English colonel and politician; Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1970-74 (died 2005) Wikipedia
• 1926 Ben Roy Mottelson, American-Danish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2022) Wikipedia
• 1929 Hassan II of Morocco (died 1999) Wikipedia
• 1932 Donald Rumsfeld, American captain and politician, 13th United States Secretary of Defense (died 2021) Wikipedia
• 1933 Oliver Sacks, English-American neurologist, author, and academic (died 2015) Wikipedia
• 1937 David Hockney, English painter and photographer (died 2026) Wikipedia
• 1947 O. J. Simpson, American football player and actor (died 2024) Wikipedia
• 1950 Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian engineer and politician, 4th President of Ukraine Wikipedia
• 1955 Lindsey Graham, American lawyer and politician (died 2026) Wikipedia
• 1956 Tom Hanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia
• 1964 Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress Wikipedia
• 1964 Gianluca Vialli, Italian footballer and coach (died 2023) Wikipedia
• 1985 Ashley Young, English footballer Wikipedia

Died on July 9

• 230 Empress Dowager Bian, Cao Cao's wife (born 159) Wikipedia
• 518 Anastasius I Dicorus, Byzantine emperor (born 430) Wikipedia
• 1441 Jan van Eyck, Dutch painter (born 1359) Wikipedia
• 1746 Philip V of Spain (born 1683) Wikipedia
• 1797 Edmund Burke, Irish-English philosopher, academic, and politician (born 1729) Wikipedia
• 1850 Zachary Taylor, American general and politician, 12th President of the United States (born 1784) Wikipedia
• 1850 Báb, Persian religious leader, founded Bábism (born 1819) Wikipedia
• 1856 Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist and academic (born 1776) Wikipedia
• 1962 Georges Bataille, French philosopher, novelist, and poet (born 1897) Wikipedia
• 1977 Alice Paul, American activist (born 1885) Wikipedia
• 2002 Rod Steiger, American actor (born 1925) Wikipedia
• 2019 Fernando de la Rúa, 43rd President of Argentina (born 1937) Wikipedia
• 2019 Rip Torn, American actor (born 1931) Wikipedia
• 2024 Jerzy Stuhr, Polish actor (born 1947) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Arbor Day (Cambodia) Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Amandina of Schakkebroek (one of Martyrs of Southern Hunan) Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Blessed Marija Petković Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Everilda Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Blessed Giovanna Scopelli Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Gregorio Grassi (one of Martyrs of Shanxi) Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Martyr Saints of China Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Martyrs of Gorkum Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Our Lady of Itatí Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Our Lady of Peace, Octave of the Visitation Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury (Anglican commemoration) Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Veronica Giuliani Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: July 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Constitution Day (Australia) Wikipedia
• Constitution Day (Palau) Wikipedia
• Constitutionalist Revolution Day (São Paulo) Wikipedia
• Day of the Employees of the Diplomatic Service (Azerbaijan) Wikipedia
• Independence Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the United Provinces of South America by the Congress of Tucumán in 1816. (Argentina) Wikipedia
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011. Wikipedia
• Nunavut Day (Nunavut) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “July 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.