August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 144 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about August 9th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about August 9th in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- Book Lovers Day
- National Rice Pudding Day
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – August 9
1965: Singapore Leaves Malaysia
The Southeast Asian Island country had joined a Malaysian Federation in 1963 as part of the Malaysia Agreement. In 1965, due to disagreements between leaders of the other members of the federation and Singaporean leaders and race tensions, the Malaysian parliament decided to expel Singapore from the Federation. The country reluctantly became independent on August 9 under the leadership of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
1945: An Atomic Bomb is dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki
3 days after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the city of Nagasaki was destroyed by a 21 kiloton atomic bomb nicknamed Fat Boy. About 40 to 80 thousand people were estimated killed during this American-led attack towards the end of the Second World War. A few days later on August 15, Japan surrendered to the Allies, effectively bringing the War to a close by September, 1945.
1942: Quit India Movement Begins in India
The civil disobedience movement against the British colonists was spearheaded by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi had called for peaceful protests in a speech a day earlier at the Gowalia Tank Maidan, Mumbai. In the speech, he made a call of “do or die” and asked his followers to adopt nonviolence when interacting with the British. The movement began with the British imprisoning the Congress Party leadership, including Gandhi. The British ruled India from 1858, when the British Crown took over control of the country from the British East India Company. India gained its independence on August 15, 1947.
1930: Betty Boop Makes Her Debut
The animated cartoon character made her first appearance in the cartoon, Dizzy Dishes. Thought to be modeled after singer Helen Kane, Betty was shown as a woman with an exaggerated body and a child-like face. Created by animator Max Fleischer, she is one of most recognizable cartoon characters in the world.
1854: Henry David Thoreau Publishes Walden
An American transcendentalist, Thoreau wrote the book in a span of just over two years while residing near Walden Pond, a lake in Concord Massachusetts. The book, which is also known as Walden; or, Life in the Woods is about his time living near the lake and is a reflection on living a life of simplicity and austerity.
1952: Marines of the 1st Marine Regiment dug in on Bunker Hill in North Korea in August 1952.
1945: The bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. August 9, 1945.
Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, August 9
1981: Li Jiawei, Singaporean table tennis player
1963: Whitney Houston, American singer, actress, producer, model
1947: Roy Hodgson, English football manager
1922: Philip Larkin, English poet
1896: Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, August 9
2012: David Rakoff, Canadian/American author, actor
1996: Frank Whittle, English engineer, inventor, developed the jet engine
1995: Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter, guitarist
1975: Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer
1962: Hermann Hesse, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate