May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 236 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about May 9th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about May 9th in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- Europe Day.
- Time of Remembrance And Reconciliation.
- National Lost Sock Memorial Day
- National Moscato Day
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – May 9
2006: Estonia joined the EU in 2006.
1994: Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa’s first black president
Mandela’s inauguration came after more than 300 years of white rule. Before becoming president, he was a pivotal figure in the fight against the racist apartheid regime and was incarcerated for 27 years.
1955: West Germany joined NATO in 1955
1954: Bill Haley releases “Rock Around the Clock”
It was the first rock song to top the Billboard charts and has become a classic of the early rock era.
1941: Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachutes into Scotland to broker a peace agreement
Hess was captured and interrogated. He was the last in a long line of prominent figures to be incarcerated in the Tower of London. Hitler characterized his peace mission four years before the end of World War II as treason.
1933: Nazis ceremonially burn about 25,000 allegedly “un-German” books
The book burnings were part of the right-wing German Student Union’s Action against the Un-German Spirit. Among the burnt books were works by Albert Einstein, Bertolt Brecht, Sigmund Freud, and Franz Kafka.
1869: In the United States, the first coast to coast railroad is completed
The Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad systems were joined at Promontory Summit in Utah, using a “Golden Spike”. This last spike is now housed in the Cantor Arts Museum at Stanford University.
1945: Soviet snipers Sergeant A. E. Vinogradova (83 kills) and Junior Lieutenant N. P. Belobrova (70 kills) in Germany, May 1945
1936: Dust Bowl refugees, fleeing from the drought in Oklahoma, camp by the roadside in Blythe, California. 1936 (Photo by Dorothea Lange)
1917: Column of American troops passing Buckingham Palace, London, 1917, WWI.
1916: Austro-Hungarian POWs on Asinara island, Sardinia, early 1916
1865: A Union Soldier upon his release from Andersonville Prison after being a Prisoner of War during the US Civil War, May 1865.
Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, May 9
1977: Nick Heidfeld, German race car driver
1960: Bono, Irish singer-songwriter, actor, activist
1957: Sid Vicious, English singer, bass player
1946: Donovan, Scottish/English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actor
1899: Fred Astaire, American actor, singer, dancer
Rabindranath Tagore was born.
Billy Joel was born.
Maharana pratap was born.
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, May 9
1977: Joan Crawford, American actress
1897: Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino activist
1863: Stonewall Jackson, American general
1818: Paul Revere, American military officer
1774: Louis XV of France
Tenzing Norgay died.
Joseph Louis Gay Lussacs died.
Little Richard died.