Today In History, 9 December: What Happened On This Day
Today in History: Only 22 days are left before the fateful year of 2022 comes to an end. Today is December 9. The day holds major significance in history, and several pivotal events took place on 9 December.
From the birth of one of the most influential politicians and actors of India, the death of a multimillionaire convicted for the murder of wrestler Mark Schultz and the premiere of one of the best movies of the 21st century to the permanent eradication of Smallpox, December 9 is an important day in history.
Dive in to know what happened on this day (Dec. 9) in terms of sports, politics, art, famous birthdays, and deaths.
Historical Events on This day
- In 1824, Venezuelan revolutionary forces led by Antonio José de Sucre defeated the Spanish royal army at the Battle of Ayacucho, which resulted in the independence of Peru and the rest of South America.
- In 1854, Alfred Tennyson's iconic poem "Charge of the Light Brigade" was published in "The Examiner."
- In 1941, China officially declared war on Japan, Germany, and Italy during World War II.
- In 1961, Tanganyika gained independence from British rule and a year later joined with the republic of Zanzibar, eventually forming the present day United Republic of Tanzania.
- In 1973, the British and Irish authorities signed the Sunningdale Agreement to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland.
- In 1979, the disease of smallpox was declared eradicated, a decade after the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global vaccination program.
- In 1998, the United Nations General Assembly declared anti-Semitism a form of racism.
- In 2014, the American secret intelligence agency’s (CIA) torture report was made public, revealing that torture yielded no fruitful results, yet the CIA continued to employ it in the aftermath of 9/11.
- In 2015, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for her handling of the debt and refugee crises.
- In 2015, Paula Hawkins' "Girl on a Train" was declared Amazon’s best-selling book of the year.
- In 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq, ending more than three years of fighting.
- In 2017, Australia became the 26th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.
Sports Events Today
- In 2012, Juan Manuel Márquez scored an upset knockout win over Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in round six to win the WBO light welterweight title.
- In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from all major sporting events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, for manipulating laboratory data.
Music and Cinema Events Today
- In 1960, the first episode of Coronation Street, the world's longest-running television soap opera, was broadcast in the United Kingdom.
- In 1967, American rock star Jim Morrison became the first musician to be arrested during a live performance.
- In 1965, the animated special "A Charlie Brown Christmas," featuring characters from Charles Schulz's popular Peanuts comic strip, first aired on American television.
- In 2005, Ang Lee’s acclaimed LGBT drama film Brokeback Mountain, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, premiered.
Important Days
- Armed Forces Day (Peru)
- International Anti-Corruption Day - Theme: "Uniting the World against Corruption"
Notable Deaths On This Day
| Sr No |
Death Year |
Personality |
| 1 |
1912 |
Gustaf Dalen, Swedish physicist, industrialist and Nobel laureate, who invented the AGA cooking oven |
| 2 |
1968 |
Enoch L. Johnson, American politician and mob boss who effectively ruled over Atlantic City in the US for three decades |
| 3 |
1998 |
Archie Moore, American light-heavyweight boxing champion from 1952-60 |
| 4 |
2010 |
John du Pont, American tycoon and member of the du Pont family. He murdered wrestler Mark Schultz in 1996. |
| 5 |
2012 |
Jenni Rivera, Mexican-American singer |
Famous Birthdays On This Day
| Sr No |
Birth Year |
Personality |
| 1 |
1608 |
John Milton, English poet and historian who is regarded as one of the greatest authors in history |
| 2 |
1905 |
Dalton Trumbo, American screenwriter and novelist who was among the Hollywood Ten, a group that was blacklisted by Hollywood over allegations of communist beliefs |
| 3 |
1916 |
Kirk Douglas, American actor and Hollywood icon known for his leading roles in films like Spartacus and Paths of Glory |
| 4 |
1934 |
Judi Dench, veteran British actress known for her role as M in the James Bond franchise |
| 5 |
1945 |
Shatrughan Sinha, Indian actor and politician who starred in films like Dostana and Kalicharan |
| 6 |
1946 |
Sonia Gandhi, Italian-Indian politician who led the Indian National Congress after the assassination of her husband and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi |
Also Read: Today in History (7 December)
Also Read: Today in History (8 December)
