✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 40th day of the year

February 9

A look at February 9 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter and Jimmy Bennett, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♒ZodiacAquarius ◈BirthstoneAmethyst ❀Birth flowerViolet
Advertisement 728 × 90 leaderboard

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2016

    Bad Aibling rail accident

    Two passenger trains collide in the German town of Bad Aibling in the state of Bavaria. Twelve people die and 85 others are injured.

    2016 train collision in
  2. 1996

    Provisional Irish Republican Army

    The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares the end to its 18-month ceasefire and explodes a large bomb in London's Canary Wharf, killing two people.

    Paramilitary force active from
  3. 1975

    Soyuz 17

    The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.

    Crewed flight of the
  4. 1971

    1971 San Fernando earthquake

    The 6.5–6.7 Mw Sylmar earthquake hits the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 64 and injuring 2,000.

    Earthquake in California
  5. 1941

    World War II

    World War II: Bombing of Genoa: The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa, Italy, is struck by a bomb which fails to detonate.

    1939–1945 global conflict
  6. 1922

    Brazil

    Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

    Country in South America
  7. 1920

    Svalbard Treaty

    Under the terms of the Svalbard Treaty, international diplomacy recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Arctic archipelago Svalbard, and designates it as demilitarized.

    Treaty recognising Norwegian sovereignty
  8. 1907

    Mud March (suffragists)

    The Mud March is the first large procession organised by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).

    1907 demonstration by suffragists
  9. 1825

    United States Electoral College

    After no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the US presidential election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams as sixth President of the United States in a contingent election.

    Electors of the U.S.
  10. 1822

    Haiti

    Haiti attacks the newly established Dominican Republic on the other side of the island of Hispaniola.

    Country in the Caribbean
Advertisement Responsive in-content unit

Famous birthday twins

Born on February 9

David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter

b. 1905

English hurdler and politician

Jimmy Bennett

b. 1996

American actor

William Henry Harrison

b. 1773

American general and politician, 9th President of the United States

Johann Baptist von Spix

b. 1781

German biologist and explorer

A. J. Buckley

b. 1977

Irish-Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter

Joseph Stiglitz

b. 1943

American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Joe Pesci

b. 1943

American actor

Major Harris (singer)

b. 1947

American singer

Deaths

  • 2016Zdravko Tolimir, Bosnian Serb military commander
  • 1984Yuri Andropov, Russian lawyer and politician
  • 1960Ernst von Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1881Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and philosopher
  • 1407William I, Margrave of Meissen, Margrave of Meissen
  • 1135Emperor Taizong of Jin, Chinese emperor

Holidays & observances

  • —Alto of Altomünster
  • —Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
  • —Ansbert of Rouen
  • —Apollonia
  • —Bracchio
  • —Einion the King (Western Orthodoxy)
  • —Blessed Leopold of Alpandeire
  • —Maron (Maronite Church)

Born on this day?

Make your birthday card.

Drop in your birth year and we'll work out your exact age, the day of the week you were born, your Chinese zodiac, your generation, and the countdown to your next candle.