Date·Lore

On This Day · The 129th day of the year

May 9

May 9 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1386 and 2001. England and Portugal formally ratify their alliance with the signing of the Treaty of Windsor, making it the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world which is still in force.

♉ZodiacTaurus ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on May 9?

May 9 is the 129th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1386 and 2001. Famous people born on May 9 include Ellen White (footballer), Zita of Bourbon-Parma and Pancho Gonzales.

The shape of the day

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Ghana — May 9 carries the weight of round numbers. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

Taurus is the sign for May 9 — read more on the Taurus page, or see May's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on May 9

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • TV Your Dear Daddy

2024

  • Game Animal Well
  • Game Cryptmaster
  • Game Crow Country
  • Game The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication
  • Game Little Kitty, Big City
  • TV Maxton Hall – The World Between Us

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1386

    England

    England and Portugal formally ratify their alliance with the signing of the Treaty of Windsor, making it the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world which is still in force.

  2. 1761

    Exhibition of 1761

    Exhibition of 1761, the inaugural exhibition of the Society of Artists of Great Britain, opens at Spring Gardens in London.

  3. 1864

    Second Schleswig War

    Second Schleswig War: The Danish navy defeats the Austrian and Prussian fleets in the Battle of Heligoland.

  4. 1915

    World War I

    World War I: Second Battle of Artois between German and French forces.

  5. 1945

    World War II

    World War II: The Channel Islands are liberated from Nazi occupation.

  6. 1960

    Food and Drug Administration

    The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill.

  7. 1979

    Iranian Jews

    Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000-strong Jewish community of Iran.

  8. 1980

    Florida

    In Florida, United States, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 430-meter (1,400 ft) section of the southbound span collapse. Thirty-five people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 46 metres (150 ft) into the water and die.

  9. 1992

    Armenia

    Armenian forces capture Shusha, marking a major turning point in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

  10. 2001

    Ghana

    In Ghana, 129 football fans die in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium disaster. The deaths are caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of tear gas by police personnel at the stadium) that followed a controversial decision by the referee.

Famous birthday twins

Born on May 9

Ellen White (footballer)

b. 1989

English footballer

Zita of Bourbon-Parma

b. 1892

last Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Pancho Gonzales

b. 1928

American tennis player

Adam Opel

b. 1837

German engineer, founded the Opel Company

Manfred Eigen

b. 1927

German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Baldur von Schirach

b. 1907

German politician

Sophie Scholl

b. 1921

German activist

J. M. Barrie

b. 1860

Scottish novelist and playwright

Deaths

  • 1997Marco Ferreri
  • 1986Tenzing Norgay
  • 1976Ulrike Meinhof
  • 1965Leopold Figl
  • 1805Friedrich Schiller
  • 1760Nicolaus Zinzendorf

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Beatus of Vendome
  • —Christian feast day: Christopher (Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • —Christian feast day: George Preca
  • —Christian feast day: Gerontius of Cervia
  • —Christian feast day: Gregory of Nazianzen (The Episcopal Church (US) and traditional Roman Catholic calendar)
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Karolina Gerhardinger
  • —Christian feast day: Nicolaus Zinzendorf (Lutheran)
  • —Christian feast day: Pachomius the Great

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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