Important Events From This day in History February 9th

 

1971 Sylmar earthquake

1971 : The San Fernando earthquake ( 6.6 ) at 6:00 AM ruptures a segment of the San Fernando fault zone, causing the loss of life of 65, the worst loss of life was at the at the Veterans Administration Hospital in San Fernando, where 49 people died. The damage caused by the quake was estimated at 1/2 billion dollars due to damage to buildings, bridges and major freeways including Interstate 5.

1943 World War II Battle of Guadalcanal

1943 : The Battle of Guadalcanal, which occurred in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, ended on this day. This was a very important victory over the Japanese, which was achieved by the United States.

1961 U.S.A. Medicare Program

1961 : President Kennedy asked Congress to approve a health insurance program ( the Medicare Program ) for 14.2 million Americans 65 or older, financed by an increase in Social Security taxes.

9 Feb, 1920 Wellsboro Corning Glass Works

1920 : Following a major fire which destroyed the plant Superintendent Smith of the Wellsboro Corning Glass Works plant had dispelled rumors that the plant was going to close. He also had mentioned that there were no grounds for this rumor at all. Necessary repairs were going to be made, but the plant was to remain open.

1937 U.S.A. Work Relief and Flood Rehab

1937 : A bill was passed which allowed for a total of $940,000,000 to be used for relief projects. $790,000,000 of this money was intended to be used to fund work relief and flood rehab programs. This aid was expected to be administered between the 1st and June 30th. It took several weeks to reach a verdict regarding this bill. This was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation passed during this time in history.

1942 World War II Joint Chiefs of Staff

1942 : For the first time since the start of the war, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had come together for an official meeting. The purpose of this staff was to coordinate military strategy, which would help the allied forces (i.e. U.S., France, Italy, Russian Empire, British Empire) win World War II.

1942 SS Normandie

1942 : The SS Normandie had burned in New York on this day, while in the process of being converted to an allied transport ship. Normandie was regarded as the number one most elegant ocean liner ever built.

1950 U.S.A. Post Goes Up to 2 Cents

1950 : A majority has been reached among the members of the United States House of Representatives regarding the hike in postal rates. As a result of a voice vote made on this day, a bill was passed which had raised the rate of postal card rates from one to two cents. Regular letter rates would stay at three cents.

1950 U.S.A. Joseph McCarthy

1950 : Senator Joseph Mc Carthy from Wisconsin had announced that 205 communists had made their way into the U.S. State Department.

9 Feb, 1964 The Beatles

1964 : For the first time ever, the popular music group the Beatles had appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Shortly afterwards, they played their first American concert at the Coliseum. The Beatles had come a long way-literally. They originated from England, and were told that they "could not carry a tune across the Atlantic". In the early days they were though of to be no more than a fad. That of course was proven wrong many times over.

1966 UK Dounreay Nuclear Reactor

1966 : The first of it's kind a Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) is to be built at the Dounreay power station on the north coast of Scotland. This reactor will be 5 times more efficient at obtaining the extraction of the energy available in nuclear fuel than current reactors in use.

1969 U.S.A. 747 Test Flight

1969 : Boeing 747 airliner takes its first test flight piloted by test pilots Jack Waddell and Brien Wygle at the controls.

1979 UK Football Transfer Record Over a Million

1979 : England forward Trevor Francis signs for Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest side in Britain's first £1m transfer deal.

1981 U.S.A. Bill Haley

1981 : Bill Haley dies at age 56 he brought the existing genre of rock and roll into the spotlight with his chart-topping single "Rock Around the Clock," in 1955, you can find more information and other music on our 1950s Music Page

9 Feb, 1996 Kasparov

1996 : The legendary Russian Chess Grandmaster Kasparov loses his first chess game ever to IBM's chess computer Deep Blue. He did go on to gain three wins and two draws and easily wins the match.

2001 USS Greenville

2001 : An American submarine (USS Greenville) accidentally struck a Japanese fishing boat and nine lives were lost. This event took place off the coast of Hawaii in Pearl Harbor.

2002 UK Princess Margaret

2002 : Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died at age 71 after suffering a massive stroke.

2008 Pakistan Political Unrest

2008 : The political unrest in Pakistan continues following the murder of Benazir Bhutto and the detention of the deposed chief justice. An estimated 100,000 supporters of Benazir Bhutto turned out for her party's first major election rally since her assassination. Meanwhile in the capital of Islamabad riot police used water cannons and tear gas on protesters over the detention of the deposed chief justice. Also at a political gathering Saturday in northwestern Pakistan, a bomb is detonated killing at least 25 people.

2008 Turkey Eases the Use of Headscarves

2008 : Turkey's parliament has approved the two constitutional amendments that will ease the ban on women wearing Islamic headscarves in universities. This has been a divisive issue in Turkey, where the state is supposed to be secular. The government has said that the ban would mean that many girls were denied an education, but the secular establishment see this as a first step to allowing a more prominent Islamic influence on the state. This has been the final vote on it, in which lawmakers voted 411-103 in favour of the constitutional amendments that will allow equal treatment from state institutions and 'no one can be deprived of (his or her) right to higher education.'

2009 Thirty Mummies Discovered at Saqqara

2009 : A storehouse of thirty Egyptian mummies has been unearthed inside a 2,600-year-old tomb. These have been found in the excavation of the necropolis at Saqqara outside Cairo. The tomb was discovered at the bottom of a 36-foot-deep shaft, announced the secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. The ancient warehouse dates back to around 640 B.C. and the 26th dynasty, which was Egypt's last independent kingdom before it was overthrown by a succession of foreign conquerors, beginning with the Persians and ending with the Ptolemies.

2009 Cyber-Security Review Ordered

2009 : The Obama administration has ordered an inter-agency review of the government's cyber-security efforts. The sixty-day examination will be headed by Melissa Hathaway, who was the Cyber-coordination Executive to the Director of National Intelligence. The review is set to last sixty days and takes in all the plans, programs and activities of other official U.S. cyber- security research. It is hoped that this will result in a strategy to improve the way in which the U.S. defends itself against net-borne threats.

2011 Islamic University Damaged by Bomb

2011 : The Islamic University of Afghanistan in Jalalabad was damaged by a bomb blast. The University founded by Westerner, John Butt, had received threats previously. Authorities believed that the attack was carried out by the Taliban. There were no injuries caused by the blast.

2012 Arrest Warrant Issued for Former Maldives President

2012 : An arrest warrant has been issued in the Maldives for the former president Mohamed Nasheed. Nasheed resigned a few days earlier amid protests, but claims that he was forced to resign in a coup.

2013 Knights of Malta Celebrate Anniversary

2013 : The Knights of Malta, a Catholic church military order, celebrated their 900 year anniversary in Rome. The order was created during the middle ages and is one of only few still operating.

2014 Legal Rights Extended for Same-Sex Couples

2014 : The United States Attorney General Eric Holder stated in a speech the the Justice Department was going to make a greater effort to extend rights to same-sex partners. Some of the rights to be extended included being able to make visits at federal prisons and the right not to testify against a spouse in court.

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