October 9 in History

Significant events that happened on this day.

Historical Events

2009

President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize less than nine months into his first term

The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation, though he hadn't yet achieved major foreign pol...

2006

Google announced it was acquiring YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock, just 18 months after YouTube's founding

At the time, many analysts called it overpriced for a startup that had never turned a profit. YouTube was hosting millions of videos, many with copyri...

1986

The musical 'The Phantom of the Opera' premiered in London and would become the longest-running show in Broadway history

Andrew Lloyd Webber's adaptation of the French novel opened at Her Majesty's Theatre with Michael Crawford in the title role. It moved to Broadway in...

1940

John Lennon was born in Liverpool during a German air raid

Major

The future Beatles member was born at Liverpool Maternity Hospital while Nazi bombers attacked the city. His mother Julia named him after her father,...

1936

The Hoover Dam began generating electricity and transmitting power to Los Angeles

Major

The dam's first generator went online, sending electricity 266 miles to Southern California. At the time, it was the largest dam in the world and coul...

1903

A Boston Red Sox pitcher tried to steal second base during the first modern World Series and was thrown out, costing his team a crucial run

In Game 1 of the very first World Series between Boston and Pittsburgh, pitcher Bill Dinneen inexplicably attempted to steal second base despite being...

1888

The Washington Monument officially opened to the public after 36 years of construction

Major

Construction began in 1848 but was halted for 23 years due to lack of funds and the Civil War. You can still see where building resumed because the ma...

1855

Joshua Stoddard received a patent for the calliope, the loud steam-powered musical instrument that became synonymous with circuses

The calliope produces sound by sending steam through large whistles, creating music that can be heard for miles. It became a circus staple because its...

1776

Father Francisco Palóu founded Mission San Francisco de Asís, the oldest surviving building in San Francisco

Also known as Mission Dolores, this small adobe church was built by Native American converts and Spanish colonizers. It survived the 1906 earthquake t...

1740

A massive bathtub hoax in colonial New York claimed a sea monster was captured, causing widespread panic

Pranksters convinced residents that a mermaid had been caught in the harbor, displaying what was actually a monkey torso sewn to a fish tail. Crowds p...

1701

The Collegiate School of Connecticut was chartered, which would later become Yale University

Ten Congregationalist ministers founded the school to train clergy and political leaders. It moved to New Haven in 1716 and was renamed Yale College i...

1635

Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious and political views

Williams advocated for separation of church and state and fair treatment of Native Americans, which was too radical for Puritan leaders. He fled and f...

1446

Hangul, the Korean alphabet, was published and introduced to the Korean people

Major

King Sejong the Great unveiled Hangul, a phonetic writing system designed to be easy to learn so common people could become literate. Before this, onl...

1000

Leif Erikson is believed to have landed in North America, making Vikings the first Europeans to reach the continent

Major

Nearly 500 years before Columbus, Norse explorer Leif Erikson likely arrived at what is now Newfoundland, Canada. The Vikings established a settlement...