A 15-year-old Dutch boy became the youngest person to sail solo around Britain
Seb Clover completed the 1,800-mile journey in just 58 days aboard his 28-foot yacht. He faced severe storms, equipment failures, and shipping lanes p...
May 9 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2001
1994
Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa's first Black president
MajorAfter spending 27 years in prison for opposing apartheid, Mandela won the country's first multiracial democratic election. His inauguration marked the...
1980
A Florida man inadvertently created a 35-foot crater in his backyard while trying to kill a worm
After pouring gasoline down a worm hole and lighting it, the resulting explosion created a massive crater and shattered windows in nearby homes. The m...
1974
Impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon began over the Watergate scandal
MajorThe House Judiciary Committee opened formal hearings that were televised to millions of Americans. Evidence included the infamous White House tapes th...
1960
The FDA approved the first oral contraceptive pill for sale in the United States
MajorThe birth control pill, marketed as Enovid, revolutionized reproductive rights and women's autonomy. Within five years, over 6 million American women...
1950
L. Ron Hubbard published 'Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health,' launching what would become Scientology
The book promised to cure mental illness through a process called 'auditing' and became an instant bestseller. Initially presented as a self-help syst...
1946
Candid Camera creator Allen Funt aired the first hidden camera prank on his radio show 'Candid Microphone'
The show featured unsuspecting people caught in ridiculous situations, ending with the phrase 'Smile, you're on Candid Camera!' It transitioned to tel...
1945
Nazi Germany officially surrendered to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe
MajorKnown as V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day), the surrender was signed in Berlin after Hitler's suicide. The war in Europe had claimed tens of millions of...
1936
Italy officially annexed Ethiopia, completing Mussolini's invasion and briefly creating Italian East Africa
Italian forces had used poison gas and aerial bombardment against Ethiopian troops armed mainly with spears and outdated rifles. Emperor Haile Selassi...
1926
Admiral Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett claimed to have completed the first flight over the North Pole
Flying a Fokker F.VII tri-motor aircraft, the aviators reported a 15.5-hour round trip from Svalbard, Norway. However, modern analysis of Byrd's diary...
1901
Australia's first Parliament opened in Melbourne, creating the Commonwealth of Australia
The Duke of Cornwall (later King George V) presided over the ceremony that officially united six separate colonies into one nation. Over 200,000 peopl...
1868
The world's first recorded traffic ticket was issued in London to a man driving a horse-drawn carriage
The driver was cited for exceeding the 2 mph speed limit in Hyde Park. The fine was just one shilling. This predated the automobile by nearly three de...
1754
America's first political cartoon was published, depicting a snake cut into segments with the caption 'Join, or Die'
Created by Benjamin Franklin for the Pennsylvania Gazette, the cartoon urged colonial unity during the French and Indian War. Each segment represented...
1502
Christopher Columbus departed Spain on his fourth and final voyage to the New World
At age 51, Columbus sailed with four ships seeking a western passage to the Indian Ocean. This voyage would prove disastrous - he was stranded in Jama...