November 22

June 9

411 BC In the wake of the fiscal crisis caused by the failed Sicilian Expedition of the Athenian military in 413 BC, some wealthy Athenian men, who for long had disliked the broad-based democracy of the city-state, sought to establish an oligarchy of the elite. On June 9, 411 BC, some high-status Athenians overthrew the democratic government of ancient Athens and replaced it with a short-lived oligarchy known as "The Four Hundred".

53 AD On June 9, 53 AD, when Nero was 16, he married Claudia Octavia, his father’s daughter from an earlier marriage. Nero became bored of Octavia and tried to strangle her on several occasions. By the time he was twenty-five years old, Nero had yet to produce an heir. When his mistress Poppaea became pregnant, Nero divorced Octavia and banished her to the island of Pandateria (modern Ventotene) on a false charge of adultery. She was murdered there in June 62.

A plaster bust of Nero, Pushkin Museum, Moscow.

68 Following a military revolt, the Senate condemned the Roman emperor Nero to death. He fled Rome and took refuge in a villa a few miles outside the city. On June 9, 68 Nero drove his dagger into his throat rather than being taken alive. As Nero's four faithful servants prepared his funeral pyre, the Emperor muttered through his tears: "Qualis artifex Pereo", ("How great an Artist dies here".)

597 On June 9, 597 The Apostle of Scotland, Saint Columba, was found dying on his monastery altar steps. It was said his eyes were radiant with joy at the thought of soon being with his heavenly Father. He was buried by his monks in the abbey he'd created.

1660 King Louis XIV of France married Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain as part of the Peace of Pyrenees which brought the Franco Spanish War to the end. Their nuptials took place in Saint-Jean-de-Luz at the recently rebuilt church of Saint Jean the Baptist on June 9, 1660. The unimpressed Louis quipped, "Il n'y a pas de Pyrenees." Famed for her virtue and piety, Maria Theresa had no choice but to tolerate her husband's many illicit love affairs.

Maria Theresa is handed over to the French and her husband by proxy, Louis XIV

1672 Peter the Great was born on June 9, 1672 in Moscow and given the name Pyotr Alekseyevich.
He was the 14th child of Czar Alexis of Russia and the first of his father's second wife Nataliya Naryshkina. Peter's mother had the benefit of a progressive education and her influence helped develop his natural intelligence and abilities as a leader. When his elder half-brother Fyodor III died in 1682, Peter, who was an intelligent and boisterous lad of ten, was chosen as his successor.

1781 George Stephenson, "the father of railways," was born on June 9, 1781 in Wylam, Northumberland. By 1801 his skill with steam-driven machinery had become well known and he was given the important job of engineer at the Killingworth collieries. In 1814 Stephenson persuaded the Killingworth manager to allow him to build a steam-powered locomotive for hauling coal on the Killingworth wagonway. Altogether he produced 16 locomotives there.

One of the Killingworth engines

1840 The term piano recital was coined by the publisher Frederick Beale, who suggested it for Franz Liszt's concert at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on June 9, 1840. It was introduced at Liszt's London performance to great bemusement. One pundit sniped, "What does he mean? How can one recite upon the piano?"

1856 On June 9, 1856 a group of Mormon pioneers began leaving Iowa City, Iowa, and headed west for Salt Lake City, carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts.  The Mormon handcart movement, which began on this date continued until 1860. These handcart pioneers have become an important symbol in Church of the Latter Day Saints culture.

Mormon handcart train in Iowa, 1903 illustration

1863 The Battle of Brandy Station, also known as the Battle of Fleetwood Hill. It took place on June 9, 1863, around Brandy Station, Virginia during the American Civil War. An estimated 20,500 soldiers participated, with some 9,500 Confederate cavalry and 11,000 Union troops, including around 3,000 infantry support. The vast majority of the fighting involved cavalry units, making it the largest cavalry battle in American history.

1870 Charles Dickens' second United States tour was such a heavy schedule that he never recovered from it. He gave his last reading in the UK in March 1870 at St James's Hall, Piccadilly in London. Although in grave health by this time, he read A Christmas Carol and The Trial from Pickwick.
Dickens suffered a stroke at his Gad's Hill Place home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness and died the next day on June 9, 1870.

1871 English botanist and photographer Anna Atkins died on June 9, 1871. Among her works was Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, published in 1843. It was the first book ever to contain photographs. (See below). Atkins' pioneering efforts in combining botany and photography laid the foundation for future advancements in both fields. Her meticulous documentation of algae species through photographs showcased the potential of this new medium as a scientific tool.

A cyanotype photogram made by Atkins in her book

1902 An automat is a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drink are served by vending machines. The world's first automat was named Quisisana, which opened at 13 Leipziger strasse, Berlin, Germany in 1895.  Frank Hardart and Joe Horn opened the first US Automat on June 9, 1902 at 818 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. Food was in small glass door compartments with a slot for nickels to unlock the door to retrieve your food selection.

1925 Don Ritchie was born in Vaucluse, New South Wales on June 9, 1925. The Australian talked at least 160 people out of committing suicide at Watson's Bay, Sydney, by offering them a cup of tea and someone to talk to. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his efforts.

1928 Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew landed their Southern Cross aircraft in Brisbane at 10.50 a.m. on June 9, 1928, completing the first ever trans-Pacific flight from the United States mainland to Australia.  The total flight distance was approximately 11,566 kilometres (7,187 mi). Kingsford Smith was met by a huge crowd of 26,000 at Eagle Farm Airport, and welcomed as a hero.


1936 The author George Orwell married 29 year old Eileen O'Shaughnessy on June 9, 1936, at St Mary's Church, Wallington, Hertfordshire. A teacher and trainee educational psychologist, Eileen was sophisticated and intelligent with large blue eyes. During World War II, Eileen worked at the Ministry of Food preparing Kitchen Front broadcasts. She supervised BBC broadcasts to India every week and wrote regularly for the Tribune. Eileen died in 1945 after she'd gone into hospital for a hysterectomy.

1946 After King Ananda Mahidol was assassinated, Bhumibol Adulyadej ascended to the throne of Thailand on June 9, 1946. He was the world's longest-serving head of state until his death on October 13, 2016 and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.

1946 The first car commercial on television was for Chevrolet. It aired on June 9, 1946. The advert was the start of the car company's sponsorship of a series of variety shows that aired in four cities on the DuMont network.


1949 Bertrand Russell was awarded the Order of Merit, in the King's Birthday Honours of June 9, 1949. George VI was affable but slightly embarrassed at decorating the controversial freethinker saying, "You have sometimes behaved in a manner that would not do if generally adopted".

1964 English prime minister Boris Johnson was born in a clinic in the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City on June 9, 1964. His English father, Stanley Johnson, was studying economics at Columbia University. Boris was born with such thick, blonde hair that other patients in the hospital were invited in to admire it.

1973 Secretariat's win at the Belmont Stakes on June 9, 1973 secured his place as the ninth winner of the American Triple Crown. Beyond just winning, Secretariat absolutely dominated the race. He set the record for the fastest Belmont Stakes time ever  at 2 minutes and 24 seconds (which still stands today), and the race horse's margin of victory was an unbelievable 31 lengths – the largest margin in the history of horse racing.


1980 The comedian Richard Pryor nearly died on June 9, 1980 when he set himself on fire while freebasing cocaine, as he drunk 151-proof rum. He ran down Parthenia Street from his Northridge, California, home, fully engulfed in flames, until stopped by police and was taken to the hospital. Burns covered more than half of his body and the comedian spent six weeks in recovery at the Grossman Burn Center.

2020 George Floyd - a 46-year-old black man from Minneapolis, Minnesota died after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes. He was laid to rest in a grave next to his mother’s on June 9, 2020. As the service began, the New York Stock Exchange went silent for eight minutes, 46 seconds — the length of time Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck. It was the longest moment of silence on the stock exchange floor in its 228-year history.


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