On this day: 9 August

Selected events and births on 9 August, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 1821 – A statue of the Polynesian god A'a was presented to members of the London Missionary Society on the south Pacific island of Ra'iatea. Read more: Statue of A'a from Rurutu London Missionary Society Raʻiātea
• 1897 – The first meeting of the International Congress of Mathematicians was held in Zürich, Switzerland. Read more: International Congress of Mathematicians Zurich
• 1902 – In a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, Edward VII and Alexandra were crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor and Empress of India. Read more: Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra Westminster Abbey Edward VII
• 1934 – The Blue Lotus, the fifth volume of The Adventures of Tintin by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé and noted for its emphasis on countering negative misconceptions of Chinese people, began serialisation. Read more: The Blue Lotus The Adventures of Tintin Hergé
• 1944 – The United States Forest Service authorized the use of Smokey Bear as its mascot to replace Bambi. Read more: United States Forest Service Smokey Bear Bambi (character)
• 1960 – Led by Albert Kalonji, South Kasai declared its unilateral secession from the Republic of the Congo. Read more: Albert Kalonji South Kasai First Congolese Republic
• 1974 – On the verge of an impeachment and removal from office amid the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon became the first president of the United States to resign. Read more: Impeachment process against Richard Nixon Watergate scandal Richard Nixon
• 1988 – Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the most controversial player transactions in ice hockey history. Read more: Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings

Born on this day

• 1938 – Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian engineer and politician, 2nd President of Ukraine Read more: Leonid Kuchma President of Ukraine
• 1939 – Romano Prodi, Italian academic and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Italy Read more: Romano Prodi Prime Minister of Italy
• 1953 – Jean Tirole, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Read more: Jean Tirole Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
• 1961 – John Key, New Zealand businessman and politician, 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand Read more: John Key Prime Minister of New Zealand
• 1978 – Dorin Chirtoacă, Moldavian lawyer and politician, Mayor of Chișinău Read more: Dorin Chirtoacă Mayor of Chișinău
• 1995 – Eli Apple, American football player Read more: Eli Apple
• 1996 – Sanya Lopez, Filipino actress and model Read more: Sanya Lopez
• 1999 – Deniss Vasiļjevs, Latvian figure skater Read more: Deniss Vasiļjevs
• 2000 – Aidan Hutchinson, American football player Read more: Aidan Hutchinson
• 2000 – Arlo Parks, British singer-songwriter Read more: Arlo Parks
• 2003 – Kazuha, Japanese singer and dancer Read more: Kazuha (singer)
• 2005 – Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva, Andorran tennis player Read more: Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / August 9 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.