A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on December 9th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On December 9, 1872, P. B. S. Pinchback became the first ever African American governor of Louisiana, and in fact the first ever African American governor of any US State.
On December 9, 1917, British forces under the command of Field Marshall Allenby captured the city of Jerusalem, then in the territory known as Palestine.
On December 9, 1935, the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City (now known simply as The Downtown Club) made their choice for the most outstanding college football player, naming Jay Berwanger, halfback for the University of Chicago as the winner of the Downtown Athletic Club Award, the prize later renamed The Heisman Trophy.
On December 9, 1935, muckraking journalist, Walter Liggett, was gunned down in front of his wife and children by a Minneapolis, Minnesota mobster with a Tommy Gun.
On December 9, 1946, the “Subsequent Nuremberg Trials” began with the “Doctors’ Trial,” prosecuting doctors alleged to be involved in human experimentation.
On December 9, 1965, citizens of Detroit and Eastern Michigan, Ohio, and Western Pennsylvania (a total of six states plus Ontario) were treated to a fireball in the night sky, as mysterious then as it is now.
On December 9, 1979, history was made when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the smallpox virus in nature had been made extinct.
On December 9, 1996, Casino Niagara opened in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.
On December 9, 2018, we took a minute to tell you about the latest blockbuster film based off of a Marvel Comics property, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, this time an animated feature film, although probably the best animation you have ever seen!
On Wednesday, December 9, 2020, STX Entertainment had a virtual screening of Songbird at 7:00PM.
On December 9, 2020, we had the opportunity to review a new feature film, Songbird, scheduled for digital release on December 10, 2020.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.