Summary of the Day ✨ 9 August (09/08)
On this day, tragedy struck with the crash of Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283 in Brazil killing all 62 aboard and the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, which sparked widespread protests. Meanwhile, the Tampere light rail began operations, Shannon Eastin made history as the first female NFL official, and gunmen attacked a Sunni mosque in Quetta resulting in multiple casualties.
Historical Events 📜
- 2024: Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283 crashes near Vinhedo, São Paulo, killing all 62 people on board.
- 2021: The Tampere light rail officially starts operating.
- 2014: Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American male in Ferguson, Missouri, is shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer after reportedly assaulting the officer and attempting to steal his weapon, sparking protests and unrest in the city.
- 2013: Gunmen open fire at a Sunni mosque in the city of Quetta killing at least ten people and injuring 30.
- 2012: Shannon Eastin becomes the first woman to officiate an NFL game.
- 2007: Air Moorea Flight 1121 crashes after takeoff from Moorea Airport in French Polynesia, killing all 20 people on board.
- 2006: At least 21 suspected terrorists are arrested in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot that happened in the United Kingdom. The arrests are made in London, Birmingham, and High Wycombe in an overnight operation.
- 1999: Russian president Boris Yeltsin fires his prime minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.
- 1995: Aviateca Flight 901 crashes into the San Vicente volcano in El Salvador, killing all 65 people on board.
- 1993: The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership.
- 1991: The Italian prosecuting magistrate Antonino Scopelliti is murdered by the ‘Ndrangheta on behalf of the Sicilian Mafia while preparing the government’s case in the final appeal of the Maxi Trial.
- 1974: As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first president of the United States to resign from office. Vice President Gerald Ford becomes president.
- 1973: Mars 7 is launched from the USSR.
- 1971: The Troubles: In Northern Ireland, the British authorities launch Operation Demetrius. The operation involves the mass arrest and internment without trial of individuals suspected of being affiliated with the Irish Republican Army (PIRA). Mass riots follow, and thousands of people flee or are forced out of their homes.
- 1970: LANSA Flight 502 crashes after takeoff from Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport in Cusco, Peru, killing 99 of the 100 people on board, as well as two people on the ground.
Famous Births 👶
- 2005: Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva, Andorran tennis player
- 2000: Aidan Hutchinson, American football player
- 2000: Arlo Parks, British singer-songwriter
- 1999: Deniss Vasiļjevs, Latvian figure skater
- 1996: Sanya Lopez, Filipino actress and model
- 1995: Eli Apple, American football player
- 1995: Justice Smith, American actor
- 1995: Hwang Min-hyun, South Korean singer and actor
- 1994: Kelli Hubly, American soccer player
- 1994: King Von, American rapper (died 2020)
- 1993: Jun.Q, South Korean singer and actor
- 1993: Dipa Karmakar, Indian gymnast
- 1992: Farahnaz Forotan, Afghan journalist
- 1991: Alice Barlow, English actress
- 1991: Alexa Bliss, American bodybuilder and wrestler
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Susan Wojcicki, Polish-American technology executive (born 1968)
- 2023: Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (born 1943)
- 2021: Pat Hitchcock, English actress and producer (born 1928)
- 2021: Killer Kau, South African rapper, dancer and record producer (born 1998)
- 2021: Zairaini Sarbini, Malaysian voice actress (born 1972)
- 2016: Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, third-richest British citizen (born 1951)
- 2015: Frank Gifford, American football player, sportscaster, and actor (born 1930)
- 2015: John Henry Holland, American computer scientist and academic (born 1929)
- 2015: Walter Nahún López, Honduran footballer (born 1977)
- 2015: David Nobbs, English author and screenwriter (born 1935)
- 2015: Kayyar Kinhanna Rai, Indian journalist, author, and poet (born 1915)
- 2015: Fikret Otyam, Turkish painter and journalist (born 1926)
- 2014: J. F. Ade Ajayi, Nigerian historian and academic (born 1929)
- 2014: Andriy Bal, Ukrainian footballer and coach (born 1958)
- 2014: Arthur G. Cohen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Arlen Realty and Development Corporation (born 1930)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Battle of Gangut Day (Russia)
- Christian feast day:
Candida Maria of Jesus - Christian feast day:
Edith Stein (St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) - Christian feast day:
Firmus and Rusticus - Christian feast day:
Herman of Alaska (Russian Orthodox Church and related congregations; Episcopal Church (USA)) - Christian feast day:
John Vianney (1950s – currently August 4) - Christian feast day:
Mary Sumner (Church of England) - Christian feast day:
Nath Í of Achonry - Christian feast day:
Romanus Ostiarius - Christian feast day:
Secundian, Marcellian and Verian - Christian feast day:
August 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (United Nations)
- Meyboom (Brussels and Leuven, Belgium)
- National Day, celebrates the independence of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965.
- National Peacekeepers’ Day, celebrated on Sunday closest to the day (Canada)