History of 9th February

474 - Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
1267 - Synod of Breslau orders Jews of Silesia to wear special caps
1499 - France & Venice sign treaty against Milan
1537 - Pope Paul III routes Cardinal Pole to England
1540 - The 1st recorded race meet in England (Roodee Fields, Chester)
1554 - Battle at London: Sir Thomas Wyatt defeated
1555 - Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake.
1574 - Louis of Nassau ends siege of Maastricht
1621 - Alexander Ludovisi is elected Pope Gregory XV (-1623)
1667 - Treaty of Andrussovo: Russia/Poland signs peace treaty
1674 - English reconquer NY from Netherlands
1682 - Thomas Otway's "Venice Preserved," premieres in London
1742 - British ex-premier Walpole becomes earl of Orford
1744 - Battle at Toulon (French/Spanish vs English fleet of Adm Matthews)
1775 - English Parliament declares Mass colony is in rebellion
1788 - Austria declares war on Russia
1799 - USS Constellation captures French frigate Insurgents off Nevis, W I
1801 - France & Austrian sign Peace of Luneville
1807 - French Sanhedrin convened by Napoleon
1822 - American Indian Society organizes
1822 - Haiti invades the newly founded Dominican Republic.
1825 - House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams 6th US president
1849 - Roman Republic declared
1861 - Jefferson Davis & Alexander Stephens elected president & VP of CSA
1861 - Tennessee votes against secession
1861 - Confederate Provisional Congress declares all laws under the US Constitution were consistent with constitution of Confederate states
1863 - Fire extinguisher patented by Alanson Crane
1870 - US Army establishes US National Weather Service
1871 - Federal fish protection office authorized by Congress
1885 - 1st Japanese arrive in Hawaii
1886 - Pres Cleveland declares a state of emergency in Seattle because of anti-Chinese violence
1889 - The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is established as a Cabinet-level agency.
1891 - 1st shipment of asparagus arrives in SF from Sacramento
1893 - Canal builder De Lesseps & others sentenced to prison for fraud
1893 - Verdi's opera "Falstaff" premieres in Milan
1895 - 1st intercollegiate basketball game (Minn Agricult beats Hamline, 9-3)
1895 - Volleyball invented by W G Morgan in Massachusetts
1900 - Dwight Davis established a new tennis trophy, the Davis Cup
1904 - Japan declares war on Russia
1906 - Natal proclaims state of siege in Zulu uprising
1909 - 1st federal legislation prohibiting narcotics (opium)
1909 - 1st forestry school is incorporated at Kent, Ohio
1912 - US Tennis Assn amends rule taking bye away from defending champion
1913 - -18] 10 Day Tragedy of Mexico-City; 3,000 die
1916 - Britain's military service act enforced (conscription)
1916 - NL votes down a proposal by Giants, Braves, & Cubs to increase club player limit from 21 to 22 (The Reds want to decrease to 20)
1918 - Army chaplain school organizes at Ft Monroe Va
1918 - Sacha Guitry's "Deburan," premieres in Paris
1920 - International treaty recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard
1920 - Joint Rules Com bans foreign substances & alterations to baseballs
1922 - Italian govt of Bonomi falls
1922 - Snow on Mauna Loa, Hawaii
1922 - Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
1923 - Soviet Aeroflot airlines forms
1924 - Nakhichevan ASSR constituted within Azerbaijan SSR
1925 - German Minister Stresemann proposes security treaty with France
1925 - Haifa Technion (Israel), opens
1926 - Teaching theory of evolution forbidden in Atlanta, Georgia schools
1929 - USSR, Estonia, Latvia, Poland & Romania sign Litvinov Pact
1932 - America enter Olympic 2-man bobsled competition for 1st time
1932 - US airship Columbia crashes during storm (Flushing, NY)
1933 - -63°F (-53°C), Moran, Wyoming (state record)
1934 - -14.3°F (-25.7°C), coldest day in New York City
1934 - -51°F (-46°C), Vanderbilt, Michigan (state record)
1934 - Balkan Entente alliance forms (Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey & Romania)
1935 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Maribel Vinson
1935 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Robin Lee
1939 - Belgian Spaak govt falls
1940 - Joe Louis beats Arturo Godoy in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1941 - British troops conquer El Agheila
1941 - Nazi collaborators destroy pro-Jewish café Alcazar Amsterdam (Alcazar refused to hang "No Entry for Jews" signs in front of cafe)
1942 - Daylight Savings War Time goes into effect in US
1942 - Japanese troops land near Makassar, South Celebes
1942 - Philadelphia "Phillies" change nickname (temporarily) to "Phils"
1943 - FDR orders minimal 48 hour work week in war industry
1943 - German riots at "plutocratenzoontjes," 1,200 in Vught Camp
1943 - Japanese evacuate Guadalcanal, ends epic battle
1943 - NL seeks buyer for Phillies, as owner Gerry Nugent, falls in arrears
1943 - Nazis arrest Dutch sons of rich parents
1944 - U-734/U-238 sunk off Ireland
1945 - -Feb 10] Germany destroys Ruhrdammen
1945 - WAAF-corporal flies along the tail of a Spitfire
1945 - The Battle of the Atlantic the HMS Venturer sinking U-Boat 864 off the coast of Norway.
1946 - Dutch Labor Party (Dutch Social Democratic Party) forms
1947 - Bank robber Willie Sutton escapes jail in Phila
1948 - WLWT TV channel 5 in Cincinnati, OH (NBC) begins broadcasting
1950 - Sen Joseph McCarthy charges State Dept infested with 205 communists
1951 - St Louis Browns sign pitcher Satchel Paige, 45
1953 - "Adventures of Superman" TV series premieres in syndication
1953 - WNEP TV channel 16 in Scranton Wilkes-Barre, PA (ABC) 1st broadcast
1953 - General Walter Bedell Smith, USA, ends term as 4th director of CIA Allen W Dulles, becomes acting director of CIA
1954 - Mario Scelba forms new govt in Italy
1955 - Dutch 2nd Chamber accepts crematory law
1955 - US federations of trade unions merge into AFL/CIO
1956 - -5°F (15°C) in Sicily
1956 - KHPL (now KWNB) TV channel 6 in Hayes Center, NB (ABC) 1st broadcast
1956 - R Lacoste follows Catroux as premier of Algeria
1959 - Coasters's "Charlie Brown" peaks at #2
1960 - AFL & NFL agree verbally to a no tampering pact
1961 - Joseph Ileo appointed premier of Congo
1962 - Jamaica signs agreement to become independent
1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1963 - 1st flight of Boeing 727 jet
1963 - 7th largest snowfall in NYC history (42.4 cm, 16.7")
1964 - 1st appearance of Beatles on "Ed Sullivan Show" (73.7 million viewers)
1964 - 9th Winter Olympic games close at Innsbruck, Austria
1964 - GI Joe character created
1964 - Hanumant Singh scores 105 India v England on debut at Delhi
1964 - NYC news anchor Jim Jenson's 1st appearance on WCBS-TV
1966 - Dow-Jones Index hits record 995 points
1968 - Rotterdam metro opened by princess Beatrix
1969 - Boeing 747 made its 1st commercial flight
1969 - KGTO TV channel 36 in Fayetteville, AR (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
1969 - World's largest airplane, Boeing 747, makes 1st commercial flight
1971 - Apollo 14 returns to Earth
1971 - Probably 1st gay theme TV episode - All in the Family
1971 - Quake in San Fernando Valley kills 64 & causes over $½B damage
1971 - Satchel Paige becomes 1st negro-league player elected to baseball HOF
1972 - Brit Govt declares state of emergency after month-long miners' strike
1973 - Biju Patnaik of the Pragati Legislature Party elected leader of opposition in the state assembly in Orissa, India.
1974 - "Daddy What If" by Bobby Bare peaks at #41
1974 - "The Americans (A Canadian's Opinion)" by Gordon Sinclair peaks at #24
1974 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Dorothy Hamill
1974 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Gordon McKellen Jr
1975 - Sandra Haynie wins LPGA Naples Lely Golf Classic
1975 - Soyuz 17 returns to Earth
1976 - Oscar Charleston selected to baseball's the Hall of Fame
1979 - 21st Grammy Awards: Just the Way You Are, Taste of Honey
1979 - ABC airs "Heroes of Rock N Roll" special
1979 - Beginning of James Clavell's novel "Whirlwind"
1979 - Nigeria amends constitution
1980 - Rick Barry, Houston, is 1st in NBA to score 8, 3-pt goals in a game
1982 - 34th NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 4-2 at Washington
1983 - Belgium buys 44 F-16s
1984 - "Rink" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 204 performances
1985 - Madonna's "Like a Virgin," album goes #1 for 3 weeks
1986 - 36th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 139-132 at Dallas
1986 - Halley's Comet reaches 30th perihelion (closest approach to Sun)
1986 - Haydar Bakr al-Attas appointed president of South Yemen
1986 - Marvin Johnson wins record 3rd time, light heavyweight boxing title
1986 - Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Classic
1986 - Tomb of Tutanchamon's treasurer Maya found in Egypt
1986 - West German team swims world record 4x200 m freestyle (7:05.17)
1987 - Former national security adviser Robert McFarlane attempts suicide
1987 - NY Stock Exch installs ladies restroom in the Exchange Luncheon Club
1988 - 39th NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 6-5 (OT) at St Louis
1988 - NH begins a NCAA record 32-game losing streak at home (ends Feb 1991)
1989 - Kevin Johnson (Phoenix) ends NBA free throw streak of 57 games
1989 - Michael Manley's Socialist Party wins Jamaica parliamentary election
1990 - "Bradys" return to TV for 6 episodes on CBS TV
1990 - Doina Melinte runs world indoor record 1.5k (4:00:27) & mile (4:17:13)
1990 - Galileo flies by Venus
1990 - Namibia's constitution ratified
1991 - "This Is Ponderous" by 2nu peaks at #46
1991 - Johann Olav Koss skates world record 5k (6:41:73)
1991 - Terry Norris knocks down Sugar Ray Leonard twice & beats him
1991 - US Supreme Court agrees to hear Joseph Doherty case
1991 - Wally Joyner wins record $2.1 million salary arbitration
1992 - "2 Shakespearean Actors" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 29 perfs
1992 - 42nd NBA All-Star Game: West beats East 153-113 at Orlando
1992 - Fastest yodeler-22 tones/15 falsetto in 1 sec by Thomas School of Germ
1992 - Heike Henkel high jumps female indoor world record (2.07m)
1992 - Jani Sievinen swims world record 400m medley (4:07.10)
1992 - NBA All Star Game - West beats East 153-113
1992 - Shelley Hamlin wins LPGA Phar-Mor Golf Tournament at Hamlin Inverrary
1993 - Army of opium king Khun Sa kills 60 in NE Burma
1994 - Israeli minister Shimon Perez signs accord with PLO's Arafat
1995 - "Heiress" opens at Cort Theater NYC for 340 performances
1995 - Irina Privalova runs female world record 50m (5.96 sec)
1996 - WYNY-FM in NYC changes calls to WKTU-FM
1996 - The Irish Republican Army declares the end of its 18 month ceasefire shortly followed by a large bomb in London's Canary Wharf.
1997 - 11th American Comedy Award: Debbie Reynolds
1997 - 47th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 132-120 at Cleveland
1997 - Kelly Robbins wins LPGA Diet Dr Pepper National Pro-Am
1997 - LG Senior Golf Championship
1997 - Mark O'Meara wins Buick golf invitational
1997 - Palm Beach National LPGA Pro-Am
1997 - Scotty Bowman, is 1st NHL coach to win 1,000 games
1997 - Fox cartoon series "Simpsons" airs 167th episode the longest-running animated series in cartoon history
1998 - 6th annual ESPY Awards
1998 - Failed assassination attempt on Georgian Pres Eduard Shevardnadze
2001 - The American submarine USS Greeneville accidentally strikes and sinks the Ehime-Maru, a Japanese training vessel operated by the Uwajima Fishery High School.