History of the Day for:
December 9
- 1765: Boston merchants joined the non-importation movement in order to repeal the Stamp Act.
- 1793: The first daily newspaper in New York City, "The America Minerva," was founded by Noah Webster.
- 1854: Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," was published in England.
- 1886: Clarence Birdseye, U.S. inventor famous for his invention of deep-freezing foodstuffs, was born.
- 1907: Christmas seals went on sale for the first time, in the Wilmington, Del., post office. The proceeds went to fight tuberculosis.
- 1926: Benny Goodman, 17, held his first recording session, playing clarinet with the Ben Pollack Orchestra on "Downtown Shuffle" for Victor Records.
- 1926: The United States Golf Association legalized the use of steel-shafted golf clubs.
- 1934: In pro football's championship game, on an extremely cold and icy day, the New York Giants trailed the Chicago Bears, 13-3, in the third quarter before changing to basketball shoes for better footing. The Giants won, 30-13, in what has come to be known as the Sneakers Game.
- 1941: China formally issued a declaration of war against Japan, Germany and Italy.
- 1961: Former SS officer Adolf Eichman was found guilty of war crimes by an Israeli court. He was hanged.
- 1962: "Lawrence of Arabia," David Lean's epic, had its world premiere in London.
- 1965: "A Charlie Brown Christmas" first aired on CBS with the jazz music composition by the Vince Guaraldi Trio in the background.
- 1967: President Johnson's daughter Linda married Charles Robb in the first wedding at the White House since 1914.
- 1968: "Newsweek" reported that the Beatles' "White Album" had sold 1.1 million copies in its first five days, despite a record high $11.58 list price. Their critic gives mixed reviews to the 25-song package, saying that "with some judicious editing, the Beatles could have turned out a real fine album of one LP...and maybe even put a picture on the jacket."
- 1972: A stage version of the rock opera "Tommy" with an all-star cast opened at London's Rainbow Theatre.
- 1973: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton reconciled.
- 1978: "Saturday Night Live" players John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd recorded the album "Soul Man" and released it under the name The Blues Brothers.
- 1990: Lech Walesa, former leader of the trade union Solidarity, won a landslide victory in the Polish presidential election.
- 1994: President Clinton fired Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders after learning she'd told a conference that masturbation should be discussed in school as a part of human sexuality.
- 2000: The United States Supreme Court stays the Florida recount.
- 2003: A blast in the center of Moscow kills six people and wounds several more.
- 2006: Moscow suffers its worst fire since 1977, killing 45 women in a drug rehabitation center.
- 2008: The Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, is arrested by federal officials for a number of alleged crimes including attempting to sell the United States Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama's election to the Presidency.