On This Day in History – May 9: What Happened on May 9?

On this day in history, May 9 is a date marked by military victories, scientific breakthroughs, landmark legislation, and celebrated births.

What happened on May 9 in history includes the FDA’s approval of the first birth control pill, the opening of formal Watergate impeachment hearings, and Russia’s annual Victory Day commemoration.

Today in history, May 9 also connects to early aviation milestones and the fall of Addis Ababa to Italian forces in 1936. Famous birthdays on May 9 include musician Billy Joel and abolitionist John Brown.

National days on May 9 include National Butterscotch Brownie Day in the United States. This day in history, May 9, fun facts reveal a date of legal firsts, Cold War turning points, and unexpected royal pardons.

May 9 on the Calendar

May 9 is the 129th day of the year in a standard year and the 130th day in a leap year. There are 236 days remaining after this date.

The zodiac sign is Taurus, which runs from April 20 to May 20.

In the Northern Hemisphere, May 9 falls in mid-spring, typically characterized by warming temperatures, longer daylight hours averaging 14 hours and 15 minutes at 40°N latitude, and active agricultural and planting seasons.

9th May Calendar Facts

Major Historical Events on May 9

May 9th carries a dense historical record across military, political, scientific, and cultural domains.

The following 11 events span the 1500s through the 2000s, each representing a documented shift in world affairs.

1502 — Christopher Columbus departs Cádiz, Spain, on his fourth and final voyage to the Americas. This expedition reached the coast of present-day Honduras and Panama. Columbus died in 1506 without recognizing that the lands he explored were a continent separate from Asia.

1671 — Colonel Thomas Blood attempts to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. He was captured at the scene but was later personally pardoned by King Charles II, an act historians attribute to Blood’s rumored intelligence connections to the Crown.

1754 — Benjamin Franklin publishes the first political cartoon in American newspaper history, “Join, or Die,” in the Pennsylvania Gazette. The image — a segmented snake representing eight colonial groupings — became one of the most reproduced symbols of the American Revolutionary movement.

1800 — Napoleon Bonaparte’s consolidation of power reaches a critical threshold as the Consular Constitution grants him near-dictatorial authority as First Consul. His governance would restructure European law through the Napoleonic Code, still influencing legal systems in over 70 countries today.

1860 — J.M. Barrie, Scottish playwright and author, is born in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. His creation, Peter Pan, debuted on the London stage in 1904 and has since become one of the most adapted fictional characters in the English-speaking world.

1926 — American explorer Richard E. Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett claim to be the first to fly over the North Pole in a Fokker Trimotor aircraft. Subsequent analysis of Byrd’s diary, published in 1996, suggests the aircraft may have turned back approximately 150 miles short of the pole.

1936 — Italian forces under Marshal Pietro Badoglio capture Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, completing Mussolini’s invasion that began in October 1935. Emperor Haile Selassie fled to Britain, and the League of Nations — despite condemning the invasion — failed to impose effective sanctions on Italy.

1960 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves Enovid, manufactured by G.D. Searle & Company, as the first oral contraceptive available in the United States. Clinical trials were conducted in Puerto Rico beginning in 1956. The pill’s approval is widely cited as a catalyst for the second-wave feminist movement of the 1960s.

1974 — The House Judiciary Committee opens formal impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon over the Watergate break-in and cover-up. Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, before a full House vote could occur — the only U.S. president to resign from office.

1992 — The Space Shuttle Endeavour completes its first mission, STS-49, having successfully retrieved the stranded Intelsat VI satellite. The mission marked the first time three astronauts conducted a spacewalk simultaneously.

2007 — The Iraqi Parliament approves a landmark law requiring the government to share oil revenue among the country’s Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish populations — though implementation disputes continued for years afterward.

What’s Happening on May 9, 2026?

Victory Day (Russia and former Soviet states): May 9 marks the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Russia holds its annual military parade on Red Square in Moscow, with troop formations, ballistic missile displays, and flybys. Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan observe the same holiday with state ceremonies.

Europe Day (Council of Europe): The Council of Europe’s Europe Day falls on May 9, commemorating the 1950 Schuman Declaration that proposed the first step toward European integration. This date differs from the EU’s Europe Day, which shares the same calendar date and origin.

2026 UEFA Europa League Final preparations: Club draws and bracket results from earlier rounds will place two clubs in contention for the final scheduled for May 30, 2026, with fan travel and pre-match events generating heavy coverage across European sports media. This final features French side Paris Saint-Germain, the defending champions, against English club Arsenal.

U.S. Congressional sessions: Both the Senate and House of Representatives are in regular session, with committee hearings expected on fiscal year 2027 appropriations and ongoing regulatory matters.

National Butterscotch Brownie Day: Food media, bakeries, and recipe platforms publish seasonal content tied to this observance across the United States.

Movies/shows to be Released on May 9th, 2026

For May 9, 2026, the entertainment lineup features a mix of high-stakes series premieres and some major film leftovers from the “Friday release” window.

TV & Streaming Premieres

In 2026, May 9th falls on a Saturday, which is typically a focused day for cable and streaming arrivals.

• Song of the Samurai (HBO Max): One of the most anticipated debuts of the weekend, this series is expected to dive deep into historical or stylized action within the samurai genre.
• Zillow Gone Wild (HGTV): Season 3 of this popular “architectural oddity” show returns at 9:30 p.m.
• Gold Rush: Mine Rescue With Freddy & Juan (Discovery): The Season 6 finale airs tonight at 10 p.m.

New in Theaters & VOD (Releasing May 8/9)

Since major movies usually drop on Friday (May 8), these will be the “brand new” titles for your Saturday viewing:

Holidays on May 9, 2026

May 9, 2026, is a Saturday that hosts a variety of significant international observances, national public holidays, and unique cultural celebrations.

May 9, 2026, falls on the second Saturday of May, which triggers several recurring observances like World Fair Trade Day and National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day.

Additionally, because it is the day before Mother’s Day in many countries, it is also marked by Mother Ocean Day and Birthmother’s Day.

Below is a detailed breakdown of the holidays and observances for this date.

Global and International Observances

National and Public Holidays

Special Days and Cultural Observances

Religious and Other Observances

Famous Birthdays on May 9

The following 9 individuals, born on May 9, made documented contributions to music, literature, politics, science, and sport.

Billy Joel (born 1949, American) — Singer-songwriter and pianist who sold over 150 million records worldwide. His albums The Stranger (1977) and Glass Houses (1980) each went multi-platinum, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.

Albert Finney (1936–2019, British) — Acclaimed stage and screen actor nominated five times for the Academy Award. His performances in Tom Jones (1963) and Erin Brockovich (2000) are considered career landmarks of British cinema.

John Brown (1800–1859, American) — Abolitionist who led the 1859 raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, attempting to arm enslaved people and incite a rebellion. He was tried for treason and hanged, becoming a martyr figure in the anti-slavery movement.

Glenda Jackson (1936–2023, British) — Two-time Academy Award-winning actress (Women in Love, 1970; A Touch of Class, 1973) who later served 23 years as a Labour Member of Parliament for Hampstead and Kilburn.

Candice Bergen (born 1946, American) — Actress and model best known for her lead role in the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown (1988–2018), for which she won five Emmy Awards. She is also the daughter of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen.

Mike Wallace (1918–2012, American) — Broadcast journalist and co-founder of CBS’s 60 Minutes, the longest-running primetime news program in U.S. television history, which debuted in 1968. He conducted more than 40,000 interviews during his career.

Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600–1681, Spanish) — Playwright and poet of the Spanish Golden Age, author of approximately 120 plays, including Life Is a Dream (La vida es sueño, c. 1635), considered one of the masterworks of Western dramatic literature.

Pancho Gonzales (1928–1995, American) — Professional tennis player who held the world No. 1 ranking from 1954 to 1962. He won the U.S. National Championships in 1948 and 1949 and is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of the pre-Open Era.

Daveed Diggs (born 1982, American) — Actor, rapper, and writer who originated dual roles as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton (2015), winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

Notable Deaths on May 9

Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805, German) — Playwright, poet, and philosopher whose works include The Robbers (1781), Wallenstein (1799), and the poem “Ode to Joy,” later set to music by Ludwig van Beethoven in his Ninth Symphony. He died of tuberculosis in Weimar at age 45.

Howard Carter (1874–1939, British) — Archaeologist who discovered the intact tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings on November 4, 1922. The discovery is considered the most significant archaeological find of the 20th century.

Alan Shepard (1923–1998, American) — Astronaut and the first American in space, completing a 15-minute suborbital flight on May 5, 1961, aboard Freedom 7. He later commanded Apollo 14 in 1971 and played golf on the Moon’s surface.

James M. Barrie (1860–1937, Scottish) — Creator of Peter Pan, who died in London, having bequeathed the rights to the Peter Pan works to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, a gift that has generated substantial royalties for the hospital for decades.

Ida Lupino (1918–1995, British-American) — Actress and director who became the only woman to direct a film noir during Hollywood’s classic period. As a director, she tackled socially taboo subjects, including rape (Outrage, 1950) and bigamy (The Bigamist, 1953).

National Days & Holidays on May 9th

National Butterscotch Brownie Day (U.S.): This informal food holiday celebrates the butterscotch brownie, also called a “blondie,” a bar cookie made with brown sugar, butter, and vanilla rather than cocoa. Recipes trace to early 20th-century American home cookbooks.

Victory Day (Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan): A public holiday marking the Soviet Union’s acceptance of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 8–9, 1945 (the signing occurred late on May 8 in Berlin, which was already May 9 in Moscow time). Military parades are the central observance.

Europe Day (Council of Europe and European Union): Observed annually on May 9, the date commemorates the Schuman Declaration of May 9, 1950, in which French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed pooling European coal and steel production — the foundational act of what became the European Union. Free entry is offered at EU institutions on this day.

Liberation Day (Guernsey and Jersey, Channel Islands): Marks the liberation of the Channel Islands from German occupation on May 9, 1945. Both Crown Dependencies observe this as a public holiday with ceremonies and reenactments.

International Observances on May 9

Europe Day is recognized by the United Nations and European Union institutions as a formal observance. The European Parliament, European Commission, and European Council hold open-door events and educational programs across EU member states.

World Migratory Bird Day is observed on the second Saturday of May each year — in 2026, this falls on May 9th. Coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the event draws attention to the conservation of migratory bird species and their habitats across flyways in the Americas, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific.

Fun & Weird Facts About May 9

The Crown Jewels heist of 1671 was almost successful. Colonel Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, befriended a Tower of London guard over several weeks before making his move.

He and his accomplices managed to flatten the Imperial State Crown with a mallet to fit it under a cloak before being apprehended at the Tower gates. The jewels were recovered undamaged.

The birth control pill was approved on May 9, 1960 — but it was first prescribed as a “menstrual disorder” treatment. When Enovid received FDA approval in 1957 for menstrual disorders, an estimated 500,000 women were reportedly taking it within two years — primarily for contraceptive purposes, which doctors and patients both understood. The 1960 approval simply made the use of contraceptives official.

Benjamin Franklin’s “Join, or Die” cartoon was recycled twice. Originally published in 1754 to argue for colonial unity against the French, the same image was reprinted in 1765 during the Stamp Act crisis and again in 1775 at the outbreak of the American Revolution — making it arguably the first viral political image in American history.

Richard Byrd’s disputed polar flight has never been definitively resolved. His 1996 diary, analyzed by historian Raimund Goerler, showed a navigational erasure at a critical point. The National Geographic Society, which funded the 1926 flight, has never officially withdrawn its recognition of the achievement.

Glenda Jackson returned to the stage at age 80 to play King Lear in a 2016 Old Vic production to critical acclaim — one of the rare instances of a woman performing the lead role in Shakespeare’s tragedy, and a performance that earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play.

The Italian conquest of Ethiopia triggered the first international sanctions regime. The League of Nations imposed sanctions on Italy in November 1935 following the invasion that culminated in the fall of Addis Ababa on May 9, 1936. The sanctions excluded oil — widely regarded as the one product that could have halted the Italian military advance — making them largely symbolic and accelerating the League’s credibility collapse.

FAQ – May 9 in History