Events on Dec 9
- 0536Byzantines Libya occupies Rome on Ostrogoten
- 0656Battle of Kameel: Kalief Al ibn Abu Talib beats rebellion
- 1315Swiss Woudsteden renews Eternal Covenant (Oath Society)
- 1425Pope Martinus V forms University of Leuven
- 1570Geuzen under Herman de Ruyter occupies Loevestein
- 1625Netherlands and England sign military treaty
- 1640Settler Hugh Bewitt banished from Mass colony when he declares himself to be free of original sin
- 1658Dutch troops occupy harbor city Quilon (Coilan) India
- 1738Jews are expelled from Breslau Silesia
- 1747England and Netherlands sign military treaty
- 1762British parliament accept Treaty of Paris
- 17831st execution at English Newgate-jail
- 1805Comet 3D / 1805 V1 (Biela) approaches within 0.0366 AUs of Earth
- 1824Battle of Ayacucho (Candorcangui), Peru defeats Spain
- 1861Battle of Bird Creek, Indian Terr (High Shoal, Chusto-Talasah)
- 18681st British government of Gladstone forms
- 1869Noble Order of Knights of Labor founded, Philadelphia
- 1878Joseph Pulitzer buys St. Louis Dispatch for $2,500
- 1883New Brunswick adopts Eastern Standard Time (until 1902)
- 1884Levant Richardson patents ball-bearing skate
- 1889President Harrison visits opening of Chicago Auditorium
- 1894Roman Catholics win Parliamentary election in Belgium
- 1900Dutch President Paul Kruger and Queen Wilhelmina have a triumphant procession
- 1902AL announces purchase of grounds for a stadium in New York
- 1903Norwegian parliament vote unanimiously for female suffrage
- 1905French Assembly National votes for separation of church and state
- 1906New York American reports Belgian King Leopold II bribed US Senate commission on the Congo
- 19071st Christmas Seals sold (Wilmington Del post office)
- 1907Gustav Mahler departs Vienna
- 19091st US monoplane flown (Henry W Walden, Long Island, NY)
Born on Dec 9
- 1392Peter: Prince / Regent of Portugal / writer (Virtuosa benfeitoria)
- 1561Edwin Sandys: A founder of Virginia colony
- 1569Martinus de Porres: Peru -- Saint (patron of social justice)
- 1571Adrian A Metius: Dutch mathematician / fort architect
- 1581Emilia Secunda Antwerpiana: Daughter of Willem of Orange
- 1594Gustavus II Adolphus: King who made Sweden a major power (1611-32)
- 1608John Milton: London, England -- Poet / puritan (Paradise Lost)
- 1715Georg Gottfried Petri: Composer
- 1717Johann J Winckelmann: German archaeologist (History of Ancient Art)
- 1728Pietro Alessandro Guglieli: Composer
- 1742Carl W Scheele: Swedish pharmacist / chemist (lemon acid)
- 1754Etienne Ozi: Composer
- 1791Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner: Composer
- 1796Prudent-Louis Aubery du Boulley: Composer
- 1842Pjotr A Kopotkin: Russian ruler / anarchist
- 1848Joel Chandler Harris: US journalist (created Uncle Remus stories)
- 1853Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn: Rochester, New York -- Pitcher (60-12 in 1884)
- 1854Pekka Hannikainen: Composer
- 1859Algernon Ashton: Composer
- 1862Karel Kovarovic: Composer
- 1864Sidney Homer: Composer
- 1868Fritz Haber: German phycist-chemist (Nobel 1919)
- 1873Antoine Pompe: Belgian architect
- 1883Alexander Papagos: Greek Field Marshal / Supreme Commander
- 1884Antonin Zapotocky: Czechoslovakia -- President (Ceskoslovensky Spisouatel)
- 1889John P "Hannes" Kolehmainen: Fin long-distance runner (1912 Olympics - Gold Medalist)
- 1894Eddie Dowling: Woonsocket, Rhode Island -- Actor (Anywhere USA)
- 1897Hermione Gingold: London, England -- Actress (Gigi, Music Man)
- 1898Emmett Kelly: Sedan, Kansas -- Circus clown (Weary Willie)
- 1899Frans van Amelsvoort: Dutch choir conductor
Died on Dec 9
- 1165Malcom IV: King of Scotland (1153-65), dies at 24
- 1437Sigismund: German Emperor / King of Hungary / Bohemia, dies at 70
- 1625Ubbo Emmius [van Embden]: Frisian humanist / historian, dies at 78
- 1636Giovanni B Aleotti: Ital writer / theater architect, dies at about 90
- 1641Anthonie "Antoon" van Dyck: Flemish painter, dies at 42
- 1669Clement IX [Giulio Rospigliosi]: Ital Pope (1667-69)
- 1674Edward Hyde 1st Earl of Clarendon: English Prime Minister (1660-67), dies at 65
- 1706Pedro II: King of Portugal (1683-1706), dies at 58
- 1767Benedetto Alfieri: Italian Architect (San Giovanni Battista)
- 1770Gottlieb Theophil Muffat: Composer, dies at 80
- 1814Jose Angel Lamas: Composer, dies at 39
- 1819Ann C Coleman: Fiancee of President Buchanan, commits suicide
- 1827Francois Leonard Rouwyzer: Composer, dies at 90
- 1893George Elvey: Composer, dies at 77
- 1905Henry Holmes: Composer, dies at 66
- 1916P Paul Leroy-Beaulieu: French economist (Economist France), dies at 73
- 1924Bernard Zweers: Dutch Composer (Gisbertus of Aemstel), dies at 70
- 1925Eugene Gigout: Composer, dies at 81
- 1940Maletti: Italian General, dies in battle
- 1941Leonard "Leo" Polak: Dutch philosopher, dies in Sachsenhausen at 61
- 1956Hans Barth: Composer, dies at 59
- 1957Carswell Adams: Sportscaster (Your Sports Special)
- 1959Walter Compton: News anchor (DuMont Evening News), dies at 47
- 1964Edith L Sitwell: English Poet / Author (Wheels), dies at 77
- 1966Yury Alexandrovich Shaporin: Composer, dies at 79
- 1970Artem Mikoyan: Russian aircraft designer (MIG), dies at 65
- 1974Jorge Croner de Vasconcelos: Composer, dies at 64
- 1975William A Wellman: US director (Ox Bow Incident), dies at 79
- 1977Clarice Lispector: Writer
- 1981Tonny Til: Rocker, dies at 56
Historical events on December 10
- 0741Zacharias becomes Pope
- 1294Pope Coelestinus V becomes Pope (until Dec 13th)
- 1508League of the Kingdom signed (covenant against Venice)
- 1520Martin Luther publicly burned papal edict demands he recant
- 1582France begins use of Gregorian calendar
- 1652Sea battle at Dungeness: Lieutenant Admiral Maarten Tromp beats English fleet
- 1672New York Gov Lovelace announces monthly mail service between New York and Boston
- 1688King James II flees London
- 1690Mass Bay becomes 1st American colonial goverment to borrow money
- 1745Bonnie Prince Charlies army draws into Manchester
- 1799Metric system established in France
- 1810Tom Cribb (GB) beats Tom Molineaus (US-Negro) in 1st interracial boxing championship (40 rounds)
- 1816Dutch regain Sumatra
- 1817Mississippi admitted as 20th state
- 1831"Spirit of the Times" begins publishing (weekly horse racing sheet)
- 1864General Shermans armies reach Savannah and 12 day siege begins
- 1869Women suffrage (right to vote) granted in Wyoming Territory (US 1st)
- 1887Austria-Hungary / Italy / Great-Britain signs military treaty of Balkan
- 18961st intercollegiate basketball game (Wesleyan beats Yale 4-3)
- 1898Spanish-American War ends; US acquires Philippines, PR and Guam
- 1899Battle at Storm Berge South Africa - Boers vs. British army
- 1903Nobel for physics awarded to Pierre / Marie Curie
- 1904King Peter I of Sweden named nationalist regime
- 1906President Theodore Roosevelt (1st American) awarded Nobel Peace Prize
- 1907Ruyard Kipling receives Nobel prize for literature
- 1910JD Van de Waals wins Nobel Prize for physics
- 1911Calbraith Rogers completes 1st crossing of US by airplane (84 days)
- 1911Tobias Asser given Nobel prize for peace
- 1913Kamerlingh Onnes receives Nobel prize for physics
- 1914French government returns to Paris
Born on December 10
- 1538Giovanni Battista Guarini: Italian writer (Faithfull Shepherd)
- 1679Willem Maurits: Dutch Count of Nassau / gov of Zeeuws-Flanders
- 1691Cornelis Pronk: Dutch portrait painter / cartoonist
- 1741Agatha "Aagje" Deken: Dutch writer (For the Elderly & Children)
- 1764Louis-Sebastien Lebrun: Composer
- 1787Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- Pioneer of educating the deaf
- 1794James Wolfe Ripley: Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1870
- 1805John E Feisser: Theologist / founder 1st Dutch baptist church
- 1805William Lloyd Garrison: Abolitionist publisher (The Liberator)
- 1813Errico Petrella: Composer
- 1813Zachariah Chandler: United States -- Merchant / politician (founder of the Republican Party)
- 1820David Allen Russell: Army Bvt Major General (Union), died in 1864
- 1821Nekrassow: Writer
- 1821Nikolai A Nekrasov: Russian poet (Russkije Zjenjshiny)
- 1822Thomas Casimer Devin: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1878
- 1823Wilhelm Kuhe: Composer
- 1824George MacDonald: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Sci-fi author (Princess & Curdie)
- 1830Emily Dickinson: Amherst, Massachusetts -- Poet (Collected Poems)
- 1831Alexander Conze: German archaeologist
- 1851Melvil[le Louis K] Dewey: Created Dewey Decimal System for libraries
- 1868Louis Victor Saar: Composer
- 1870Adolf Loos: Austria -- Architect (building of houses)
- 1870Pierre Louijs: France -- Novelist / poet (Aphrodite, Woman & Puppet)
- 1870Rudolf W Canne: Fries playwright (Der de Wier Us)
- 1872Johann Babtist Thaller: Composer
- 1872Ludwig Klages: German philosopher (study of graves)
- 1882Otto Neurath: Australia -- Philosopher (Foundation of Social Sciences)
- 1883Andrej J Vysjinski: Russian lawyer / foreign min / UN-ambassador
- 1885Janos Hammerschlag: Composer
- 1885Mario Varvoglis: Composer
Died on December 10
- 0969Nicephorus II Phocas: Byzantine co-Emperor (963-69), murdered
- 1041Michael IV: Paphlagonicus, Emperor of Byzantine
- 1490Antoine Haneron: Bourgundy diplomat, dies at about 90
- 1572Cornelis Musius: Dutch humanist / poet, murdered at 72
- 1595Reynier Cant: Mayor of Amsterdam, dies at about 59
- 1616Diogo do Couto: Portuguese Historian / archivist of Goa, dies at 74
- 1638Ivan [Dzivo F] Gundulic: Dalmatian writer (Osman), dies at 49
- 1665Tarquinio Mercula: Composer
- 1770Theophil "Gottlieb" Muffat: German court Organist / composer, dies at 80
- 1805Friedrich Franz Hurka: Composer, dies at 43
- 1826Benedikt Emanuel Schack: Composer, dies at 68
- 1833Dieudonne-Pascal Pieltain: Composer, dies at 79
- 1875Otogaki Rengetsu: Zen nun / benefactress of Tessai, dies at about 84
- 1877Federico Ricci: Composer, dies at 68
- 1877Jared Kirtland: US Physician / naturalist
- 1888Mariano Obiols: Composer, dies at 79
- 1889Anzengruber: Writer
- 1889Ludwig Anzengruber: Austrian playwright, dies at 50
- 1890Ludolf AJW Sloet van de Beele: Governor-General (Net India 1861-66), dies at 84
- 1896Alfred Nobel: Swedish Nobel Prize ceremony on this date, dies at 63
- 1909Red Cloud: Sioux indian chief
- 1910Pablo Hernandez Salces: Composer, dies at 76
- 1911Joseph D Hooker: British botanist, dies at 94
- 1921Viktor Jacobi: Composer, dies at 38
- 1931Max Elskamp: Belgian Author / Poet (Six Chansons), dies at 69
- 1935John H Aberson: 1st rector of Landbouw high school, dies at 78
- 1936Luigi Pirandello: Italian writer (Enrico IV, Nobel 1934), dies at 69
- 1938Mario Pilati: Composer, dies at 35
- 1939Wilhelm Grosz: Composer, dies at 45
- 1946Damon Runyon: US journalist / writer (Guys & Dolls), dies at 66
Events on Dec 11
- 0384St. Damasus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1419Heretic Nicolaas Serrurier exiled from Florence
- 1572Spanish troops begin siege of Haarlem
- 1618Russia and Poland signs Peace treaty of Dailino
- 1620103 Mayflower pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock (12 / 21 NS)
- 1665"Messiah" Sjabtai Tswi festival in Smyrna
- 1688King James II arrested
- 1710Battle of Villa Viciosa (France beat Habsburgers)
- 1718Battle at Frederikshall Norway
- 17191st recorded display of Aurora Borealis in US (New England)
- 18121st newspaper on Curacao (Curacao Gazette & Commercial Advertiser)
- 1816Citizens of Geneva thwarted Savoyard invaders
- 1816Indiana becomes 19th state
- 18441st dental use of nitrous oxide, Hartford, Connecticut
- 18661st yacht race across Atlantic Ocean
- 18721st black US gov took office, Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback (La)
- 1882Victorien Sardous "Fedora, " with Sarah Bernhardt, premieres in Paris
- 1888French Panama Canal company fails
- 189311 fishing ships wash up at Wadden Sea, 22 killed
- 1901Marconi sends 1st transatlantic radio signal, Cornwall to Nfld
- 1903British forces under MacDonald and Young march into Tibet
- 1905British government of Campbell-Bannerman forms
- 1906US President Roosevelt attacks abuses in the Congo
- 1909Canadian Football exhibition game played in Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, Hamilton Tigers beat Ottawa Rough Riders, 11-6 before 15,000
- 1909Colored moving pictures demonstrated at Madison Square Garden, New York City
- 1914Stockton Street Tunnel (San Francisco) completed
- 1916David Lloyd George forms British war government
- 191713 black soldiers hanged for alleged participation in Houston riot
- 1917German-occupied Lithuania proclaims independence from Russia
- 1919Boll weevil monument dedicated in Enterprise, Ala
Born on Dec 11
- 1566Manuel Cardoso: Composer
- 1676Johann Georg Weichenberger: Composer
- 1712Francesco Algarotti: Italian Earl / encyclopedic (Viaggio in Russia)
- 1757Charles Wesley: Composer
- 1758Carl Friedrich Zelter: Composer
- 1781David Brewster: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Physicist / inventor (kaleidoscope)
- 1783Max von Schenkendorf: German poet
- 1793Pietro Coppola: Composer
- 1797Hiram Paulding: Rear Admiral (Union Navy), died in 1878
- 1801Grabbe: Writer
- 1810Alfred de Musset: Paris, France -- Writer (Un Caprice, Bettine)
- 1823Yury Nikolayevich Golitsin: Composer
- 1835Adolf Stoecker: German anti semite / Prime Minister
- 1836Jan Boissevain: Dutch politician / ship owner
- 1838Emil Rathenau: German industrialist (AEG)
- 1838Whitney Eugene Thayer: Composer
- 1840Kemal Bey: Turkey -- Poet / author (Fatherland-1872)
- 1843Robert Koch: German bacteriologist (TB, cholera, Nobel 1905)
- 1849Ellen Key: Swedish theory / author / feminist (Courageous Woman)
- 1855Julian Edwards: Composer
- 1856Georgi V Plechanov: Russian revolutionary theorist
- 1856Plechanow: Writer
- 1863Annie Jump Cannon: United States -- Stellar spectroscopist (Harvard-classification)
- 1868Ernst Henrik Ellberg: Composer
- 1874Paul Wegener: German actor / director (Student of Prag)
- 1876Mieczyslaw Karlowicz: Composer
- 1882Fiorello La Guardia: (Mayor-R-New York City, 1933-45)
- 1882Max Born: Germany -- Physicist (quantum mechanics, Nobel 1954)
- 1889Paul Kornfeld: Writer
- 1898Nils J E Ferlin: Swedish poet (Barfotabarn)
Died on Dec 11
- 0711Justitianus II: Emperor of Byzantium, dies at about 42
- 1282Llywelyn ab Gruffydd: Monarch of North Wales (1246-77)
- 1282Michael VIII: Paleologus, Byzantine Emperor (1259-82)
- 1573Alardus / Eilard de Waterlant: Duke of Alva, hanged
- 1582Fernando Alvarez de Toledo: Marquis of Soria, dies at about 75
- 1595Philip III van Croij: Prince of Chimay / General, dies at 69
- 1610Adam Elsheimer: German Painter / cartoonist / etcher, buried at 32
- 1610Forges Dimitri 2: Czar of Russia, murdered
- 1748Ewald G von Kleist: German lawyer / inventor of condensator, dies at 55
- 1756Theodor A Freiherr von Neuhoff: German adventurer / King
- 1817Max von Schenkendorf: German poet, dies at 34
- 1831John George Schetky: Composer, dies at 55
- 1847Moritz Grave von Strachwitz: German poet, dies at 25
- 1857Francois Henri Joseph Castil-Blaze: Composer, dies at 73
- 1891Johan C J van Schagen: Dutch Poet / writer (Narrenwijsheid)
- 1899Andrew "Andy" Wauchope: British General Major, dies in battle
- 1899Lord Winchester: British Marquis / major, dies in battle
- 1902Matthias Hohner: German manufacturer (harmonica), dies at 68
- 1911Thomas Ball: US Sculptor / Painter / singer, dies at 92
- 1918Ivan Cankar: Slavic Author (Hlapec Jernej), dies at 42
- 1930Friedrich von Bernhardi: German war theorist / historian, dies at 81
- 1933Emile C Wauters: Belgian Painter (Van der Goes Klooster), dies at 87
- 1955Franz Adolf Syberg: Composer, dies at 51
- 1955Johan C Altorf: Sculptor (October 3 Monument), dies at 79
- 1964Percy Kilbride: Actor (Ma & Pa Kettle), dies at 76
- 1964Sam Cooke: Rock vocalist, shot to death at 29
- 1967Howard Freeman: Actor (Double Dynamite), dies after illness in New York City
- 1967Richard Stohr: Composer, dies at 93
- 1967Victor De Sabata: Composer, dies at 75
- 1968Nadine Riga: Dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 59