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Today in History: August 9
0048
Julius Caesar defeats Gnaius Pompey at Pharsalus.

0480
The Persian army defeats Leonidas and his Spartan army at the Battle Thermopylae, Persia.

1483
Pope Sixtus IV celebrates the first mass in the Sistine Chapel, which is named in his honor.

1549
England declares war on France.

1645
Settlers in New Amsterdam gain peace with the Indians after conducting talks with the Mohawks.

1805
Austria joins Britain, Russia, Sweden and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in the third coalition against France.

1814
Andrew Jackson and the Creek Indians sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, giving the whites 23 million acres of Creek territory.

1842
The Webster-Ashburton treaty fixes the border between Maine and Canada's New Brunswick.

1859
The escalator is patented. However, the first working escalator appeared in 1900. Manufactured by the Otis Elevator Company for the Paris Exposition, it was installed in a Philadelphia office building the following year.

1862
At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General "Stonewall" Jackson repels an attack by Union forces.

1910
The first complete, self-contained electric washing machine is patented.

1930
First appearance of the animated character Betty Boop ("Dizzy Dishes").

1936
Jesse Owens wins four gold medals in track and field events at the Berlin Olympics.

1941
President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet at Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. The meeting produces the Atlantic Charter, an agreement between the two countries on war aims, even though the United States is still a neutral country.

1944
Fictional character Smokey Bear ("Only you can prevent forest fires") created by US Forest Service and the Ad Council.

1945
The B-29 bomber Bock's Car drops a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.

1965
Singapore expelled from Malaysia following economic disagreements and racial tensions; becomes independent republic.

1969
Charles Manson's followers kill actress Sharon Tate and her three guests in her Beverly Hills home.

1971
Le Roy (Satchel) Paige inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame.

1974
Gerald Ford is sworn in as president of the United States after the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

1975
First NFL game in Louisiana Superdome; Houston Oilers defeat New Orleans Saints 13-7.

1979
England's first major nude beach established, at the seaside resort of Brighton.

1992
Twenty-fifth Olympic Summer Games closes in Barcelona, Spain.

1999
The Diet of Japan establishes the country's official national flag, the Hinomaru, and national anthem, "Kimi Ga Yo.".

1999
Russian president Boris Yeltsin fires his prime minister and, for the fourth time, fires the entire cabinet.

Today in History: Born on August 9
1387
Henry V, British king famous for his victory at Agincourt, France.

1631
John Dryden, the first official Poet Laureate of Great Britain (1668 to 1700).

1633
Isaak Walton, author of the classic The Compleat Angler.

1896
Jean Piaget, psychologist who did pioneering work on the development of children's intellectual faculties.

1899
P.L. Travers, author of the Mary Poppins books.


1927
Robert Shaw, actor and writer.

1928
Bob Cousey, Hall of Fame basketball player and coach of the Boston Celtics.

1933
Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Japanese actress and bestselling children's author (Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window); established Japan's first TV talk show, Tetsuko no Heya (Tetsuko's Room), breaking with traditional subservient depiction of Japanese women.

1945
Ken Norton, heavyweight boxing champ.

1945
Rosemary Elizabeth "Posy" Simmonds, award-winning British newspaper cartoonist (The Silent Three, Gemma Bovery, Tamara Drewe) and author / illustrator of children's books (Fred, The Chocolate Wedding).


1957
Melanie Griffith, film and TV actress (Working Girl, Milk Money).

1958
Amanda Bearse, film and TV actress (Married with Children).

1961
Amy Stiller, stand-up comedian, film and TV actress (Little Fokkers, The King of Queens).

1963
Whitney Houston, model, singer ("Saving All My Love for You"), actress (The Bodyguard); listed in 2009 Guinness World Records as most awarded female act of all time.

1964
Hoda Kotb, Daytime Emmy-winning TV news anchor and host.


1968
Gillian Anderson, film and TV actress (The X-Files).

1970
Chris Cuomo, TV journalist and anchor.

1983
Ashley Johnson, film (The Help) and TV actress (Growing Pains), video game voice-overs (The Last of Us).

JOTD
I lived in a houseboat for a while and started seeing the girl next door. Eventually, we drifted apart.

My boyfriend tried to make me have sex on the hood of his Honda Civic. I refused. If I’m going to have sex, it is going to be on my own Accord.

A man tried to sell me a coffin today. I told him, that’s the last thing I need.

The neighbourhood barber just got arrested for selling drugs. We had been his customers for 8 years. We had no idea he was a barber.

One hundred years ago everyone had a horse and only the rich had cars. Nowadays everyone has a car and only the rich have horses. Oh how the stables have turned.

My boyfriend was dying. I was by his bedside when he said something with a weak voice, "There’s something I must confess." "Shhh," I said, "There’s nothing to confess. Everything is alright." "No, I must die in peace," he said. "I had sex with your sister, your best friend, and your co-worker." "I know,” I whispered, "That’s why I poisoned you… Now close your eyes.”

Did you hear about McDonald’s trying to get into the high-end steakhouse market? It was a Big McSteak.