Updated May 8, 2012, 2:28 pm
On May 9, 1994, South Africa’s newly elected parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the country’s first black president.
Go to article »On May 9, 1874, Howard Carter, the British archaeologist who discovered the Egyptian tomb of King Tutankhamen, was born. Following his death on March 2, 1939, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1502 Christopher Columbus left Cadiz, Spain, on his fourth and final trip to the Western Hemisphere. 1918 “60 Minutes” newsman Mike Wallace was born Myron Wallace in Brookline, Mass. 1926 Americans Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett made what they claimed was the first airplane flight over the North Pole. (Evidence suggests they may have missed their target by 150 miles.) 1936 Italy annexed Ethiopia. 1961 Federal Communications Commission chairman Newton N. Minow condemned TV programming as a “vast wasteland” in a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters. 1974 The House Judiciary Committee opened hearings on whether to recommend the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. 1974 A concert in Cambridge, Mass., prompted rock critic Jon Landau to write, “I saw rock and roll future and it’s name is Bruce Springsteen.” 1978 The bullet-riddled body of former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro, who’d been abducted by the Red Brigades, was found in an automobile in the center of Rome. 1994 South Africa’s newly-elected parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the country’s first black president. 1994 Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire, was placed under quarantine after an outbreak of Ebola virus. 2004 Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov and 23 other people were killed in a bombing in the capital Grozny. 2010 Dallas Braden pitched the 19th perfect game in major league history, leading the Oakland Athletics in a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. 2010 Singer Lena Horne died at age 92. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actress Rosario Dawson turns 33 years old today.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg
New York Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni turns 61 years old today.
AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek
1936 Albert Finney, Actor, turns 76 1936 Glenda Jackson, Actress, turns 76 1937 James L. Brooks, Director, turns 75 1942 John Aschroft, Former attorney general, turns 70 1946 Candice Bergen, Actress (“Murphy Brown”), turns 66 1948 Calvin Murphy, Basketball Hall of Famer, turns 64 1949 Billy Joel, Rock singer, musician, turns 63 1950 Tom Petersson, Rock singer, musician (Cheap Trick), turns 62 1951 Alley Mills, Actress (“The Wonder Years”), turns 61 1960 Tony Gwynn, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 52 1970 Ghostface Killah, Rapper (Wu-Tang Clan), turns 42 1979 Brandon Webb, Baseball player, turns 33 1982 Rachel Boston, Actress (“American Dreams”), turns 30 1984 Prince Fielder, Baseball player, turns 28 1985 Audrina Patridge, TV personality (“The Hills”), turns 27
Historic Birthdays
Howard Carter 5/9/1874 – 3/2/1939 English archaeologist.Go to obituary »
59 John Brown 5/9/1800 – 12/2/1859
American abolitionist; led raid on the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry in 185956 Belle Boyd 5/9/1844 – 6/11/1900
American actress and Confederate spy during the Civil War67 Carl Gustaf Laval 5/9/1845 – 2/2/1913
Swedish scientist, engineer and inventor77 Sir James Barrie 5/9/1860 – 6/19/1937
Scottish dramatist and novelist; wrote “Peter Pan”63 Lilian Mary Baylis 5/9/1874 – 11/25/1937
English theatrical manager85 Henry J. Kaiser 5/9/1882 – 8/24/1967
American industrialist; built dams, bridges and ships72 Jose Ortega y Gasset 5/9/1883 – 10/18/1955
Spanish philosopher and humanist76 William du Bois 5/9/1916 – 2/5/1993
American author and illustrator of children’s books67 Pancho Gonzales 5/9/1928 – 7/3/1995
American tennis player; U.S. Open single’s champion 8 times between 1953 and 1961
