Updated July 8, 2012, 2:28 pm
On July 9, 1896, William Jennings Bryan caused a sensation at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with his “cross of gold” speech denouncing supporters of the gold standard. Bryan went on to win the party’s nomination.
On July 9, 1929, Hassan II, who ruled Morocco from 1961 to 1999, was born. Following his death on July 23, 1999, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1776 The Declaration of Independence was read aloud to Gen. George Washington’s troops in New York. 1816 Argentina declared independence from Spain. 1850 Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, died in Washington, D.C., after serving only 16 months in office. 1896 William Jennings Bryan denounced supporters of the gold standard with his “cross of gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 1974 Former Chief Justice Earl Warren died at age 83. 1992 Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton tapped Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee to be his running mate. 1995 The rock band the Grateful Dead played their last concert, at Soldier Field in Chicago, after a 30-year run, much of it spent on the road. (Lead guitarist Jerry Garcia died the following month.) 1997 Boxer Mike Tyson was banned from the ring and fined $3 million for biting opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear. 2002 The baseball All-Star game in Milwaukee finished in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings when both teams ran out of pitchers. 2004 A Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq that the Bush administration relied on to justify going to war. 2011 South Sudan became the world’s newest nation, officially breaking away from Sudan after two civil wars over five decades that had cost millions of lives. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actor Tom Hanks turns 56 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
Actor Chris Cooper turns 61 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
1927 Ed Ames, Actor, singer, turns 85 1932 Donald Rumsfeld, Former defense secretary, turns 80 1938 Brian Dennehy, Actor, turns 74 1942 Richard Roundtree, Actor, turns 70 1945 Dean Koontz, Author, turns 67 1947 O.J. Simpson, Football Hall of Famer, turns 65 1952 John Tesh, Musician, TV personality, turns 60 1955 Jimmy Smits, Actor, turns 57 1955 Lindsey Graham, U.S. senator, R-S.C., turns 57 1957 Kelly McGillis, Actress, turns 55 1959 Jim Kerr, Rock singer (Simple Minds), turns 53 1964 Courtney Love, Rock singer, turns 48 1971 Scott Grimes, Actor, turns 41 1973 Enrique Murciano, Actor (“Without a Trace”), turns 39 1975 Jack White, Rock musician (The White Stripes), turns 37 1976 Fred Savage, Actor (“The Wonder Years”), turns 36
Historic Birthdays
Hassan II 7/9/1929 – 7/23/1999 Moroccan king (1961-99)Go to obituary »
40 Thomas De La Warr 7/9/1577 – 6/7/1618
English official; one of the founders of the Virginia colony48 Thomas Davenport 7/9/1802 – 7/6/1851
American inventor; developed successful electric motor48 Elias Howe 7/9/1819 – 10/3/1867
American inventor of the sewing machine56 Ottorino Respighi 7/9/1879 – 4/18/1936
Italian composer66 Mikhail Borodin 7/9/1884 – 5/29/1951
Russian Comintern agent88 Samuel Eliot Morison 7/9/1887 – 5/15/1976
American biographer and historian67 Dorothy Thompson 7/9/1893 – 1/30/1961
American journalist and writer92 Albert Wedemeyer 7/9/1897 – 12/17/1989
American military leader during W. W. II87 Carmen Franco 7/9/1900 – 2/6/1988
Spanish consort of Francisco Franco57 Mervyn Peake 7/9/1911 – 11/17/1968
English novelist, poet, playwright and illustrator89 Edward Heath 7/9/1916 – 7/17/2005
British prime minister (1970-1974)
