February 9th What Happened on the day you were born on This day in History
1961 U.S.A. Medicare Program
9th February, 1961 : President Kennedy asked Congress to approve a health insurance program ( The Medicare Program ) for 14.2 million Americans 65 or older, financed by an increase in Social Security taxes.
9th February, 1961 : President Kennedy asked Congress to approve a health insurance program ( The Medicare Program ) for 14.2 million Americans 65 or older, financed by an increase in Social Security taxes.
1920 U.S.A. Wellsboro Corning Glass Works
9th February, 1920 : Following a major fire which destroyed the plant Superintendent Smith of the Wellsboro Corning Glass Works plant had dispelled rumors that the plant was going to close. He also had mentioned that there were no grounds for this rumor at all. Necessary repairs were going to be made, but the plant was to remain open.
1937 U.S.A. Work Relief and Flood Rehab
9th February, 1937 : A bill was passed which allowed for a total of $940,000,000 to be used for relief projects. $790,000,000 of this money was intended to be used to fund work relief and flood rehab programs. This aid was expected to be administered between February 1st and June 31st.
It took several weeks to reach a verdict regarding this bill. This was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation passed during this time in history.
1942 World War II Joint Chiefs of Staff
9th February, 1942 : For the first time since the start of the war, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had come together for an official meeting. The purpose of this staff was to coordinate military strategy, which would help the allied forces (i.e. U.S., France, Italy, Russian Empire, British Empire) win World War II.
1942 U.S.A. USS Normandie
9th February, 1942 : The USS Normandie had burned in New York on this day, while in the process of being converted to an allied transport ship. Normandie was regarded as the number one most elegant ocean liner ever built.
1943 World War II Battle of Guadalcanal
9th February, 1943 : The Battle of Guadalcanal, which occurred in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, had ended on this day. This was a very important victory over the Japanese, which was achieved by the United States.
1950 U.S.A. Post Goes Up to 2 cents
9th February, 1950 : A majority has been reached among the members of the United States House of Representatives regarding the hike in postal rates. As a result of a voice vote made on this day, a bill was passed which had raised the rate of postal card rates from one to two cents. Regular letter rates would stay at three cents.
1950 U.S.A. Joseph Mc Carthy
9th February, 1950 : Senator Joseph Mc Carthy from Wisconsin had announced that 205 communists had made their way into the U.S. State Department.
1964 U.S.A. The Beatles
9th February, 1964 : For the first time ever, the popular music group the Beatles had appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Shortly afterwards, they played their first American concert at the Coliseum.
The Beatles had come a long way-literally. They originated from London, England, and were told that they “could not carry a tune across the Atlantic”. In the early days they were though of to be no more than a fad. That of course was proven wrong many times over.
1966 UK Dounreay Nuclear Reactor
9th February, 1966 : The first of it's kind a Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) is to be built at the Dounreay power station on the north coast of Scotland. This reactor will be 5 times more efficient at obtaining the extraction of the energy available in nuclear fuel than current reactors in use.
1969 U.S.A. 747 Test Flight
9th February, 1969 : Boeing 747 airliner takes its first test flight piloted by test pilots Jack Waddell and Brien Wygle at the controls
1979 UK Football Transfer Record Over a Million
9th February, 1979 : England forward Trevor Francis signs for Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest side in Britain's first £1m transfer deal.
1981 U.S.A. Bill Haley
9th February, 1981 : Bill Haley dies at age 56 he brought the existing genre of rock and roll into the spotlight with his chart-topping single "Rock Around the Clock," in 1955.
1996 U.S.A. Kasparov
9th February, 1996 : The legendary Russian Chess Grandmaster Kasparov loses his first chess game ever to IBM's chess computer Deep Blue. He did go on to gain three wins and two draws and easily wins the match
2001 U.S.A. USS Greenville
9th February, 2001 : An American submarine (USS Greenville) accidentally struck a Japanese fishing boat and nine lives were lost. This event took place off the coast of Hawaii in Pearl Harbor.
2002 UK Princess Margaret
9th February, 2002 : Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died at age 71 after suffering a massive stroke.
2008 Pakistan Political Unrest
9th February, 2008 : The political unrest in Pakistan continues following the murder of Benazir Bhutto and the detention of the deposed chief justice. An estimated 100,000 supporters of Benazir Bhutto turned out for her party's first major election rally since her assassination. Meanwhile in the capital of Islamabad riot police used water cannons and tear gas on protesters over the detention of the deposed chief justice. Also at a political gathering Saturday in northwestern Pakistan, a bomb is detonated killing at least 25 people.
