Historical events that occurred on 9 August

9 August 2006, Singapore's National Day. Singapore is 41 yrs old yesterday! Its nice to have one's birthday so close to the Nation's. I can enjoy the fireworks as well.. keke... But then, there are a lot of things that happen on 9th aug throughout the many many years.. I gotten this list from email circulating, hope it is accurate.



* 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt.
* 378 - Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople - A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens is defeated by the Visigoths in present-day Turkey. Valens is killed along with 2/3 of his army.
* 681 - Bulgaria is founded as a Khanate on the south bank of the Danube, after defeating the Byzantine armies of Emperor Constantine IV south of the Danube delta.
* 1048 - Pope Damasus II dies in Rome, after reigning for only 23 days.
* 1173 - Construction of the (Leaning) Tower of Pisa begins, and it takes two centuries to complete.
* 1483 - Opening of the Sistine Chapel
* 1842 - Webster-Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States-Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.
* 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Cedar Mountain - At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson narrowly defeats Union forces under General John Pope.
* 1877 - Indian Wars: Battle of Big Hole - A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army.
* 1892 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.
* 1902 - Edward VII is crowned king of the United Kingdom.
* 1936 - Summer Olympic Games: Games of the XI Olympiad: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games becoming the first American to win four medals in one Olympic Games.
* 1942 - Indian leader, Mohandas Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement.
* 1942 - World War II: Battle of Savo Island - Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force.
* 1944 - The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey the Bear for the first time.
* 1945 - World War II: An atomic bomb, codenamed Fat Man, is dropped on the city of Nagasaki, Japan killing an estimated 70,000-90,000 people.
* 1965 - Singapore seceded from the newly-formed Federation of Malaysia.
* 1965 - Space disasters: A fire at a Titan missile base near Little Rock, Arkansas kills 53 construction workers.
* 1967 - Vietnam War: Operation Cochise initiated - United States Marines begin a new operation in the Que Son Valley.
* 1969 - Members of a cult led by Charles Manson brutally murder Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring, and Steven Parent at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles.
* 1974 - Watergate scandal: As a direct result of the scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, becomes president.
* 1983 - Peter Jennings hosts his first broadcast of ABC's World News Tonight as sole anchor.
* 1986 - The Headington Shark is erected in Oxford.
* 1986 - Knebworth Park, Stevenage, UK sees the final live performance of rock band Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury.
* 1987 - 9 people are shot dead and 17 more injured as 19-year old Julian Knight opens fire at random in the Hoddle Street Massacre in Clifton Hill
* 1988 - Wayne Gretzky is traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the most controversial transactions in hockey history.
* 1988 - Baseball's all-day-game era officially came to an end when the Cubs beat the Mets 6-4 in Wrigley Field's first night game.
* 1989 - Kaifu Toshiki becomes Prime Minister of Japan.
* 1993 - The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership.
* 1993 - King Albert II of Belgium is sworn into office.
* 1994 - Dilbert is drawn with his necktie down, signifying that he "lost his innocence" with Liz.
* 1995 - Netscape launches IPO.
* 1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.
* 1999 - The Diet of Japan enacts a law establishing the Hinomaru and Kimi Ga Yo as the official national flag and national anthem.
* 2000 - A Piper Navajo and a Piper Seminole collide in mid-air over a housing development in Burlington, New Jersey, killing 11
* 2001 - US President George W. Bush announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic stem cells.
* 2001 - In Jerusalem, 15 people die and 130 are wounded in the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing.
* 2005 - Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission - Space Shuttle Discovery successfully lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California.