A Day in the Past

On this day: 9 May

131 things happened on 9 May, from AD 328 to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 7

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Around the world 26

1877 149 years ago

Mihail Kogălniceanu reads, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Declaration of Independence of Romania. The date will become recognised as the Independence Day of Romania.

Find out more: Mihail Kogălniceanu (Wikipedia)
1944 82 years ago

World War II: The Japanese Take Ichi convoy arrived at Halmahera in the Dutch East Indies after losing many ships and thousands of troops to Allied attacks while attempting to carry two divisions of troops from China to New Guinea.

War & peaceTransport Find out more: Take Ichi convoy (Wikipedia)
1968 58 years ago

About 200 students at Bucks County Community College held a protest after the college canceled a planned speech by gay rights activist Dick Leitsch.

Find out more: Dick Leitsch (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “First World War: Germany repelled Britain's second attempt to blockade the”?

    1. 1941
    2. 1918
    3. 1860
    Show the answer

    B: 1918. 1918 — that’s 108 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “The inaugural exhibition of the Society of Artists of Great Britain opened at”?

    1. 1915
    2. 1761
    3. 1860
    Show the answer

    B: 1761. 1761 — that’s 265 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. World War I: British forces launched the Battle of Aubers, an offensive on the
    2. First World War: Germany repelled Britain's second attempt to blockade the
    3. The inaugural exhibition of the Society of Artists of Great Britain opened at
    Show the answer

    C: The inaugural exhibition of the Society of Artists of Great Britain opened at. 1915: World War I: British forces launched the Battle of Aubers, an offensive on the · 1918: First World War: Germany repelled Britain's second attempt to blockade the · 1761: The inaugural exhibition of the Society of Artists of Great Britain opened at Find it on the page

  4. “World War I: British forces launched the Battle of Aubers, an offensive on the” happened in 1915. How many years ago was that?

    1. 121 years
    2. 111 years
    3. 101 years
    Show the answer

    B: 111 years. 2026 − 1915 = 111. Find it on the page

Born on this day 36

Famous people whose birthday is 9 May.

Remembering 20

Well-known people who died on 9 May.

Special days 16

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 9 May somewhere in the world.

For older readers 26 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “May 9” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.