July 9 is:
National Sugar Cookie Day
King Henry VIII of England annulled his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves on this date in 1540.
1776 – George Washington ordered the Declaration of Independence to be read out loud to members of the Continental Army in New York, New York.
July 9 – 1816: The United Provinces of Rio de la Plata declared independence, as the predecessor state of Argentina.
Birthday of Elias Howe (July 9, 1819), American inventor of the sewing machine.
Death of Zachary Taylor, twelfth President of the United States. He died in Washington, D. C. at age 65 on July 9, 1850. He died in office of acute gastroenteritis. Millard Fillmore succeeded him as 13th President of the United States.
1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
1900 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom gave Royal Assent to an Act creating Australia, thereby uniting separate colonies on the continent under one federal government.
Dick Clark’s 1st appearance as host of American Bandstand on July 9, 1956. It was on the air until 1989.
Donkey Kong, a video game created by Nintendo, was released in 1981. The game marks the debut of Nintendo’s future mascot, Mario.
From Today in Science
In 1872, New England sea captain, John F. Blondel of Thomaston, Maine, patented the doughnut cutter, (but can’t take credit for the hole). The origin of the doughnut as a deep-fried egg-batter pastry was from Holland with the Dutch name of olykoeks — “oily cakes.” In 1847, another New England ship captain’s enjoyed his mother’s pastries. Made using a deep-fried spiced dough, Elizabeth Gregory put hazelnuts or walnuts in the center, where the dough might not cook through – “doughnuts.” Captain Hanson Gregory claimed credit for originating the hole in the doughnut. Originally, he cut the hole using the top of a round tin pepper box. This made more uniform frying possible with increased surface area, commemorated by a bronze plaque at his hometown, Rockport, Maine.
Also from Today in Science
In 1878, an improved corncob pipe was patented by Henry Tibbe in Washington, Missouri, which he assigned to himself and Anton Tibbe, his son. (No.205,816). In 1869, Tibbe, Dutch immigrant woodworker, began manufacture of the corncob pipe, and founded what became the Missouri Meerschaum Company in 1907. The pipe was made from a special type of white kernel corn with smaller kernels on the cob (the kind used to make taco and tortilla flour). Famous corncob smokers included Presidents Ford and Eisenhower, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and of course, Popeye, Mammy Yokum and Frosty the Snowman.