April 9 is:
National Chinese Almond Cookie Day
Name Yourself Day To celebrate, you are allowed to give yourself a new name for one day. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to have a different name, this would be the day to find out.
On April 9, 1413, Henry V was crowned King of England. Henry V, also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England from 1413 until his death in 1422.
From 2201 Fascinating Facts by David Louis, published by Greenwich House, New York, 1983:
Death of French writer Francois Rabelais (Apr 9, 1553), His last will and testament reads: “I have nothing. I owe much. The rest I leave to the poor”. His dying words were “I am going to a great perhaps”.
The expedition organized by Sir Walter Raleigh departed England for Roanoke Island (now in North Carolina) to establish the Roanoke Colony on this day in 1585.
April 9, 1682 – Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovered the mouth of the Mississippi River, claimed it for France and named it Louisiana.
Winston Churchill Day – on April 9, 1963, Winston Churchill became an honorary American Citizen. Others who have received this honor include William Penn (1984), Mother Teresa (1996), Marquis de LaFayette (2002), and Casimir Pulaski (2009) (called The Father of the American Cavalry). LaFayette was made an honorary citizen of the state of Maryland in 1783.
April 9, 1865 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the war.
1939 Marian Anderson sings at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Anderson to sing to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. The incident placed Anderson in the spotlight of the international community on a level unusual for a classical musician. With the aid of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Anderson performed a critically acclaimed open-air concert on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, on the Lincoln Memorial steps in the capital. Anderson was accompanied, as usual, by Finnish pianist Vehanen. They began the performance with a dignified and stirring rendition of “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” The event was featured in a documentary film. She sang before an integrated crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions.
1965 1st baseball game at Houston Astrodome, Astros beat NY Yankees 2-1 in exhibition as Mickey Mantle hits MLB’s 1st indoor homerun; US President Lyndon Johnson and wife Lady Bird attend.
April 9, 1989 In Tbilisi, Georgia, a peaceful demonstration for independence was broken up by the Soviet Army, killing 20 people. The country gained independence on this date exactly two years later.