Did you know
Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wilding was the son of wealthy English immigrants to Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand and enjoyed the use of private tennis courts at their home
Notable Deaths on May 9
106 people
480 – 2024
May 9 has seen 106 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 480 – 2024. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1915 — Anthony Wilding
New Zealand tennis player and cricketer (born 1883)
Did you know
1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I
Did you know
Wilding was a first-class cricketer and a keen motorcycle enthusiast
Did you know
His tennis career started with him winning the Canterbury Championships aged 17.
Did you know
Anthony Frederick Wilding, also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No
Western Roman Emperor
Julius Nepos, or simply Nepos, ruled as Roman emperor of the West from 24 June 474 to 28 August 475. After losing power in Italy, Nepos retreated to his home province of Dalmatia, from which he continued to claim the…
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480
729
893
909
Chinese general and governor (born 892)
Wang Sitong was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Later Tang (and Later Tang's predecessor state Jin. In 934, when Li Congke, the adoptive brother of then-reigning emperor Li Conghou,…
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934
Magnus the Lawmender, also known as Magnus Haakonsson, was King of Norway from 1263 to 1280. One of his greatest achievements was the modernisation and nationalisation of the Norwegian law-code. He was the first…
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1280
1315
Bishop of Bath and Wells
John Droxford, was a Bishop of Bath and Wells. He was elected 5 February 1309 and consecrated 9 November 1309.
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1329
Italian Cardinal and diplomat (born 1373)
Niccolò Albergati was an Italian Carthusian and a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed cardinal and served as a papal diplomat to France and England (1422–23) in addition to serving as the bishop of…
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1443
Mary of Enghien, also known as Maria d'Enghien, was ruling Countess of Lecce from 1384 to 1446 and Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Sicily, Jerusalem and Hungary from 1406 to 1414 by marriage to Ladislaus of Naples.
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1446
Charles de Bourbon, known as the Cardinal de Bourbon, was a French noble and prelate. He was the Archbishop of Rouen from 1550 and the Catholic Ligue candidate for King of France from 1589.
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1590
English-American politician, 2nd Governor of Plymouth Colony (born 1590)
William Bradford was an English Pilgrim Separatist originally from the West Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. He moved to Leiden in the Dutch Republic in order to escape persecution from King James I of England,…
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1657
German-Danish organist and composer (born 1637)
Dieterich Buxtehude was a Danish composer and organist of the middle Baroque era, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal and instrumental idioms, Buxtehude's…
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1707
Portuguese judge and politician (born 1658)
Diogo de Mendonça Corte-Real was an accomplished Portuguese diplomat and statesman, and Secretary of State to King Peter II and John V.
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1736
Italian violinist and composer (born 1663)
Tomaso Antonio Vitali was an Italian composer and violinist of the mid to late Baroque era. The eldest son of Giovanni Battista Vitali, he is chiefly known for a Chaconne in G minor for violin and continuo, to which he…
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1745
2nd Earl of Stair, Scottish field marshal and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (born 1673)
Field Marshal John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, was a British army officer and diplomat who served as the British ambassador to France from 1714 to 1720. He served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession…
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1747
German bishop and saint (born 1700)
Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major figure…
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1760
French general and engineer (born 1715)
Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval was a French artillery officer and engineer who revolutionised the French cannon, creating a new production system that allowed for lighter, more uniform guns…
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1789
American politician (born 1721)
William Clingan was a Founding Father of the United States, lawyer, and jurist. As a delegate in the Continental Congress for Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1779, he signed the Articles of Confederation. Upon his death he…
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1790
American judge and politician (born 1737)
Francis Hopkinson was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, author, and composer. He designed Continental paper money and two early versions of flags, one for the United States and one for the United States Navy.…
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1791
German poet, playwright, and historian (born 1759)
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered to be one of Germany's most important classical playwrights.
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1805
French chemist and physicist (born 1778)
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac was a French chemist and physicist. He is known mostly for his discovery that water is made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen by volume, for two laws related to gases, and for his work on…
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1850
Baltic German author and activist (born 1769)
Garlieb Helwig Merkel was a Baltic German writer and activist and an early Estophile and Lettophile.
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1850
German philologist and politician (born 1805)
Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, known as Ernst von Lasaulx was a German philologist and politician.
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1861
American general and educator (born 1813)
John Sedgwick was an American military officer who served as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was one of the highest-ranking Union officers to be killed in the war, along with Major…
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1864
American general (born 1800)
William Selby Harney, otherwise known among the Lakota as "Woman Killer" and "Mad Bear," was an American cavalry officer in the US Army, who became known during the Indian Wars and the Mexican–American War for his…
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1889
German theologian and academic (born 1844)
Oscar Leopold von Gebhardt was a German Lutheran theologian, born in the Baltic German settlement of Wesenberg in the Russian Empire.
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1906
American abolitionist (born 1823)
Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who went by the name Wentworth, was an American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, politician, and soldier. He was active in abolitionism in the United States during the 1840s and…
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1911
American businessman, founded Post Foods (born 1854)
Charles William Post was an American businessman. He was the founder of what became Post Consumer Brands.
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1914
Luxembourgian-French cyclist and soldier (born 1887)
François Faber was a Luxembourgish racing cyclist. He was born in France. He was the first foreigner to win the Tour de France in 1909, and his record of winning 5 consecutive stages still stands. He died in World War I…
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1915
Romanian journalist and poet (born 1866)
George Coșbuc was a Romanian poet, translator, teacher, and journalist, best remembered for his verses describing, praising and eulogizing rural life, its many travails but also its occasions for joy. In 1916 he was…
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1918
German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1852)
Albert Abraham Michelson was an American experimental physicist known for his work on measuring the speed of light and especially for the Michelson–Morley experiment. In 1907, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics,…
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1931
English swimmer (born 1872)
John Arthur Jarvis was an English competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in three Olympic Games, and was a well-known amateur athlete of the late 19th century and early 20th century. He participated in…
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1933
German zoologist (born 1877)
Ernst Ludwig Bresslau was a German zoologist. He was the son of historian Harry Bresslau.
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1935
Danish businessman (born 1866)
Thomas Barfoed Thrige was a Danish entrepreneur, industrialist and businessman. In 1894, he started the company Thomas B. Thrige, a manufacturer of electric motors, now known as T-T Electric. The power station of his…
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1938
Polish priest and saint (born 1902)
Józef Cebula was a Polish priest of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI).
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1942
Korean poet and social reformer (born 1879)
Han Yong-un was a twentieth century Korean Buddhist reformer, poet, and independence activist against colonial rule. This name was his religious name, given by his meditation instructor in 1905, and Manhae (만해) was his…
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1944
1949
Spanish mathematician and engineer (born 1883)
Esteban Terrades i Illa also known as Esteve Terradas, was a Spanish mathematician, scientist and engineer. He researched and taught widely in the fields of mathematics and the physical sciences, working not only in his…
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1950
Sri Lankan banker and businessman (born 1887)
Sir Albert Ernest de Silva was a Ceylonese business magnate, banker, barrister and public figure, considered to be the most prominent Ceylonese philanthropist of the 20th century. A wealthy and influential polymath, he…
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1957
Italian actor and singer (born 1892)
Ezio Fortunato Pinza was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than…
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1957
Indian activist and educator (born 1887)
Bhaurao Patil, was a social activist and educator in Maharashtra, India. A strong advocate of mass education, he founded the Rayat Education Society. Bhaurao played an important role in educating backward castes and low…
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1959
Austrian engineer and politician, 18th Chancellor of Austria (born 1902)
Leopold Figl was an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the first Chancellor after World War II. As foreign minister, he subsequently took part in the negotiations on the Austrian State Treaty,…
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1965
American author, poet, and playwright (born 1893)
Mercedes de Acosta was an American poet, playwright, and novelist. Although she failed to achieve artistic and professional distinction, de Acosta is known for her many lesbian affairs with celebrated Broadway and…
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1968
American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (born 1894)
Harold Lincoln Gray was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the newspaper comic strip Little Orphan Annie.
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1968
American actress (born 1883)
Marion Lorne MacDougal or MacDougall, known professionally as Marion Lorne, was an American actress on stage, film, and television. After a career in theatre in New York and London, Lorne made her first film in 1951,…
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1968
British actor (born 1878)
William Finlay Currie was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television. He received great acclaim for his roles as Abel Magwitch in the British film Great Expectations (1946), as Saint Peter in Quo Vadis (1951) and…
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1968
American union leader (born 1907)
Walter Philip Reuther was an American leader of organized labor and civil rights activist who built the United Automobile Workers (UAW) into one of the most progressive labor unions in American history. He considered…
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1970
Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (born 1920)
Jens Ingvald Bjørneboe was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a Waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society and…
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1976
German militant, co-founded the Red Army Faction (born 1934)
Ulrike Marie Meinhof was a German left-wing militant, journalist and founding member of the Red Army Faction (RAF) in West Germany, commonly referred to in the press as the "Baader-Meinhof gang". She is the reputed…
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1976
American novelist (born 1921)
James Ramon Jones was an American novelist renowned for his explorations of World War II and its aftermath. He won the 1952 National Book Award for his debut novel, From Here to Eternity, which was adapted for film a…
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1977
Italian journalist and activist (born 1948)
Giuseppe "Peppino" Impastato, was an Italian political activist who opposed the Mafia, which ordered his murder in 1978.
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1978
Italian lawyer and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1916)
Aldo Moro was an Italian statesman and prominent member of Christian Democracy (DC) and its centre-left wing. He served as prime minister of Italy for five terms from December 1963 to June 1968 and from November 1974 to…
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1978
Canadian-American banker, businessman, and philanthropist (born 1883)
Cyrus Stephen Eaton Sr. was a Canadian-American investment banker, businessman and philanthropist, with a career that spanned 70 years.
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1979
American singer and lyricist (born 1918)
Eddie Jefferson was an American jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims that his…
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1979
South African activist (born 1928)
Kate Molale OMSS was a South African political activist, between 1970 and 1975 she represented the ANC Women's League/Women's Section in the Women's International Democratic Federation.
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1980
American novelist and short story writer (born 1909)
Nelson Algren was an American writer. His 1949 novel The Man with the Golden Arm won the National Book Award and was adapted as the 1955 film of the same name.
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1981
Norwegian singer and actor (born 1931)
Rolf Just Nilsen was a Norwegian singer, impressionist and actor. He was particularly known for his imitations of famous comedians at the time. He worked for the theatres Studioteatret, Chat Noir, Edderkoppen Theatre,…
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1981
Australian soldier and railway engineer (born 1891)
Brigadier Henry Bachtold, was an Australian soldier and railway engineer. He fought during the First World War as an engineer with the 1st Field Company at the Gallipoli Campaign, where he was mentioned in despatches…
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1983
American actor and director (born 1915)
Eamon Joseph O'Brien, known professionally as Edmond O'Brien, was an American actor of stage, screen, and television, and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe…
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1985
Nepalese mountaineer (born 1914)
Tenzing Norgay, born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. On 29 May 1953, he and Edmund Hillary were the first confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount…
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1986
Nigerian lawyer and politician (born 1909)
Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician and statesman who served as the first Premier of the Western region of Nigeria. He was known as one of the key figure towards Nigeria's independence movement…
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1987
American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1954)
Jackie Keith Whitley was an American country music and bluegrass singer and songwriter. During his career, he released only two albums, but charted 12 singles on the Billboard country charts, and seven more after his…
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1989
English novelist, short story writer, and critic (born 1932)
Penelope Gilliatt was an English novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and film critic. As one of the main film critics for The New Yorker magazine in the 1960s and 1970s, Gilliatt was known for her detailed…
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1993
South African activist (born 1924)
Elias Mathope Motsoaledi OMSG was a South African anti-apartheid activist. He was Accused No.9 in the Rivonia Trial and was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 1963 with a group of anti-Apartheid revolutionaries…
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1994
Egyptian captain and politician (born 1926)
Rawya Ateya[I] was an Egyptian woman who became the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world in 1957.
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1997
Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1928)
Marco Ferreri was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, who began his career in the 1950s directing three films in Spain, followed by 24 Italian films before his death in 1997. He is considered one of the…
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1997
American actress and singer (born 1915)
Alice Faye was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as On the Avenue (1937) and Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938). She is often associated…
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1998
Indian singer and actor (born 1924)
Talat Mahmood was an Indian playback singer who is considered one of the greatest and most popular Indian male film song and ghazal singers. Although he tried his luck as a film actor, he did not succeed a great deal in…
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1998
American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (born 1918)
Russell Billiu Long was an American Democratic politician and United States senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987. The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1966 to 1981, Long was instrumental in the…
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2003
Chechen cleric and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic (born 1951)
Akhmat-Khadzhi Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov was a Russian politician and revolutionary who served as Chief Mufti of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War. At the outbreak of…
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2004
2004
South African singer (born 1964)
Brenda Nokuzola Fassie was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop" or the "Madonna of the Townships". Fassie was…
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2004
Canadian soldier (born 1901)
Percy "Dwight" Wilson was the second-last surviving Canadian veteran of the First World War.
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2007
Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1929)
John Arthur Gibson OAM was an Australian rugby league coach, player, and commentator. He is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the sport's history, Nicknamed 'Supercoach', he was highly regarded not only…
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2008
American football player (born 1920)
Baptiste John "Bap" Manzini was a professional American football center and high school football coach.
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2008
Irish journalist and producer (born 1942)
Nuala Brigid Anne O'Faolain was an Irish journalist and writer. Her debut memoir, Are You Somebody?, published when she was in her mid-fifties, became a sensation in Ireland and a worldwide bestseller.
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2008
French singer, television host, and author (born 1945)
Pascal Sevran was a French TV presenter and author.
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2008
American basketball player and coach (born 1930)
Charles Jerome Daly was an American basketball head coach. He led the Detroit Pistons to two consecutive National Basketball Association (NBA) championships in 1989 and 1990—during the team's "Bad Boys" era—and the 1992…
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2009
American singer, actress, and activist (born 1917)
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theater.
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2010
Czech lawyer and politician (born 1932)
Otakar Motejl was a Czech lawyer and politician. He served as the first ombudsman of the Czech Republic from 2000 until his death in 2010. In 1998–2000 he served as the Minister of Justice.
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2010
Belgian cyclist (born 1984)
Wouter Weylandt was a Belgian professional cyclist for UCI ProTeam Quick-Step–Davitamon and later for Leopard Trek. His first major win was the 17th stage of the 2008 Vuelta a España. He also won the third stage of the…
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2011
American psychologist, psychoanalyst, and academic (born 1938)
Bertram Joseph Cohler was an American psychologist, psychoanalyst, and educator primarily associated with the University of Chicago, the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, and Harvard University. He advocated a life…
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2012
Cook Islander lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (born 1940)
Sir Geoffrey Arama Henry was a Cook Island politician who was twice the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He was leader of the Cook Islands Party (CIP) from 1979 to 2006.
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2012
English-American hairdresser and businessman (born 1928)
Vidal Sassoon was a British hairstylist and businessman. He was noted for repopularising a simple, close-cut geometric hairstyle called the five-point cut, worn by fashion designers including Mary Quant and film stars…
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2012
Spanish footballer and manager (born 1952)
Ramón Blanco Rodríguez was a Spanish football defensive midfielder and manager.
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2013
American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Pennsylvania (born 1918)
George Michael Leader was an American politician. He served as the 36th governor of Pennsylvania from January 18, 1955, until January 20, 1959. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and a native of York County,…
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2013
Mexican lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Hidalgo (born 1933)
Humberto Alejandro Lugo Gil
was a Mexican politician from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He served in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate and as the interim governor of Hidalgo.
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2013
Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni (born 1921)
Ottavio Missoni was an Italian businessman, founder of the Italian fashion label Missoni and an Olympic hurdler who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics. Along with his wife Rosita, he was part of the group of designers…
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2013
Italian priest and missionary (born 1938)
Giacomo Bini was a Franciscan priest. Ordained in 1964, he worked as a missionary in Africa, and was appointed Minister General of the Order of the Friars Minor (OFM) for the period 1997–2003. He was fluent in Italian,…
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2014
American lawyer and politician (born 1927)
Harlan Mathews was an American politician who was an appointed interim Democratic United States Senator from Tennessee from 1993 to 1994. He previously served in the executive and legislative branches of state…
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2014
Indian politician, 12th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (born 1935)
Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy was an Indian politician from Andhra Pradesh. A member of the Indian National Congress, he represented the Visakhapatnam constituency in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian…
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2014
British author and poet (born 1916)
Mary, Lady Stewart was a British novelist who developed the romantic mystery genre, featuring smart, adventurous heroines who could hold their own in dangerous situations. She also wrote children's books and poetry, but…
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2014
American football player and journalist (born 1920)
Edward Walker Estlow was a journalist and businessman, best known as CEO at the E. W. Scripps Company from 1976 to 1985. The Edward W. and Charlotte A. Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media at the…
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2015
Turkish general and politician, 7th President of Turkey (born 1917)
Ahmet Kenan Evren was a Turkish military officer who served as the 7th president of Turkey from 1982 to 1989. He assumed the post by leading the 1980 military coup.
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2015
American actress (born 1921)
Elizabeth Welter Wilson was an American actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years in film and television. In 1972 she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role in Sticks and Bones. Wilson…
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2015
a Swiss-born Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ (born 1969)
Roberto Concina, known professionally as Robert Miles, was an Italian record producer, composer, musician, and DJ. His 1995 composition "Children" sold more than five million copies and topped the charts worldwide.
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2017
Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor (born 1938)
Per Kirkeby was a Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor. His works have been exhibited worldwide and are represented in many important public collections, including the Tate, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum…
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2018
English comedian, impressionist, singer and actor (born 1943)
Freddie Starr was an English stand up comedian, impressionist, singer and actor. Starr was the lead singer of Merseybeat rock and roll group the Midniters during the early 1960s, and came to prominence in the early…
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2019
American singer, songwriter, and pianist (born 1932)
Richard Wayne Penniman, better known by his stage name Little Richard, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Referred to as the…
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2020
2022
Japanese game developer (born 1963)
Rieko Kodama , also known as Phoenix Rie, was a Japanese video game artist, director, and producer employed by Sega from 1984 until her death. She is primarily known for her work on role-playing video games including…
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2022
American baseball player (born 1980)
Sean Patrick Burroughs was an American professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 to 2005 and 2011 to 2012 for the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Arizona…
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2024
American film director, producer, and actor (born 1926)
Roger William Corman was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", “King of the Beatnik Movies”, "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and…
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2024
Canadian political commentator (born 1947)
Rex Murphy was a Canadian commentator and author, primarily on Canadian political and social matters. He was the regular host of CBC Radio One's Cross Country Checkup, a nationwide call-in show, for 21 years before…
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2024
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Notable deaths
Who died on May 9?
Anthony Wilding — New Zealand tennis player
FeaturedAnthony Wilding
Death year1915
Known for1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I
Deaths on this date106 (480 – 2024)
Explore May 9
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on May 9 in History
2023
The May 9 riots following the arrest of Imran Khan in Pakistan. Wikipedia →
2022
Russo-Ukrainian War: United States President Joe Biden signs the 2022 Lend-Lease Act into law, a rebooted World War II-era policy expediting American equipment to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. Wikipedia →
2020
See all events on May 9
The COVID-19 recession causes the U.S. unemployment rate to hit 14.9 percent, its worst rate since the Great Depression. Wikipedia →
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