On this day in history: Important events that took place on December 9

Several important events have taken place on December 9 throughout history, making it a notable date in both India and around the world.

Here are key events that happened on December 9

On Dec. 9, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to halt Florida’s vote recount, effectively ending Vice President Al Gore’s bid for the presidency.

On Dec. 9, 1912, Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill — the longtime Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives — was born. After his death on Jan. 5, 1994, his obituary appeared in The New York Times.


On Dec. 9, 1990, Solidarity leader Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland.

Other events on this day:

• 1608: Poet John Milton was born in London.
  
  
• 1854: Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade” was published in England.
  
  
• 1907: The first Christmas seals went on sale in Wilmington, Delaware, to raise funds to fight tuberculosis.
  
  
• 1912: Longtime U.S. House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  
  
• 1940: British forces launched their first major North Africa offensive in World War II.
  
  
• 1941: China declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy.
  
  
• 1958: The anti-Communist John Birch Society was founded in Indianapolis.
  
  
• 1975: President Gerald Ford approved a $2.3 billion seasonal loan to keep New York City from defaulting.
  
  
• 1992: Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation; they divorced in 1996.
  
  
• 1993: The U.S. Air Force demolished the first of 500 Minuteman II missile silos slated for removal under an arms treaty.
  
  
• 1995: Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., was selected to lead the NAACP.
  
  
• 2000: The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted Florida’s presidential vote recount.
  
  
• 2002: United Airlines filed for bankruptcy, the largest in aviation history at the time, after losing $4 billion over two years.
  
  
• 2004: Canada’s Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage constitutional.
  
  
• 2008: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested for allegedly trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
  
  

(with NYT and AP inputs)