Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/May 9
This is a list of selected May 9 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article, featured list or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
May 9: World Fair Trade Day (2009); Vesak (Buddhism, 2009); Victory Day in various Eastern European countries; Europe Day/Schuman Day in the European Union
- 1671 – Irish-born Colonel Thomas Blood (pictured) was caught trying to steal the English Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
- 1901 – The first Parliament of Australia opened in the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, exactly 26 years (1927) before it moved to Canberra's Provisional Parliament House, and exactly 87 years (1988) before it moved into the over AU$1.1 billion Parliament House in Canberra.
- 1946 – Italian King Victor Emmanuel III abdicated, hoping to influence the vote on a referendum to decide whether Italy should retain the monarchy or become a republic.
- 1950 – Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health by L. Ron Hubbard was first published, describing his self-improvement techniques known as Dianetics, which later became part of the wider subject of Scientology.
- 2004 – Akhmad Kadyrov, the first President of the Chechen Republic, and about 30 others were killed by a bomb during a World War II memorial victory parade in Grozny.