12 History Lessons + 3 Births & 6 Deaths for June 9, 2025
Today’s History:
- 68 – Roman Emperor Nero dies by suicide, ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
- 1534 – Jacques Cartier sails into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence during his exploration of Canada.
- 1798 – The Battle of Arklow is fought during the Irish Rebellion against British rule.
- 1856 – 500 Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa, heading west in the first organized handcart expedition.
- 1934 – Donald Duck makes his first appearance in The Wise Little Hen.
- 1944 – Soviet forces launch Operation Bagration, a massive offensive against Nazi Germany in Belarus.
- 1954 – U.S. Army–McCarthy hearings end; Senator Joseph McCarthy’s influence begins to wane.
- 1973 – Secretariat wins the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, completing the Triple Crown.
- 1983 – Margaret Thatcher wins a second term as UK Prime Minister in a Conservative landslide.
- 1999 – NATO suspends its bombing of Yugoslavia after Slobodan Milošević agrees to withdraw from Kosovo.
- 2014 – Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, falls to ISIS militants.
- 2023 – Novak Djokovic wins the French Open, becoming the first man to win 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1961 – Michael J. Fox, Canadian-American actor (Back to the Future, Family Ties) (64)
- 1963 – Johnny Depp, American actor (Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Scissorhands) (62)
- 1981 – Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress and Oscar winner (Black Swan) (44)
Today’s Deaths:
- 597 – Columba, Irish missionary and founder of the abbey on Iona (Age ~75)
- 1870 – Charles Dickens, British novelist (A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist) (Age 58)
- 1959 – Adolf Windaus, German chemist and Nobel laureate (Age 82)
- 1974 – Miguel Ángel Asturias, Guatemalan author and Nobel Prize winner (Age 74)
- 2001 – Anne Haney, American actress (Mrs. Doubtfire, Liar Liar) (Age 67)
- 2016 – Gordie Howe, Canadian hockey legend known as “Mr. Hockey” (Age 88)
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