This Day in HistoryApril 9

1800

Justus Azel Seelyeand MehitableBennett, Mr. Seeley’s great-great-great grandparents, marry in Luzerne, Pennsylvania

1865

Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War

1939

More than 75,000 people attend a concert by famed African-American singer Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

1940

Early in World War II, Hitler’s Germany invades Norway and Denmark

1942

78,000 American and Filipino troops surrender to the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines during World War II

1962

Composer Henry Mancini wins the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Moon River” from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s

1977

Swedish pop group ABBA scores its first #1 hit in the U.S. with the single “Dancing Queen”—the song is also a #1 hit in the UK and 12 other countries

1977

Gerard Way, lead singer of the emo band My Chemical Romance, is born in Summit, New Jersey

1979

English rock band Supertramp’s album Breakfast in America reaches 500,000 sales and is certified Gold

1988

Trinidadian recording artist Billy Ocean’s song “Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car,” from the movie License to Drive, hits #1 in the U.S.

1996

The New York Yankees grounds crew dances to “Y.M.C.A.” by the Village People as they drag the field in the fifth inning of their home opener, eliciting roars of approval from the crowd—the routine becomes a regular feature at Yankee Stadium

2005

England’s Prince Charles marries his longtime mistress Camilla Parker Bowles

2020

Americans begin receiving checks from the first coronavirus stimulus as part of the CARES Act—individuals could receive up to $1,200 as well as $500 per child under age 17

2020

Former Major League Baseball star Josh Hamilton is indicted on a felony charge for beating his 14-year-old daughter—Hamilton was a 5-time All-Star and was named American League MVP in 2010 as a member of the Texas Rangers

2020

The U.S. Department of Labor announces that 6.6 million people filed new unemployment claims during the previous week—a week earlier 6.86 million claims had been filed, an all-time high

2020

Data shows that 80% of hotel rooms in the U.S. are empty amid the coronavirus pandemic, a 70% change from the same time in 2019

2021

Prince Philip, thehusband of England’sQueen Elizabeth II,died this morning atWindsor Castle at age 99 after a recent stay in the hospital—the couple had been married for 73 years

2021

Mesa Mayor John Giles announced yesterday that Mesa residents with a 2.0 or better high school GPA can now apply to Mesa Community College for the 2021 fall semester with tuition costs fully covered for two years—the funding comes from the federal CARES act and from generous contributions by businesses and individuals

2021

A Texas woman withthe world’s longest fingernails, measuring over 24 feet, had them cut after nearly 30 years—the longest-ever fingernails on a woman measured over 28 feet and on man measured over 32 feet

2021

Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift’s first re-recorded album, was released today—she decided to re-record her first five studio albums following a public battle with music executive Scooter Braun, who owned the rights to the original recordings and sold them to an investor in 2020

2021

During an interview on April 4, Myanmar’s Major General Zaw Min Tun tried to justify the military’s bloody takeover of the country—he claims that the takeover was “not a coup,” that the generals are merely “safeguarding” the country while they investigate a “fraudulent” election, and that the bloodshed is the fault of “riotous” protestors

2021

About two dozen Barbary macaques broke out of a German zoo and spent the day in a nearby forest before being recaptured yesterday