1745: Winning the Battle of Melle allows French forces to capture the city of Ghent later on.
1755: French and Native American forces defeat the Braddock Expedition as it attempts to capture Fort Duquesne – which is now downtown Pittsburgh.
1776: While thousands of British troops wait on Staten Island to engage in the Battle of Long Island, George Washington orders that the Declaration of Independence be read out to the Continental Army in Manhattan.
1790: One third of the Russian Baltic Fleet is captured by the Swedish Navy on this date.
1793: The importation of slaves is banned by the passage of the Act Against Slavery in Upper Canada. This act also has a provision that frees those who were born into slavery when they turn 25 years old.
1850: After eating iced milk and raw fruit, United States President Zachary Taylor dies. He would be succeeded in office by Vice President Millard Fillmore.
1868: African Americans are given full citizenship when the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is ratified on this date.
1893: The first successful open-heart surgery in the U.S is performed by American heart surgeon Daniel Hale Williams and he does so without using anesthesia.
1944: American forces are able to take Saipan. This allows them to bring B-29 close to the Japanese archipelago in order to bomb them.
1944: The largest battle ever fought in Northern Europe, the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, is won by Finland.
1982: Over 145 people are killed when Pan Am Flight 759 crashes at Kenner, Louisiana.
1986: Homosexuality is legalized in New Zealand thanks to the passage of the Homosexual Law Reform Act.
Famous Birthdays on July 9
American-Danish physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, Ben Roy Mottelson is born in 1926.
American singer and actor, Ed Ames is born in 1927.
American actor Brian Dennehy is born in 1938.
American author and screenwriter, Dean Koontz is born in 1945.
American football player and actor, O.J. Simpson is born in 1947.
American actor Chris Cooper is born in 1951.
American actor, director, producer and screenwriter, Tom Hanks is born in 1956.
American actress Kelly McGillis is born in 1957.
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