August 9

Today in History
• 1173 - Construction of the Tower of Pisa begins, and it takes two centuries to complete
• 1483 - Opening of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican
• 1655 - Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell divides England into 11 districts
• 1726 - Netherlands signs Covenant of Hannover
• 1757 - English Fort William Henry, NY, surrenders to French and Indians troops
• 1803 - 1st horses arrive in Hawaii
• 1803 - Robert Fulton tests his steam paddle-boat on the River Seine, France, but it sinks
• 1829 - "Stourbridge Lion" locomotive goes into service


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Adivasi Divas
• Co Working Day
• Ekka People's Day
• Nagasaki Memorial Day
• National Book Lovers Day
• National Women's Day
• Singapore National Day
• Suriname Indigenous People's Day

Birthdays
• 1201 - Arnold Fitz Thedmar, English chronicler of the mayors and sheriffs of London
• 1669 - Yevdokiya Lopukhina, Tsarina of Russia, first wife of Peter I of Russia
• 1696 - Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein and general
• 1722 - Augustus William, Prince of Prussia
• 1726 - Francesco Cetti, Italian Jesuit priest and scientist
• 1819 - William Thomas Green Morton, dentist, used ether, HOF 1920
• 1825 - Elisha P. Ferry, Washington Governor 1889 - 1893, Republican
• 1905 - Elizabeth Lane, 1st female British supreme court justice