What happened on June 9 ?

68 - Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, imploring his secretary Epaphroditus to slit his throat to evade a Senate-imposed death by flogging.

1310 - Duccio's Maestà Altarpiece, a seminal artwork of the early Italian Renaissance, is unveiled and installed in the Siena Cathedral in Siena Italy.

1534 - Jacques Cartier is the first European to discover the St. Lawrence River.

1732 - James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia.

1772 - British vessel Gaspee is burned off of Rhode Island.

1790 - Philadelphia Spelling Book by John Barry becomes the first book to be copyrighted in the United States.

1815 - End of the Congress of Vienna: new European political situation is set.

1856 - 500 Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa and head west for Salt Lake City, Utah carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts.

1860 - Malaeska: The Indian Wife of the White Hunter becomes the first dime novel to be published.

1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia.

1909 - Alice Huyler Ramsey, a 22-year-old housewife and mother from Hackensack, New Jersey, became the first woman to drive across the United States. With three female companions, none of whom could drive a car, for fifty-nine days she drove a Maxwell automobile the 3,800 miles from Manhattan, New York to San Francisco, California.

1915 - U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigns over a disagreement regarding the United States' handling of the RMS Lusitania sinking.

1922 - First ringing of the Harkness Memorial Chime at Yale University.

1923 - Bulgaria's military takes over the government in a coup.

1930 - Chicago Tribune reporter Jake Lingle is killed at the Illinois Central train station during rush hour by the Leo Vincent Brothers, allegedly over a 100,000 USD gambling debt owed to Al Capone.

1934 - Donald Duck debuts in The Wise Little Hen.

1935 - Ho-Umezu Agreement: China, under KMT administration, recognized Japanese occupations in Northeast China.

1935 - Alcoholics Anonymous founded when Dr. Bob Smith had his last drink on June 9, 1935.

1944 - World War II: The Soviet Union invades East Karelia and the previously Finnish part of Karelia, since 1941 occupied by Finland.

1946 - King Bhumibol Adulyadej ascends to the throne of Thailand

1953 - Flint-Worcester Tornadoes: A tornado spawned from the same storm system as the Flint tornado hits in Worcester, Massachusetts killing 94.

1954 - McCarthyism: Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether Communism has infiltrated the Army.

1957 - First ascent of Broad Peak (12th highest mountain).

1959 - The USS George Washington is launched as the first submarine to carry ballistic missiles.

1973 - Secretariat wins the Triple Crown.

1978 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens the priesthood to "all worthy men", ending a 148-year-old policy excluding black men.

1985 - Thomas Sutherland is kidnapped in Lebanon (he was not released until 1991).

1986 - The Rogers Commission releases its report on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

1991 - The congress of the Italian party Proletarian Democracy decides to merge with the Communist Refoundation Party.

1999 - Kosovo War: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO sign a peace treaty.

2006 - BYU officials announce the reopening of the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center.