What happened on July 9 ?

455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

1357 - Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor assists laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague.

1540 - Henry VIII of England annulls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.

1541 - Estevão da Gama departs Massawa, leaving behind 400 matchlock men and 150 slaves under his brother Christovão da Gama, with orders to assist the Emperor of Ethiopia defeat Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi who has invaded his Empire.

1755 - French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition - British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat by French and Native American forces.

1789 - In Versailles, the National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for a French constitution.

1790 - Russo-Swedish War: Second Battle of Svensksund -In the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian fleet.

1793 - Act Against Slavery passed in Upper Canada and importation of slaves into Lower Canada is prohibited.

1810 - Napoleon officially makes Holland part of his empire.

1815 - Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince de Benevente becomes Prime Minister of France.

1816 - Argentina declares independence from Spain.

1846 - By an Act of Congress, the Washington, DC area south of the Potomac River (39 mi² or about 100 km²) is returned to Virginia.

1850 - President Zachary Taylor dies and Millard Fillmore becomes the 13th President of the United States.

1863 - American Civil War: Siege of Port Hudson ends.

1867 - An unsuccessful expedition led by E.D Young set out to search for Dr David Livingstone (English Missionary and explorer).

1887 - Reportedly paper napkins were used for the first time by John Dickinson (stationery manufacturers) at the company's annual dinner.

1900 - Queen Victoria gives royal assent to an act creating the Commonwealth of Australia thus uniting separate colonies on the continent under one federal government.

1918 - Great train wreck of 1918: In Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collides with an outbound express killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest rail accident in United States history.

1921 - Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar delivered his famous speech at Khilafat Conference, Karachi.

1922 - Johnny Weissmuller swims the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking a world swimming record and the 'minute barrier'.

1943 - World War II: Operation Husky - Allied forces perform an amphibious invasion of Sicily.

1944 - World War II: Battle of Normandy - British and Canadian forces capture Caen, France.

1944 - World War II: Battle of Saipan - Americans take Saipan.

1948 - Pakistan issued first set of Postage stamp, having image of Constituent Assembly, Karachi Airport, Shahi Fort.

1955 - The Russell-Einstein Manifesto was released by Bertrand Russell in London.

1975 - The National Assembly of Senegal passes a law that will pave way for a (albeit highly restricted) multi-party system.

1979 - A car bomb destroys a Renault owned by famed "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.

1981 - Senegalese political parties Party of Independence and Work (PIT) and Democratic League - Movement for the Labour Party (LD-MPT) legally recognized.

1982 - A Boeing 727 carrying Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana killing all 146 people on board and eight others on the ground.

1984 - York Minster was struck by a lightning bolt, the resulting fire rampaged through most of the building. However the cathedral valuables were rescued by clergymen and the "Rose Window" was not affected.

1986 - the New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.

1989 - Two bombs explode in Mecca, killing one pilgrim and wounding 16 others.

1991 - International Human Rights Federation cites human rights violations committed by police and military personnel during Oka crisis in Quebec, Canada.

1991 - South Africa is reintroduced into the Olympic movement after 30 years of exclusion.

1995 - Musical group The Grateful Dead perform the last concert of their 30-year career at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois.

1999 - Days of student protests begins after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory of University of Tehran.

2002 - The African Union was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The first chairman was Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa.

2004 - After José Manuel Durão Barroso's appointment to the European Commission, Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio announces that he will invite the second-in-line leader of PSD, Pedro Santana Lopes to form government.

2006 - At least 122 people are dead after a Sibir Airlines passenger jet Airbus A-310 with 200 people on board veered off the runway while landing at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia in wet conditions.

2006 - Italy Wins the FIFA World Cup for the 4th time, defeating France 5-3 on Penalties in the 2006 FIFA World Cup final.