📜 This Day in History

July 9

• 551An estimated 30,000 people died when a massive earthquake struck the Roman province of Phoenice.
• 1790Russo-Swedish War: During the Battle of Svensksund in the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captured a third of the Russian fleet.
• 1877The inaugural Wimbledon Championship, the world's oldest tennis tournament, began in London.
• 1955Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell and nine other preeminent intellectuals and scientists issued the Russell–Einstein Manifesto, calling for a conference to assess the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction.
• 1981Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong, which featured the debut of Mario, one of the most famous characters in video-game history.
• 2008Under the belief that Israel and the United States were planning to attack its nuclear program, Iran conducted the Great Prophet III missile test and war games.

Born on this day

• 1894Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1984)
• 1932Donald Rumsfeld, American captain and politician, 13th United States Secretary of Defense (died 2021)
• 1950Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian engineer and politician, 4th President of Ukraine
• 1956Tom Hanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter