As of today, July 9, 2022

What happened like today in Greece and the world.

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

491: Odoacros makes a night attack with his Erulian guards against Theodoricus. Both sides suffer heavy losses, but eventually Theodoric’s forces force Odoacer back to Ravenna.

660: Korean forces under Kim Yoo-shin defeat the army of the Baekje Kingdom at the Battle of Hwangsanbeol.

869: An 8.6 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the area around Sendai in northern Honshu, Japan.

1357: Founded by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV, the famous Charles Bridge in Prague.

1609: Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire grants the right of secularism to Bohemia.

1701: Habsburg forces under Prince Eugene of Savoy defeat the outnumbered French forces under Nicholas Catina at the Battle of Carpi.

1776: George Washington orders the reading of the US Declaration of Independence to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British soldiers on Staten Island prepare for battle.

1789: At Versailles, the National Assembly reconvenes as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for the Constitution of France.

1816: Argentina gains independence from Spain.

1821: The Archbishop of Cyprus, Kyprianos, is hanged in Seragi Square in Nicosia. On the same day, the beheading of the metropolitans of Paphos Chrysanthos, Kiti Meleti and Kyrenia Lavrenti will follow. A total of 470 prominent Cypriots are executed.

1832: The Istanbul Settlement or Calendar Kiosk Treaty is signed, which regulates the Greek-Turkish borders.

1850: US President Zachary Taylor dies after eating raw fruit and frozen milk. He is succeeded by Millard Fillmore.

1875: The Herzegovinian rebellion against Ottoman rule begins. It would last until 1878 and have far-reaching consequences in the Balkans.

1877: The famous Wimbledon tennis tournament is held for the first time. The only match that takes place features Spencer Gore as the winner, facing William Marshall (6-1, 6-2, 6-4). Tickets for this first match cost 1 shilling, or 5 pence today. Women’s races begin in 1884 with the first winner being Maud Watson.

1893: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs the first open-heart surgery without anesthesia at a Chicago hospital.

1900: Australia becomes a federal state.

1910: In Egypt, an important archaeological discovery brings to light a plaque with the chronicle of the fall of Jerusalem.

1912: An explosion in a mine in Great Britain results in the death of 80 people.

1918: In Tennessee, USA, 101 people die in a train collision.

1919: The German National Assembly ratifies the Peace Treaty, officially ending World War I.

1929: The Hellenic Parliament decides on the granting of the vote to women for the municipal elections. They will vote under conditions five years later.

1955: Nine scientists of international standing raise their voices against the dangers of an atomic war. Among those signing the appeal are Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein, who died last April. Three days later a similar appeal will be signed by a meeting of personalities who have been honored with the Nobel Prize (Russell-Einstein Manifesto).

1956: A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake hits Santorini, killing 53 people and injuring more than 100. The earthquake causes a huge tidal wave, which spreads to the islands of the Cyclades, Rhodes, Crete and the coasts of the Southern Peloponnese.

1958: The Lituya coast in Alaska is hit by the largest tsunami ever recorded. The height of the waves reaches 524 meters.

1959: The trial of Manolis Glezos for “offences directed against the security of the state” begins at the Permanent Military Court of Athens. On July 22, he will be sentenced to five years in prison.

1961: After long and tough negotiations, the signing of Greece’s association with the EEC is achieved.

1965: George Papandreou responds with a letter to King Constantine. At the same time, he issues the decree with the replacement of Petros Garoufalias and the assumption of the Ministry of National Defense by him (“Iuliana” and “Apostasia”).

1982: A Pan Am Boeing 727 crashes in Louisiana, USA, killing 154 people.

1999: Nikos Kaklamanakis wins the silver medal at the Open Windsurfing World Championships held in Belgium.

2003: In Southeast Bangladesh, 400 people die when the boat carrying them sinks in the monsoon-swollen waters of the Meghna River.

2004: The Hague Court condemns as illegal the wall that Israel has built against the Palestinians.

2006: In Siberia, a plane skids off the runway while landing and crashes, killing 122 of the 200 passengers.

2006: The Italian national team wins the World Cup for the 4th time, in the tournament held in Germany, as it beats France 5-3 on penalties, while regular time and extra time end 1-1. Zidane (7′ pen.) and Materazzi (19′) scored the goals for the “tricolors”. The two of them will become the protagonists in the phase of the 111th minute, when the French “maestro” will give the Italian stopper, in one of the most popular scenes in the World Cup.

2011: South Sudan officially becomes independent from the rest of Sudan.

2017: The Iraqi army captures Mosul, ousting Islamic State jihadists after eight months.

2021: Lithuania begins construction of a $48 million fence along its border with neighboring Belarus. A week earlier, Lithuania had declared a state of emergency due to an increase in the number of irregular migrants crossing into the country from Belarus, accusing Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately trying to destabilize the country by encouraging and allowing refugees, mainly Syrians, to cross the border illegally.

Births

1566 – John Ernest, Duke of Saxony-Eisenach

1578 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor

1824 – Ioannis Karasoutsas, Greek poet

1834 – Jan Neruda, Czech poet

1835 – Tomas Estrada Palma, Cuban politician

1848 – Robert I, Duke of Parma

1850 – Ivan Vazov, Bulgarian poet

1858 – Franz Boaz, German anthropologist

1887 – Emilio Mola, Spanish soldier and duke

1890 – Panteleimon, bishop of Argyrokastro

1896 – Maria Gomes Valentim, Brazilian centenarian

1901 – Konstantinos Kallias, Greek politician

1901 – Barbara Cartland, English writer

1916 – Edward Heath, English politician

1933 – Avgerinos (Renos) Petralias, Greek politician

1934 – Michael Graves, American architect

1935 – Mercedes Sosa, Argentine singer

1938 – Brian Dennehy, American actor

1946 – Mitch Mitchell, English drummer

1946 – Bon Scott, Scottish singer

1948 – Eli Dote, Central African politician

1950 – Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian politician

1956 – Tom Hanks, American actor

1959 – Kevin Nash, American wrestler and actor

1964 – Courtney Love, American singer and actress

1966 – Amelie Notomb, Belgian writer

1968 – Paolo di Canio, Italian football player and coach

1968 – Eduardo Santamarina, Mexican actor

1969 – Thodoris Vlachos, Greek pole vaulter and coach

1976 – Christos Charisis, Greek basketball player

1982 – Shakon Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver

Deaths

518 – Anastasios I Dikoros, Byzantine emperor

1078 – Peter I, Count of Savoy

1386 – Leopold III, Duke of Austria

1441 – Jan van Eyck, Flemish painter

1654 – Ferdinand IV, King of Germany

1677 – Angelos Silesios, German doctor and poet

1746 – Philip V, King of Spain

1747 – Giovanni Bononcini, Italian composer

1771 – Michael Baknanas, saint of the Orthodox Church

1797 – Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher and politician

1821 – Archbishop of Cyprus Kyprianos

1850 – Zacharias Taylor, 12th US president

1856 – Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist

1903 – Miltiadis Gouskos, Greek shot putter

1981 – Savvas Konstantopoulos, Greek journalist

1986 – Nicholas VI, Patriarch of Alexandria

1994 – Ioannis Xanthakis, Greek mathematician

2000 – Stylianos Allamanis, Greek politician

2002 – Rod Steiger, American actor

2003 – Metropolitan of Thessaloniki Panteleimon II

2004 – Yannis Boutos, Greek politician

2006 – Theocharis Keramitsoglou, Greek politician

2007 – Charles Lane, American actor

2008 – David Osubel, American psychologist and researcher