On This Day in History - July 9

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

July 9, 1877: Wimbledon tournament begins

On July 9, 1877, the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club begins its first lawn tennis tournament at Wimbledon, then an outer-suburb of London. Twenty-one amateurs showed up to compete in the Gentlemen's Singles tournament, the only event at the first Wimbledon. The winner was to take home a 25-guinea trophy.  

Tennis has its origins in a 13th-century French handball game called jeu de paume, or "game of the palm," from which developed an indoor racket-and-ball game called real, or "royal," tennis. Real tennis grew into lawn tennis, which was played outside on grass and enjoyed a surge of popularity in the late 19th century.  

In 1868, the All England Club was established on four acres of meadowland outside London. The club was originally founded to promote croquet, another lawn sport, but the growing popularity of tennis led it to incorporate tennis lawns into its facilities. In 1877, the All England Club published an announcement in the weekly sporting magazine The Field that read: "The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, propose [sic] to hold a lawn tennis meeting open to all amateurs, on Monday, July 9, and following days. Entrance fee, one pound, one shilling."  

The All English Club purchased a 25-guinea trophy and drew up formal rules for tennis. It decided on a rectangular court 78 feet long by 27 feet wide; adapted the real tennis method of scoring based on a clock face—i.e., 15, 30, 40, game; established that the first to win six games wins a set; and allowed the server one fault. These decisions, largely the work of club member Dr. Henry Jones, remain part of the modern rules.  

Twenty-two men registered for the tournament, but only 21 showed up on July 9 for its first day. The 11 survivors were reduced to six the next day, and then to three. Semifinals were held on July 12, but then the tournament was suspended to leave the London sporting scene free for the Eton vs. Harrow cricket match played on Friday and Saturday. The final was scheduled for Monday, July 16, but, in what would become a common occurrence in future Wimbledon tournaments, the match was rained out.  

It was rescheduled for July 19, and on that day some 200 spectators paid a shilling each to see William Marshall, a Cambridge tennis "Blue," battle W. Spencer Gore, an Old Harrovian racket player. In a final that lasted only 48 minutes, the 27-year-old Gore dominated with his strong volleying game, crushing Marshall, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. At the second Wimbledon in 1878, however, Gore lost his title when his net-heavy game fell prey to a innovative stroke developed by challenger Frank Hadow: the lob.  

In 1884, the Lady's Singles was introduced at Wimbledon, and Maud Watson won the first championship. That year, the national men's doubles championship was also played at Wimbledon for the first time after several years at Oxford. Mixed doubles and women's doubles were inaugurated in 1913. By the early 1900s, Wimbledon had graduated from all-England to all-world status, and in 1922 the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, as it was then known, moved to a large stadium on Church Road. In the 1950s, many tennis stars turned professional while Wimbledon struggled to remain an amateur tournament. However, in 1968 Wimbledon welcomed the pros and quickly regained its status as the world's top tennis tournament.  

The Wimbledon Championships, the only major tennis event still played on grass, is held annually in late June and early July.

Roman military leader Avitus was proclaimed emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Jacques Cartier returned from Canada to St. Malo, France. Johannes Kepler inscribed a geometric solid construction of universe. The Declaration of Independence was read to Washington's troops. This was an important date for Napoleon Bonaparte, as he signed the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 on this date and, exactly three years later, he would annex the Kingdom of the Netherlands, absorbing it into the First French Empire. Talleyrand became Prime Minister of France. Argentina declared independence from Spain. The first natural gas was found in the United States. A part of Washington, DC was returned to Virginia. Perry and the United States Navy visited Japan. As mentioned above, the first ever Wimbledon was held. In 1900, Australia approved it's constitution. Germany surrendered South West Africa to South Africa, which would remain in control there until 1990, when it became the independent nation of Namibia, and broke the shackles of apartheid in the process. Chaing Kai-shek was given the status as leader of China, in effect.In NFL history, the Washington Redskins formed in 1932 and, one year later on this date, their division rival Philadelphia Eagles came into existence. It was on this day that Himmler took over concentration camps in Germany. Anne Frank went into hiding on this day in 1943. Spaniards elected to retain Franco. The United States ended it's formal war against Germany, more than half a decade after V-E Day! The Republic of Malaysia was formed. Stan Smith won Wimbledon. The United States handed over all responsibilities in the demilitarized zone to the South Vietnamese. This seems to have been a particularly important date for Nazi hunters in the latter pat of the twentieth century. South Africa was readmitted into the Olympics. South Sudan gained it's independence.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

118 - Hadrian, Rome's new emperor, made his entry into the city.          

455 - Roman military commander in Gaul, Avitus, was proclaimed emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Avitus, the Roman military commander in Gaul, became Emperor of the West.

711 - Berbers under Tarik-ibn Ziyad occupies North Spain

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

1371 - Pope Gregory XI names Arnold II of Horne as bishop of Utrecht

1386 - Battle at Sempach: Swiss beat duke Leopold III of Austria

1401 - Mongol monarch Timur Lenk destroys Baghdad

1517 - Gelderse crowd robber murders population of Asperen

1536 - French navigator Jacques Cartier returns to Saint-Malo from Canada

1540 - England's King Henry VIII had his 6-month-old marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, annulled.  

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

1553 - Battle at Sievershausen Solingen: van Saksen beats Alcibiades

1572 - 19 Catholic priests hanged in Gorcum

1595 - Johannes Kepler inscribes geometric solid construction of universe

1609 - In a letter to the crown, the emperor Rudolf II granted Bohemian protestants freedom of worship.  

1672 - Prince Willem III inaugurated as viceroy of Holland/Zealand

1686 - Germany, Sweden and Spain signs anti-French League of Augsburg

1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlies "Elisabeth" battles with HMS Lion

1755 - Battle at Duquesne (Pittsburgh): French troops defeat British

1755 - British General Edward Braddock was killed when French and Indian troops ambushed his force of British regulars and colonial militia.

1766 - English premier Rockingham resigns Astronomer Johannes Kepler

1776 - Declaration of Independence is read to George Washington's troops (NY)

1780 - Denmark declares neutrality

1789 - In Versailles, the French National Assembly declared itself the Constituent Assembly and began to prepare 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.

1792 - S.L. Mitchell of Columbia College in New York City became the first Professor of Agriculture.

1795 - James Swan pays off the $2,024,899 US national debt

1800 - Mt Vernon Gardens becomes site of 1st summer theater in US

1807 - Treaties of Tilsit signed by Napoleon I and Alexander I.

1808 - The leather-splitting machine was patented by Samuel Parker.

1810 - Napoleon annexed the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire.

1815 - First natural gas well in US is discovered

1815 - King Louis XVIII leaves Ghent for France

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

1816 - Argentina declared independence from Spain

1835 - St Etienne-Lyons railway opens in France

1842 - Notary Stamp Law passes

1846 - Capt Montgomery claims Yerba Buena (SF) for US

1846 - The territory of the District of Columbia south of the Potomac River (39 mi² or about 100 km²) is returned to Virginia through an Act of Congress.

1847 - A 10-hour work day was established for workers in the state of New Hampshire.  

1850 - Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the U.S., died after only 16 months in office.

1852 - Fire destroys 1,100 construction sites in Montreal, Canada, and no one die

1853 - Adm Perry and US Navy visit Japan

1860 - Temperature hits 115°F in Ft Scott & 112°F in Topeka Kansas

1862 - Gen John Hunt Morgan captures Tompkinsville, Ky

1863 - R Morgan's: Indiana [->JUL 13]

1863 - Union troops enter Port Hudson

1864 - Battle of Monocacy, MD US1959 CS400 Physician and Explorer David Livingstone

1867 - An unsuccessful expedition led by E.D Young sets out to search for Dr David Livingstone (Scottish missionary and explorer).

1868 - First black cabinet member in SC (Francis L Cardozo-sect of state)

1868 - The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The amendment was designed to grant citizenship to and protect the civil liberties of recently freed slaves. It did this by prohibiting states from denying or abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, depriving any person of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or denying to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.  

1869 - Concord pipe, made from small corn kernels, invented

1872 - The doughnut cutter was patented by John F. Blondel of Thomaston, Maine.

1876 - Black landowner murdered in Hamburg South Carolina

1877 - First Wimbledon tennis championship is held

1877 - Alexander Graham Bell, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Thomas Sanders and Thomas Watson formed the Bell Telephone Company.  

1878 - An improved corncob pipe patented by Henry Tibbe, Washington, Missouri

1893 - Daniel Williams performs 1st successful open heart surgery without anesthesia

1896 William Jennings Bryan delivered his "cross of gold" speech at the Democratic National Convention.

1900 - Australia accepted its constitution, and the British Parliament proclaimed that as of Jan. 1, 1901, the six Australian colonies would be united as the Commonwealth of Australia.

1908 - CHU (Christian Historic Union) Dutch political party formed

1910 - Walter Brookins becomes 1st to pilot an airplane to 1 mile altitude

1914 - First US duplicate auction bridge championship held, Lake Placid, NY

1915 - Germany surrendered South West Africa to Union of South Africa

1916 - 1st cargo submarine to cross Atlantic arrives in US from Germany Heart surgeon Daniel Williams

1917 - British warship "Vanguard" explodes at Scapa Flow killing 804

1918 - 101 killed & 171 injured in worst US train wreck, Nashville, Tenn

1918 - Congress creates Distinguished Service Medal

1922 - Johnny Weissmuller swims 1st 100 m free style under 1 minute

1922 - Johnny Weissmuller became the first person to swim the 100 meters freestyle in less than a minute.  

1926 - Chiang Kai-shek appointed to national-revolutionary supreme commander

1926 - Coup under Gen Sinel de Cordes in Portugal

1927 - Atty William T Francis named minister to Liberia

1932 - Washington Redskins (then Boston Braves) formed

1932 - Yanks' Ben Chapman hits 2 inside-the-park HRs, tying record

1932 - The state of São Paulo revolts against the Brazilian Federal Government, starting the Constitutionalist Revolution

1933 - Frankford Yellowjackets sold, rechristened Philadelphia Eagles

1934 - SS-Reichs Fuhrer Himmler takes command of German Concentration Camps

1935 - Norman Bright ran the two mile event in the record time of 9 minutes, 13.2 seconds at a meet in New York City.  

1940 - 8th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 4-0 at Sportsman's Park, St Louis

1940 - German Evangelist Church protests against euthanasia pogroms

1940 - RAF bombs Germany

1942 - Anne Frank, 13, goes into hiding with her family and four other Jews

1943 - 5th day of battle at Kursk: Germans occupy Verchopenje

1943 - American and British forces made an amphibious landing on Sicily.

1943 - British air raid sinks U-435

1944 - In World War II, US troops secured Saipan as Japan fell

1944 - U-740 sinks

1944 - World's largest circus tent catches fire at Ringling Brother's - Barnum & Bailey 2nd performance, 168 die (Hartford Conn)

1946 - 13th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 12-0 at Fenway Park, Boston

1947 - The engagement of Britain's Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten was announced.

1947 - Spain voted for Franco monarchy

1948 - Satchel Paige, 42, debuts in majors pitching 2 scoreless inn for Cleve

1949 - Benjamin Britten's Jump Symphony, premieres

1950 - 13.15" (33.40 cm) of rainfall, York, Nebraska (state 24-hour record)

1951 - U.S. President Truman asked Congress to formally end the state of war between the United States and Germany.

1953 - 1st helicopter passenger service (NYC)

1953 - Phillies Robin Roberts ends streak of 28 consecutive complete games 33rd US President Harry Truman

1953 - New York Airways began the first commuter passenger service by helicopter.

1955 - First black executive on White House staff (E Frederic Morrow)

1955 - Bill Haley & Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" tops billboards chart

1955 - Strike in Belgium for 5 day work week

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

1956 - Dick Clark's 1st appearance as host of American Bandstand

1957 - 24th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 6-6 at Sportsman's Park, St Louis

1957 - Discovery of element 102 (Nobelium) announced

1958 - Giant splash caused by fall of 90 million tons of rock & ice into Lituya Bay, Alaska washes 1,800 feet up the mountain

1962 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island

1963 - 34th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 5-3 at Municipal Stadium, Cleve

1963 - All star MVP: Willie Mays (SF Giants) \

1963 - Crusher Lisowski beats Verne Gagne in Minneapolis, to become NWA champ

1963 - Federation of Malaysia forms

1965 - John Edrich completes 310* v NZ in 532 minutes, 52 fours 5 sixes

1965 - Senators Frank Howard ties record with 7 strikeouts in DH

1967 - WRET TV channel 36 in Charlotte, NC (NBC/CBS) begins broadcasting

1968 - 15.68" (39.83 cm) of rainfall, Columbus, Miss (state 24-hour record)

1968 - 39th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 1-0 at Astrodome, Houston -the first All-Star baseball game to be played indoors. 

1968 - All star MVP: Willie Mays (SF Giants)

1969 - Tom Seaver's no-hit bid against Cubs ends with 1 out in 9th

1970 - In Atlanta, Chief-No-ka-homa is joined by cousin Chief Round-the-Horn

1971 - Henry Kissinger visits China PR

1971 - The United States turned over complete responsibility of the Demilitarized Zone to South Vietnamese units.

1972 - First tour of Paul McCartney and Wings (France)

1972 - 86th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: S Smith beats I Nastase (46 63 63 46 75)

1972 - USSR performs underground nuclear test

1973 - 9th Maccabiah games opens in Tel Aviv, Israel

1974 - Trudeau's Liberal Party wins Canadian parliamentary election

1974 - Former U.S. chief justice Earl Warren died in Washington, DC.

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

1976 - England all out for 71 v WI at Old Trafford, Holding 14 5-7-17-5

1976 - Houston Astro Larry Dierker no-hits Montreal Expos, 6-0

1976 - Uganda asks UN to condemn Israeli hostage rescue raid on Entebbe

1978 - "Hello, Dolly!" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC after 152 perfs

1978 - American Nazi Party, holds a rally at Marquette Park, Chicago

1978 - Nearly 100,000 demonstrators march on Wash DC for ERA

1979 - Dr Walter Massey named director of Argonne national Lab

1979 - Voyager 2 flies past Jupiter

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.

1980 - 7 die in a stampede to see Pope in Brazil

1980 - Dutch war criminal Pieter Menten sentenced to 10 years

1980 - Walt Disney's "Fox & The Hound," released

1981 - Jacksons begin a 36-city tour

1982 - Botham scores 208 in 225 balls, England v India at The Oval

1982 - Margaret Thatcher begins her second term as British Prime Minster

1982 - Pan Am Boeing 727 crashes in Kenner La, killing 153

1984 - 12th minster of York destroyed in lightening storm

1984 - Yvonne Ryding, of Sweden, crowned 33rd Miss Universe

1985 - South Africa police arrested Dutch ANC'er Klaas de Jong

1985 - Herschel Walker of the New Jersey Generals was named the Most Valuable Player in the United States Football League (USFL).  

1985 - Joe Namath signed a five-year pact with ABC-TV to provide commentary for "Monday Night Football".  

1986 - Atlanta's Dale Murphy doesn't play ending consecutive streak at 740

1986 - Attorney General's Commission on Pornography links hard-core porn to sex crimes

1986 - Padres trade pitcher Tim Stoddard to Yankees for pitcher Ed Whitson

1987 - One million South Koreans demonstrate against Chun Doo Hwan regime

1987 - Col Oliver North admits to shredding Iran-Contra evidence

1988 - Chris Speier hits for the cycle & Ernest Riles hits 10,000th Giant HR

1988 - Jessye Norman begins recording Bizets "Carmen"

1988 - Nolan Ryan is 7th to win 100 game on 2 teams, as Astro beat Mets 6-3

1989 - 103rd Wimbledon Mens Tennis: B Becker defeated Stefan Edberg (60 76 64)

1989 - 96th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: S Graf beats M Navratilova (62 67 61) Composer Georges Bizet

1989 - Penny Hammel wins LPGA Jamie Farr Toledo Golf Classic

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

1990 - 104th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: S Edberg defeated B Becker (62 62 36 36 64)

1990 - Richard Hadlee takes 5-53 to end his Test Cricket career with 431 wkts

1991 - "Little Night Music" opens at New York State Theater NYC for 7 perfs

1991 - 62nd All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 4-2 at SkyDome, Toronto

1991 - All star MVP: Cal Ripken Jr (Balt Orioles)

1991 - South Africa readmitted to Olympics

1992 - Kim Basinger gets 1,959th star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame

1992 - Space Shuttle STS 50 (Columbia 13) lands

1994 - 11,000th HR in NY Yankees history (Matt Nokes)

1994 - Sonia O'Sullivan runs world record 2k (5:25.36)

1994 - Soyuz TM-19 lands

1995 - "Play's the Thing" opens at Criterion Theater NYC for 75 performances

1995 - 109th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Pete Sampras defeated B Becker (67 62 64 62)

1995 - US international postage rates rise to 60 cents per ounce

1996 - 67th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 6-0 at Veterans Stadium, Phila

1996 - All star MVP: Mike Piazza (LA Dodgers)

1996 - US Senate approves 90 cent raise to $4.25 minimum wage

1997 - Baseball's triple A American Association (formed in 1902) votes to disband

1997 - Mike Tyson was banned from the boxing ring and fined $3 million for biting the ear of opponent Evander Holyfield.

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

2000 - Pete Sampras wins his 13th Grand Slam tennis title at Wimbledon

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

2002 Baseball's All-Star Game ended in a tie after 11 innings. Both sides had run out of pitchers.

2005 - Danny Way, a daredevil skateboarder, rolled down a large ramp and jumped across the Great Wall of China. He was the first person to clear the wall without motorized aid

2006 - At least 122 people are killed after a Sibir Airlines Airbus A310 passenger jet, carrying 200 passengers on board veers off the runway while landing at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia in wet conditions.

2011 - After more than 50 years of struggle, South Sudan declared independence from Sudan and becomes Africa's 54th state.



The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/jul09.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory