On this day...

1799 USS Constellation captures French frigate Insurgente - Nevis, W.I.
1822 American Indian Society organizes
1825 House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams 6th US President
1849 Roman Republic declared
1861 Jefferson Davis & Alexander Stephens elected President & VP of CSA
1861 Tennessee votes against secession
1870 US Army establishes US National Weather Service
1885 First Japanese arrive in Hawaii
1886 President Cleveland declares a state of emergency in Seattle because of anti-Chinese violence
1895 Volleyball invented by W.G. Morgan in Massachusetts
1909 First federal legislation prohibiting narcotics (opium)
1916 Britains miltary service act enforced (conscription)
1918 Army chaplain school organized at Fort Monroe, Va
1920 International treaty recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard
1922 Snow on Mauna Loa, Hawaii
1923 Soviet Aeroflot airlines established
1934 Balkan Entente alliance forms (Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey & Romania)
1940 Joe Louis defends heavyweight boxing title beating Arturo Godov
1941 Nazis provoke first anti-Jewish riots in Amsterdam
1942 Daylight Savings War Time goes into effect in US
1942 Philadelphia "Phillies" change nickname (temporarily) to "Phils"
1943 Japanese evacuate Guadalcanal, ends epic battle
1950 Senator Joseph McCarthy charges State Department infested with communists
1953 "The Adventures of Superman" TV series premiers in syndication
1963 First flight of Boeing 727 jet
1964 First appearance of Beatles on "Ed Sullivan Show" (73.7 million viewers)
1964 G.I. Joe character created
1969 World's largest airplane, Boeing 747, makes first commercial flight
1971 Apollo 14 returns to Earth
1971 Earthquake in Los Angeles, 64 die
1971 Satchel Paige becomes first negro-league player elected to baseball Hall of   Fame
1985 Madonna's "Like a Virgin," album goes #1
1986 Halley's Comet reaches 30th perihelion (closest approach to Sun)
1987 Former national security adviser Robert McFarlane attempts suicide
1989 Kevin Johnson (Phoenix) ends NBA free throw streak of 57 games
1990 "The Bradys" return to TV for 6 episodes on CBS TV
1991 Voters in Lithuania vote for independence

Birthdays which occurred on February 9th:

1773 William Henry Harrison, 9th US President
1814 Samuel Jones Tilden, philanthropist for NY Public Library
1846 Wilhelm Maybach, German engineer, designer of first Mercedes
1853 Sir Leander Starr Jameson, PM of South African Cape colony
1866 George Ade, US, journalist, playwright, humorist (Fables in Slang)
1871 Howard T. Ricketts, US pathologist (studied typhus fever)
1874 Vsevolod Meyerhold, Russian theatrical producer/director/actor
1876 Martin Stixrud, Norway, figure skater (Olympic-bronze-1920)
1891 Ronald Colman, England, 1947 Academy Award actor (Tale of 2 Cities)
1892 Peggy Wood, Brooklyn NY, actress (One Life to Live, Mama)
1897 Sir Charles Edward Kingsford-Smith, pioneer Australian aviator
1899 Brian Donlevy, Portadown Ireland, actor (Steve-Dangerous Assignment)
1907 Aubrey "Dit" Clapper, NHL Hall of Famer (Boston Bruins)
1908 Jackie Fields, US, featherweight boxer (Olympic-gold-1924)
1909 Dean Rusk, US Secretary of State (1961-69)
1909 Heather Angel, Oxford England, actress (Informer, Last of Mohicans)
1914 Bill Veeck, baseball club owner
1914 Carmen Miranda, singer/actress (Copacabana, Date With Judy)
1914 Ernest Tubb, TX, guitarist/singer (I'm Walking the Floor over You)
1923 Brendan Behan, Ireland, author (Hostage)
1923 Kathryn Grayson, US, singer/actress (Anchors Aweigh, Kiss Me Kate)
1923 Norman E Shumway, Michigan, pioneer cardiac transplant surgeon
1928 Roger Mudd, Washington DC, news ancher (CBS and NBC News)
1942 Carole King [Klein], Brooklyn NY, pianist/singer (Tapestry)
1942 Peder Lunde, Jr., Norway, yachtsman (Olympic-gold-1960)
1943 Joe Pesci, Newark NJ, actor (Good Fellas)
1943 Jonny Nilsson, Sweden, 10K speed skater (Olympic-gold-1964)
1943 Squire Fridell, Oakland California, actor (Rosetti & Ryan)
1944 Alice Walker, US, novelist (Color Purple)
1945 Mia (Maria) Farrow, LA, actress (Rosemary's Baby)
1949 Judith Light, Trenton NJ, (Angela-Who's the Boss)
1951 Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, saxophonist (Kool & the Gang)
1951 Penny Peyser, Irvington NY, actress (Rich Man Poor Man)

Deaths which occurred on February 9th:

1811 Nevill Maskelyne, 5th Astronomer Royal of England
1906 Paul Laurence Dunbar, dies at 33 in Dayton, Ohio
1961 Grigory Levenfish, International chess grandmaster from Russia, dies at 70
1964 Willie Bryant, singer (Sugar Hill Times), dies at 55
1978 Kimberly Leach, 12, killed by Ted Bundy in Lake City, Fla
1981 Billy Haley, rocker, dies at 55
1984 Balasaraswathi, Indian classical dancer, dies in Madras
1984 Yuri Andropov, Soviet President, dies at 69