Historical Events On June 9

Today is Monday, June 9, the 160th day of 2014. There are 205 days left in the year. In 1998, Major-General Abdusalami Abubakar was sworn in as Nigeria's 11th Head of State of Nigeria after

General Sani Abacha died in office.
In 1998, The Clinton administration offers improved ties with Nigeria's new military government if it frees political prisoners and moves toward democratic reform.

In A.D. 68, the Roman Emperor Nero committed suicide, ending a 13-year reign.
In 1870, author Charles Dickens died in Gad's Hill Place, England.

In 1911, Carrie (sometimes spelled "Carry") A. Nation, the hatchet-wielding temperance crusader, died in Leavenworth, Kansas, at age 64.
In 1934, the first Walt Disney animated cartoon featuring Donald Duck, "The Wise Little Hen," was released.

In 1940, during World War II, Norway decided to surrender to the Nazis, effective at midnight.
In 1943, the federal government began withholding income tax from paychecks.

In 1953, 94 people died when a tornado struck Worcester (WU'-stur), Massachusetts.
In 1969, the Senate confirmed Warren Burger to be the new chief justice of the United States, succeeding Earl Warren.

In 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes, becoming horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.
In 1978, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints struck down a 148-year-old policy of excluding black men from the Mormon priesthood.

In 1983, Britain's Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, won a decisive election victory.

In 1994, a fire destroyed the Georgia mansion of Atlanta Falcons receiver Andre Rison; his girlfriend, rap singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, admitted causing the blaze after a fight, and was later sentenced to probation.

In 2004, The body of Ronald Reagan arrived in Washington to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda before the 40th president's funeral. A new scoring system for figure skating was approved after the 2002 Olympic pairs scandal forced the sport's governing body to make radical changes.

In 2009, Under heavy guard, a Guantanamo Bay detainee walked into a civilian U.S. courtroom for the first time; Ahmed Ghailani, a Tanzanian accused in two American Embassy bombings in 1998, pleaded not guilty before the judge in New York.

In 2014, Risking prosecution by the U.S. government, 29-year-old intelligence analyst Edward Snowden was revealed as the source of The Guardian and The Washington Post disclosures about secret American surveillance programs. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam tournament after beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the French Open final, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.