May 9
Subject to Britannica's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Featured Event
© NICHOLAS KAMM—AFP/Getty Images; Photo Illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
On this day in 2014, the semiautonomous, solar-powered, garbage-collecting Mr. Trash Wheel went into operation in Baltimore Harbor. It wasn’t his first appearance—he spent six years as a prototype—but it was his high-profile public debut, and he immediately got to work: he collected more than 10 tons of garbage in his first week. He has been so successful that, over the years, he’s acquired a crew: Professor Trash Wheel, Captain Trash Wheel, and Gwynnda the Good Wheel of the West, all dedicated to keeping trash out of Chesapeake Bay and the oceans beyond. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
At last have made wonderful discovery in Valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact; re-covered same for your arrival; congratulations.
British archaeologist Howard Carter, who made one of the richest and most celebrated contributions to Egyptology—the discovery (1922) of the largely intact tomb of King Tutankhamun—was born this day in 1873.
Famous Birthdays
More on May 9
© Featureflash/Shutterstock.com
2020
Singer and pianist Little Richard, whose hit songs of the mid-1950s were defining moments in the development of rock and roll, died at age 87. [How much do you know about rock and roll?]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1980
The horror film classic Friday the 13th, about summer camp counselors being hunted by a masked killer, was released in theaters, and its huge success led to a popular franchise. [Test your knowledge of scary movies.]
© Gianni Ferrari—Cover/Getty Images
1974
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee began formal hearings in the impeachment investigation of President Richard M. Nixon. [Read about nine American political scandals.]
© cristi180884/Shutterstock.com
1960
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first birth control pill. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about the human body.]
Paramount Pictures
1958
Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thriller Vertigo, starring James Stewart and Kim Novak, premiered in San Francisco. It remains widely regarded as one of the greatest movies ever. [Test your knowledge of films.]
UPI/Bettmann Archive
1939
Track-and-field athlete Ralph Boston, the first man to jump more than 27 feet (8.23 meters), was born in Laurel, Mississippi. [How much do you know about track and field?]
AP
1936
Seven months after invading Ethiopia and driving Emperor Haile Selassie I into exile, Italy’s fascist government annexed the country as part of Italian East Africa.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1918
Television interviewer and reporter Mike Wallace—who, while on the show 60 Minutes, became known for his aggressive and bruising style—was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Americans.]
The Bridgeman Art Library/Art Resource, New York
1860
Dramatist and novelist J.M. Barrie—best known for Peter Pan—was born in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. [Test your knowledge of literary characters.]
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1950 (accession no. 50.94.1); www.metmuseum.org
1800
Abolitionist John Brown was born in Torrington, Connecticut. In 1859 he led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, aimed at establishing an independent stronghold of formerly enslaved people in the Adirondack Mountains. It precipitated the Civil War.
Photos.com/Thinkstock
1502
Christopher Columbus set sail from Cádiz, Spain, on his fourth and final voyage, hoping to find a passage to Asia. [Why is Columbus controversial?]