Notable Historical Events - 2009
2009 Historical Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
Jan 1 |
Slovakia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the sixteenth Eurozone country. |
Jan 1 |
61 die in nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand. |
Jan 1 |
The government of the Republic of China adopts Hanyu Pinyin as its official Chinese romanization (before this time, the most commonly used was Tongyong Pinyin. |
Jan 3 |
Israeli ground forces invade Gaza. |
Jan 7 |
35th People's Choice Awards: Will Smith & Reese Witherspoon win (Movie Star) and Hugh Laurie & Christina Applegate win (TV) |
Jan 8 |
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Costa Rica´s region of Volcan Poás, with an epicenter near Cinchona. It was caused by Varablanca-Angel fault. |
Jan 13 |
Global shipping experiences a drop in trade, as exports from South Korea dropping an annualised 30%, with Taiwan and Japan experiencing a 42% and 27% drop respectively |
Jan 15 |
US Airways Flight 1549 makes an emergency landing into the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. All passengers and crew members survive. |
Jan 20 |
Barack Obama, inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becomes the United States' first African-American president |
Jan 20 |
Joe Biden assumes the office of the Vice President of the United States |
Jan 23 |
Dendermonde nursery attack occurred in Dendermonde, Belgium. |
Jan 23 |
UK officially enters recession as GDP falls by 1.5% in the last quarter of 2008 following a 0.6% drop in the third quarter, with unemployment growing by 131,000 to 1.92 million (6.1%) |
Jan 24 |
Pope Benedict XVI rescinds the excommunications of four bishops consecrated without papal consent in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. |
Jan 31 |
In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people. |
Feb 1 |
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay Head of State in the modern world. |
Feb 1 |
Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Arizona Cardinals, 27-23 at the Raymond James Stadium MVP: Santonio Holmes, Pittsburgh, WR |
Feb 5 |
The United States Navy guided missile cruiser Port Royal runs aground off Oahu, Hawaii, damaging the ship as well as a coral reef. |
Feb 7 |
Bushfires in Victoria left 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history. |
Feb 8 |
51st Grammy Awards: Please Read The Letter, Adele wins |
Feb 8 |
NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 30-21 |
Feb 12 |
Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes near Buffalo in the state of New York killing 50 people. |
Feb 13 |
Unix time passed 1,234,567,890 seconds February 13, 2009 at exactly 23:31:30 (UTC). |
Feb 13 |
The Dutch Statistics agency confirms the Netherlands are in recession |
Feb 18 |
The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics announced that the Taiwanese economy has contracted an unprecedented 8.36% in the fourth quarter of 2008; thus placing the country in a technical recession |
Feb 21 |
29th Golden Raspberry Awards: The Love Guru wins |
Feb 22 |
81st Academy Awards - "Slumdog Millionare," Sean Penn & Kate Winslet win |
Feb 22 |
Heath Ledger, posthumously, wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Act for his performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" |
Feb 25 |
BDR massacre in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 74 People are being killed, including more than 50 Army officials, by Bangladeshi Boarder Guards inside its headquarter. |
Feb 27 |
Statistics Finland informs that Finland's gross domestic product diminished by 1.3% in the last quarter of 2008 from the previous quarter |
Mar 3 |
The Sri Lankan cricket team is attacked by terrorists while on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore for a Test match against Pakistan. |
Mar 3 |
The building of the Historisches Archiv der Stadt Köln (Historical Archives) in Cologne, Germany, collapses. |
Mar 4 |
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002. |
Mar 4 |
U.S. Steel announce the closure of the Stelco Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ontario due to the increasingly worsening effects of the global economic slowdown |
Mar 4 |
Malaysia has a 50% chance of slipping into the recession as growth is expected to reach just 0.5% for the year, announces the executive director Datuk Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research |
Mar 5 |
Moises Alou announces he will retire following the World Baseball Classic |
Mar 7 |
Despite only being 17 years old, Brazilian soccer star Neymar makes his professional debut for Real Madrid |
Mar 11 |
Winnenden school shooting - 17 people are killed at a school in Germany. |
Mar 22 |
Mount Redoubt, a volcano in Alaska began erupting after a prolonged period of unrest. |
Mar 27 |
Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Indonesia, fails killing at least 99 people. |
Apr 1 |
Croatia and Albania joined NATO |
Apr 3 |
Australia formally adopts the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. |
Apr 5 |
North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks |
Apr 5 |
44th Academy of Country Music Awards: Carrie Underwood & Brad Paisley wins |
Apr 6 |
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing at least 253. |
Apr 7 |
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces. |
Apr 12 |
U.S. Navy rescues captain Richard Phillips, killing three pirates and capturing a fourth. |
Apr 12 |
President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority makes a courtesy phone call to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, restarting the Palestinian-Israeli dialogue |
Apr 12 |
73rd Golf Masters Championship: Ángel Cabrera wins, shooting a 276 |
Apr 15 |
Even though official government sources state that Argentina's GDP will actually grow this year, private consulting firms state that Argentine economy has actually been in recession since October 2008 |
Apr 23 |
The gamma ray burst GRB 090423 it's observed for 10 seconds as the most distant object of any kind and also the oldest known object in the universe. |
Apr 25 |
Elijah Wood is honored with the Midnight Award by the San Francisco International Film Festival as an American actor who "has made outstanding contributions to independent and Hollywood cinema, and who brings striking intelligence, exemplary talent and extraordinary depth of character to his roles" |
Apr 30 |
Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. |
Apr 30 |
Failed attack on the Dutch Royal Family results in 7 deaths and 17 injured. |
Apr 30 |
The United Kingdom formally ends combat operations in Iraq. |
May 1 |
Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden. |
May 2 |
135th Kentucky Derby: Calvin Borel aboard Mine That Bird wins in 2:02.66 |
May 11 |
An American soldier in Iraq opened fire on a counseling center at Camp Liberty in Bagdhad, leaving 5 other US soldiers dead and 3 soldiers wounded. |
May 15 |
The French Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies announce that French gross domestic product shrank 1.2% in the first quarter of 2009 after falling by 1.5% in the final quarter of 2008; the French economy had avoided narrowly a recession in 2008 |
May 15 |
Eurostat report that Austria, Belgium, and Romania have all entered recession in the first quarter of 2009 |
May 16 |
135th Preakness: Calvin Borel aboard Rachel Alexandra wins in 1:55.08 |
May 18 |
Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides. |
May 19 |
Sri Lanka announces victory in its 27 year war against the terrorist organisation, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. |
May 20 |
Mexico is the first Latin American country to officially enter recession |
May 24 |
Indianapolis 500: Hélio Castroneves wins in 3:19:34.6427 (241.913 km/h) |
May 25 |
North Korea allegedly tests its second nuclear device. Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang also conducted several missile tests bulding tensions in the international community. |
May 25 |
Thailand's economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter of 2009, contracting the most in a decade and plunging the nation into recession |
May 27 |
South Africa enters the global recession; the first recession for South Africa in 17 years |
Jun 1 |
Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew were killed. |
Jun 1 |
General Motors files for chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history. |
Jun 2 |
Switzerland officially enters the global recession |
Jun 5 |
Chileo officially enters recession; it is the first South American country to enter the global recession |
Jun 6 |
141st Belmont: Kent Desormeaux aboard Summer Bird wins in 2:27.54 |
Jun 7 |
63rd Tony Awards: Billy Elliot the Musical & God of Carnage win |
Jun 9 |
Brazil officially enters recession |
Jun 11 |
A Texas mother was hit by lightning while standing in her kitchen inside her Texas home. Witnesses say the lightning came through a light fixture and struck her chest and exited her foot. Her 9-year-old son franticly called 9-1-1 to save her life. She had to spend three days in the hospital. |
Jun 11 |
Bulgarian authorities declare the country is officially in recession after dropping 1.6% in the last quarter of 2008 |
Jun 12 |
Protests in Iran following the presidential election. |
Jun 12 |
TSC: All television broadcasts in the United States switch from analog NTSC to digital ATSC transmission. |
Jun 14 |
63rd NBA Championship: Los Angeles Lakers beat Orlando Magic, 4 games to 1 |
Jun 14 |
55th LPGA Championship won by Anna Nordqvist |
Jun 17 |
43rd CMT Music Awards: Taylor Swift & Brad Paisley wins |
Jun 22 |
2009 Washington Metro subway crash: Two Metro trains collide in Washington, D.C., USA, killing 9 and injuring over 80. |
Jun 22 |
109th US Golf Open: Lucas Glover shoots a 276 at Bethpage State Park NY |
Jun 24 |
Mike Babcock is named head coach of Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics (they would win the gold medal) |
Jun 25 |
Colombia enters into recession after witnessing 0.7% contraction in the last quarter of 2008 and 0.6% in the following quarter |
Jun 30 |
Yemenia Flight 626 crashes off the coast of Moroni, Comoros killing 152 people and leaving 1 survivor |
Jun 30 |
Turkey records its fastest contraction of 13.8% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to 2008, leading the country into recession; this is Turkey's biggest economic slump since 1945 |
Jul 3 |
Mark II.5 Skytrain cars enter service in Metro Vancouver. |
Jul 4 |
The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after 8 years, due to security reasons following the World Trade Center attacks. |
Jul 5 |
Ethnic rioting broke out in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China |
Jul 5 |
116th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Serena Williams beats Venus Williams (7-6 6-2) |
Jul 5 |
123rd Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Roger Federer beats Andy Roddick (5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14), winning a record 15th Grand Slam titles |
Jul 6 |
Jadranka Kosor became first female Prime minister of Croatia. |
Jul 9 |
Joe Sakic retires after 21 NHL seasons with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise, finishing with 625 goals and 1,641 points |
Jul 13 |
"She Wolf", the lead single from Shakira's eighth album, premiers |
Jul 14 |
80th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 4-3 at Busch Stadium, St Louis |
Jul 14 |
Singapore experiences a seasonally adjusted and annualised growth of 20.4% in the second quarter as a result of increased pharmaceuticals production and construction, bringing the country out of the recession |
Jul 15 |
A 7.9 Magnitude earthquake registers 160km west of Invercargill, New Zealand, creating a small tsunami. |
Jul 17 |
Jakarta double bombings at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels killed 9 people including 4 foreigners. |
Jul 18 |
Five members of one family are found murdered at Epping, New South Wales. |
Jul 19 |
138th British Golf Open: Stewart Cink shoots a 278 at Ailsa Course |
Jul 19 |
17th ESPY Awards: Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin win |
Jul 23 |
Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox becomes the 18th pitcher to throw a perfect game in Major League Baseball history, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0. |
Jul 23 |
The Bank of Canada announces the end of the recession even though it remains nascent and still dependent on government stimulus money |
Jul 30 |
A bomb explodes in Palma Nova, Mallorca, killing 2 police officers. Basque separatist group ETA is believed to be responsible. |
Aug 4 |
Kim Jong-il meets former president Bill Clinton. He pardons and releases captured American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling who were found guilty of entering the country illegally. |
Aug 15 |
Portugal leaves recession after three consecutive quarters of negative growth having its GDP recover by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2009 |
Aug 16 |
91st PGA Championship: Yang Yong-eun shoots a 280 at Hazeltine National Golf Club |
Aug 19 |
A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others. |
Aug 24 |
Thailand's GDP grew 2.3% in 2009's second quarter, technically leaving the recession |
Sep 5 |
Denmark celebrates the first national flagday, in memory of the fallen Danes in international operations since 1948. |
Sep 9 |
Cyprus enters recession after 0.6% contraction in the first quarter, followed by 0.4% in the second quarter |
Sep 11 |
The Brazilian economy technically leaves the recession when GDP grew 1.9% in the second quarter of 2009 after having fallen in the first quarter of 2009 and last quarter of 2008 |
Sep 11 |
Sweden emerges from the recession after witnessing GDP growth of 0.2% in the second quarter |
Sep 12 |
The 9-12 Project organized multiple marches and demonstrations across the USA to protest government spending. |
Sep 13 |
26th MTV Awards: Beyoncé, Taylor Swift & T.I. f/ Rihanna wins |
Sep 14 |
David Attenborough and Prince William officially open the Darwin Centre at the National History Museum London, in what is the Museum's most significant expansion since 1881 |
Sep 18 |
The 72 year run of the soap opera The Guiding Light ends as its final episode is broadcast. |
Sep 20 |
61st Emmy Awards: Mad Men, 30 Rock, Bryan Cranston & Glenn Close win |
Sep 21 |
Macedonia officially enters the recession after experiencing a drop in GDP of 0.9% in the first quarter, followed by 1.4% in the second quarter |
Sep 26 |
Typhoon Ketsana (2009) hit the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, causing 700 fatalities. |
Sep 28 |
The military junta leading Guinea, headed by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, sexually assaulted, killed and wounded protesters during a protest rally in a stadium called Stade du 28 Septembre. |
Sep 29 |
An 8.0 magnitude earthquake near the Samoan Islands causes a tsunami . |
Oct 2 |
Rio de Janeiro is elected the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. |
Oct 2 |
The economic crisis in Ireland is considered to be the driving force behind the largest migration of Irish people to London in 20 years, it is reported today |
Oct 4 |
George Papandreou's Panhellenic Socialist Movement defeats Greece's governing New Democracy party in an electoral landslide. |
Oct 7 |
A digital version of psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung's 'Red Book' is published 48 years after his death and contains personal notes on his subconscious during the period in which he developed his principal theories |
Oct 9 |
First lunar impact of the Centaur and LCROSS spacecrafts as part of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program. |
Oct 10 |
After having closed borders for about two hundred years, Armenia and Turkey sign protocols in Zurich, Switzerland to open their borders. |
Oct 18 |
QB Tom Brady throws five second quarter touchdowns against the Tennessee Titans, an NFL record for touchdown passes in one quarter |
Oct 23 |
The United Nations "Rotterdam Rules" convention regulating international maritime carriage of goods is ratified with its twentieth signature. |
Oct 23 |
The UK markets had contracted by 0.4% in the third quarter against what was expected to be a period of growth, as a result of unexpectedly poor performance by the service sector |
Oct 24 |
First International Day of Climate Action, organized with 350.org, a global campaign to address a claimed global warming crisis. |
Oct 25 |
The 25 October 2009 Baghdad bombings kills 155 and wounds at least 721. |
Oct 28 |
The 28 October 2009 Peshawar bombing kills 117 and wounds 213. |
Oct 28 |
NASA successfully launches the Ares I-X mission, the only rocket launch for its later-cancelled Constellation program. |
Nov 1 |
The inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is held at the Yas Marina Circuit. |
Nov 3 |
23rd Soul Train Music Awards: Michael Jackson, Charlie Wilson & Chaka Khan win |
Nov 5 |
US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan (US Army Medical Corps) killed 13 and wounded 43 at Fort Hood, Texas in the largest mass shooting ever at a US military installation. |
Nov 9 |
Joe Cada becomes the youngest champion of the World Series of Poker's main event. |
Nov 11 |
43rd Country Music Association Award: Taylor Swift & Brad Paisley wins |
Nov 13 |
The Netherlands officially exits the recession after experiencing 0.4% growth in the third quarter, but recovery for the Netherlands still remains fragile as the country is highly dependent on exports to maintain the recovery |
Nov 13 |
Germany's growth of 0.7% in the third quarter helps lead the Eurozone out of the recession after providing overall growth of 0.4% in the same period, with the whole European Union growing 0.2%, it is reported today |
Nov 14 |
The National Statistical Service of Greece states that the country has been in recession since the beginning of the year |
Nov 20 |
The Mexican government declares its economy technically out of recession after 2.93% GDP growth in the third quarter of 2009; Mexico had been in a severe economic crisis for over a year prior to its economic rebound |
Nov 22 |
36th American Music Award: Taylor Swift & Michael Jackson win |
Nov 22 |
President Hugo Chavez states that Venezuela is in recession as the economy contracted 4.5% in the third quarter |
Nov 23 |
The Maguindanao massacre occurs in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, Mindanao, Philippines |
Nov 25 |
Powerful storm brings 3 years worth of rain in 4 hours to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, sparking terrible floods known as the 2009 Jeddah Floods, which kill over 150 people and sweep thousands of cars away right in the middle of Hajj in the second largest city of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah. |
Nov 29 |
97th CFL Grey Cup: Montreal Alouettes defeats Saskatchewan Roughriders, 28-27 |
Nov 30 |
Canada begins its recovery from the recession; economic growth is at 0.4% after 14 months of economic stagnation |
Dec 6 |
98th Davis Cup: Spain beats Czech Republic in Barcelona (5-0) |
Dec 6 |
Final Broadway performance of "A Steady Rain", starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig |
Dec 8 |
Bombings in Baghdad, Iraq kill 127 and injure 448. |
Dec 11 |
Tiger Woods announced an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage. |
Dec 15 |
Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner makes its maiden flight from Seattle, Washington. |
Dec 18 |
James Cameron's "Avatar", starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, is released |
Dec 25 |
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab unsuccessfully attempts a terrorist attack against the US while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253 |
Dec 28 |
Scarlett Johansson makes her debut on Broadway in the Arthur Miller play "A View from the Bridge" |
Dec 28 |
43 people die in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, where Shia Muslims were observing the Day of Ashura. |
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