These historical events took place on May 9th:
1768: John Hancock pays duties on 25 pipes of wine, only one-fourth of his ship’s carrying capacity. British officials accuse him of unloading the rest during the night to avoid paying duties on the entire cargo.
1865: President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation declaring armed resistance in the South is virtually at an end. This is the commonly accepted end date of the American Civil War.
1901: A financial panic begins in the United States of America following the struggle between two groups to control the railroad between the Great Lakes and the Pacific.
1914: United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaims Mother’s Day.
1922: The International Astronomical Union formally adopt Annie Jump Cannon’s stellar classification system, which with only minor changes, is still used today.
1926: 1st flight over the North Pole was claimed by Richard E. Byrd and co-pilot Floyd Bennett. Later discovery of Byrd’s diary suggests they may have turned back 150 miles short of the pole due to an oil leak.
1941: Louis Buchalter is arraigned in New York state court on the 1936 Joseph Rosen murder along with three other murders.
1960: The United States becomes the first country to legalize the birth control pill.
1992: Salem Village Witchcraft Victims’ Memorial was dedicated in Danvers, formally Salem Village, to mark 300 year anniversary of the trials.