December 9 in History

• 1854

  December 9, 1854:

  Alfred Tennyson’s narrative poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” is published.

• 1960

  December 9, 1960:

  The British soap opera, “Coronation Street” debuts on ITV.  

• 1961

  December 9, 1961:

  Tanganyika (later to be known as Tanzania) attains independence with Julius Nyerere as the first Prime Minister.

• 1965

  December 9, 1965:

  The animated television special “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, which is based on the comic strip titled “Peanuts”, premieres on CBS.

• 1979

  December 9, 1979:

  The World Health Organization officially declares smallpox disease as eradicated.

• 1983

  December 9, 1983:

  The crime drama film, “Scarface” is released in theatres.

• 1990

  December 9, 1990:

  Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Wałęsa wins the first direct presidential election held in Poland.

• 1992

  December 9, 1992:

  British Prime Minister John Major reads a statement from Buckingham Palace announcing Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s separation.

• 1998

  December 9, 1998:

  Anti-Semitism is declared by the United Nations General Assembly as a form of racism.

• 2016

  December 9, 2016:

  Park Geun-Hye, the President of South Korea, is impeached by parliament following corruption allegations.