#TodayInHistory – February 9

February 9 – Some important events on this day

474 👉🏼 Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire together with his son Leo II
1775 👉🏼 British Parliament declares Massachusetts colony is in rebellion
1891 👉🏼 1891 1st shipment of asparagus arrives in San Francisco from Sacramento
1895 👉🏼 Volleyball invented by W G Morgan in Massachusetts
1904 👉🏼 Japanese land troops at Chemulpo (Inchon), near Seoul, Korea; within the next three weeks they will have advanced to the Yalu River, the border of Manchuria
1943 👉🏼 Japanese troops evacuate Guadalcanal, ends epic WWII battle on the Solomon Islands in the Pacific

1964 👉🏼 1st appearance of the Beatles on the “Ed Sullivan Show” draws 73.7 million viewers.
In February 1964 the Beatles’ popularity in the United States was reaching fever pitch as they prepared to make their live American television debut on the Ed Sullivan show.
Beatlemania had already gripped the UK in the previous year. When the Fab Four arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport (newly renamed after his assassination eleven weeks earlier) they were greeted by a roaring crowd of around 4,000 fans and 200 journalists. Paul McCartney later recalled being in the car on the way to the hotel and listening on the radio to a news program narrating their car journey.
On this day the Beatles performed for the first time on Ed Sullivan. Around 73 million viewers watched their performance which, at the time, was the most-watched program in American television history. From there the Beatles domination of the music market began – and the rest is history.

1971 👉🏼 Probably 1st gay theme TV episode – All in the Family
1972 👉🏼 British government declares state of emergency after month-long coal miners’ strike
1992 👉🏼 Fastest yodeler-22 tones/15 falsetto in 1 sec by Thomas School of Germany
2018 👉🏼 XXIII Olympic Winter Games open in PyeongChang, South Korea
2020 👉🏼 Deaths from COVID-19 virus overtake those of Sars (2003) with 813 deaths worldwide, with more than 34,800 known infections