Today in History
July 9
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Anne of Cleves was Queen of England
from January 6 to July 9, 1540
as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII
Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, c.1539.
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1540 – King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. The French ambassador, Charles de Marillac, described Anne as tall and slim, “of middling beauty and of very assured and resolute countenance”. Following their annulment, Henry Vlll gave her a generous settlement, and thereafter she was referred to as, the “King’s Beloved Sister”. In 1527, at just 11 years of age, Anne was engaged to Francis, son and heir of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine. He was only 10. Within a few years, the arrangement was considered unofficial and cancelled in 1535.
1776 – George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British troops on Staten Island prepare for the Battle of Long Island.
1790 – The Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian Baltic fleet.
1816 – Argentina declares independencefrom Spain.
1863 – The Siege of Port Hudson ends, giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi River.
1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
1918 – In Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collides with an outbound express, killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest rail accident in United States history.
1962 – Starfish Prime tests the effects of a nuclear explosion at orbital altitudes. 50 years ago today, the United States detonated a nuclear weapon high above the Pacific Ocean, a part of a series of high altitude nuclear bomb tests called Starfish Prime. A Thor missile was launched and flew to an altitude of 660 miles and, as it arced and returned to earth, a 1.4 megaton nuclear warhead was detonated at an altitude of 240 miles high.
When a nuclear bomb detonates, it releases electrons at an incredible speed creating an extremely powerful magnetic field called an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP which affected the flow of electricity on earth for hundreds of miles.
Births
1577 – Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, English-American soldier and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (d. 1618)
1578 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1637)
1686 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (d. 1749)
1819 – Elias Howe, American inventor, invented the sewing machine (d. 1867)
1908 – Minor White, American photographer, critic, and educator (d. 1976)
1933 – Oliver Sacks, English-American neurologist, author, and academic (d. 2015)
1937 – David Hockney, English painter and photographer
1947 – O. J. Simpson, American icon
1956 – Tom Hanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1964 – Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
Deaths
715 – Naga, Japanese prince
1850 – Zachary Taylor, 12th President of the United States (b. 1784)
1974 – Earl Warren, 14th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1891)
Sourced from various internet sites.