On This Day for July 9 - Catherine the Great assumed power, O.J. Simpson is featured, and more

Created: 2020-07-09 10:03 Updated: 2020-07-09 10:03 Notebook: On this Day in History

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July 09

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

O.J. Simpson

FEATURED EVENT

1762

Catherine the Great assumed power

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MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2011: South Sudan declared its independence after a referendum to secede from Sudan passed overwhelmingly. [ Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Africa.]

2002: Fearing that there would not be enough eligible players to continue, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig stopped the annual All-Star Game in the 11th inning with the score tied at 7–7. [ Take our baseball quiz.]

2001: The British TV series The Office, created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, debuted and became a huge hit, spawning a popular American version and making Gervais a star. [Test your knowledge of pop culture.]

1995: American psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead performed their last concert, at Soldier Field in Chicago; lead guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia died the following month. [ Take our quiz about musical groups.]

1960: The Thresher , the first of a class of U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarines, was launched; it sank in 1963 in the worst submarine accident in history. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about submarines, ships, and other watercraft.]