February 9 in history — What Happened Today in History

The Budd Company unveils its first SPV-2000 self-propelled railcar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Aeroflot Flight 3739, a Tupolev Tu-104, crashes during takeoff from Irkutsk Airport, killing 24.

The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.

The 6.5–6.7 Mw Sylmar earthquake hits the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 64 and injuring 2,000.

Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro league player to be voted into the USA's Baseball Hall of Fame.

Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third human Moon landing.

Vietnam War: The United States Marine Corps sends a MIM-23 Hawk missile battalion to South Vietnam, the first American troops in-country without an official advisory or training mission.

The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a record-setting audience of 73 million viewers across the United States.

The Beatles at the Cavern Club: Lunchtime – The Beatles perform under this name at The Cavern Club for the first time following their return to Liverpool from Hamburg.

The R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR.

Korean War: The two-day Geochang massacre begins as a battalion of the 11th Division of the South Korean Army kills 719 unarmed citizens in Geochang, in the South Gyeongsang district of South Korea.

Second Red Scare: US Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with Communists.

World War II: Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Venturer sinks U-864 off the coast of Fedje, Norway, in a rare instance of submarine-to-submarine combat.

World War II: A force of Allied aircraft unsuccessfully attack a German destroyer in Førdefjorden, Norway.

World War II: Pacific War: Allied authorities declare Guadalcanal secure after Imperial Japan evacuates its remaining forces from the island, ending the Battle of Guadalcanal.

Year-round Daylight saving time (aka War Time) is reinstated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.

World War II: Bombing of Genoa: The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa, Italy, is struck by a bomb which fails to detonate.

The Balkan Entente is formed between Greece, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Turkey.

Prohibition law is abolished in Finland after a national referendum, where 70% voted for a repeal of the law.

Members of the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng assassinate the labor recruiter Bazin, prompting a crackdown by French colonial authorities.

Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

Under the terms of the Svalbard Treaty, international diplomacy recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Arctic archipelago Svalbard, and designates it as demilitarized.

A group of meteors is visible across much of the eastern seaboard of the Americas, leading astronomers to conclude the source had been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.

The Mud March is the first large procession organised by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).

Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Port Arthur concludes.

The Davis Cup competition is established.

William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.

Verdi's last opera, Falstaff, premieres at La Scala, Milan.

Sebastián Driussi, Argentinian footballer

André Burakovsky, Swedish ice hockey player

Mario Pašalić, Croatian footballer

Sheraldo Becker, Surinamese footballer

Wataru Endo, Japanese footballer

K. J. McDaniels, American basketball player

Despina Papamichail, Greek tennis player

Niclas Füllkrug, German footballer

Avan Jogia, Canadian actor

Helena Kmieć, Polish Roman Catholic missionary (died 2017)

Logan Ryan, American football player

Randall Delgado, Panamanian baseball player

Tariq Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player

Hal Herring, American football player and coach (born 1924)

Logan Scott-Bowden, English general (born 1920)

Richard Artschwager, American painter, illustrator, and sculptor (born 1923)

Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist and trainer (born 1913)

Jimmy Smyth, Irish hurler (born 1931)

O. P. Dutta, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1922)

John Hick, English philosopher and academic (born 1922)

Joe Moretti, Scottish-South African guitarist and songwriter (born 1938)

Miltiadis Evert, Greek lawyer and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (born 1939)

Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (born 1920)

Orlando "Cachaíto" López, Cuban bassist and composer (born 1933)

Christopher Hyatt, American occultist and author (born 1943)

Carm Lino Spiteri, Maltese architect and politician (born 1932)