What happened on September 9
All 5 specimens from this file, spanning 1543 to 1976, with the story behind each photograph.
Reveal the full answer key
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The founder of the People's Republic of China dies
Mao Zedong died in Beijing at 82. Within a month the Gang of Four had been arrested, opening the way for Deng Xiaoping and the reforms that reshaped China.
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A nine month old baby is crowned queen of Scotland
Mary was crowned at Stirling Castle at nine months old, having become queen six days after her birth. Her reign ended in abdication, flight to England and nineteen years of imprisonment.
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Congress officially renames the colonies the United States
The Continental Congress resolved that in all official documents the phrase 'United Colonies' be replaced with 'United States'. The name had been used informally for months.
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Commissioners name the new federal capital after the sitting president
The three commissioners agreed the federal city would be called Washington and the surrounding district Columbia. Washington himself never lived to see the capital that bears his name completed.
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Barnard spots Amalthea, the last moon found by eye alone
Edward Barnard spotted Amalthea at Lick Observatory using the 36 inch refractor. It was the fifth moon of Jupiter found and the last satellite in the solar system discovered by direct visual observation.