AUGUST 9 | Birthdays and Events

Notable Birthdays for August 9

Elizabeth Hamilton (1757-1854) - Humanitarian and wife of Alexander Hamilton.

Jonathan Homer Lane (1880) - Astrophysicist who mathematically analyzed the Sun as a gaseous body.

Willa Beatrice Player (1909-2003) - First Black woman to be elected as a college president in the U.S. (Bennett College in NC).

William T. G. Morton (1819-1868) - The first dentist to use ether as a surgical anaesthetic.

Eddie Futch (1911-2001) - Boxer and trainer for Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes and Montell Griffin.

Allen Hoskins (1920-1980) - Child actor who played Farina on Our Gang (Little Rascals).

David Huffman (1925-1999) - Computer scientist who developed Huffman coding.

Paula Meehan (1931-2014) - Co-founder of Redken haircare products.

Michael Kors (1959-Still Living) - Fashion designer.

Whitney Houston (1963-2012) - Pop and R&B singer.

Hoda Kotb (1964-Still Living) - Journalist and television personality.

Memorable Events for August 9

1854 - Henry David Thoreau publishes his novel Walden.

1859 - Otis Tufts patents the first passenger elevator.

1892 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.

1910 - Alva Fisher receives a patent for an electric washing machine.

1930 - Betty Boop makes her debut in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes.

1944 - Smokey the Bear debuts on posters for the U.S. Forest Service.

1974 - Vice President Gerald Ford becomes president after President Richard Nixon resigns.

2012 - Shannon Eastin becomes the first woman to officiate an NFL game.