On This Day: 9 June

Roman Emperor Nero marries his step–sister Claudia Octavia, daughter of his predecessor Claudius		53
Octavia, banished to the island of Pandateria (modern Ventotene) on a false charge of adultery with Nero's former tutor Anicetus, is suffocated in a hot vapour bath in a traditional Roman "suicide ritual"		62
Nero, believing that he is to be beaten to death on the orders of the Senate, commits suicide by stabbing – thus ending the Julio–Claudian dynasty and starting the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors		68
Otto of Brunswick crowned King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV		1198
Duccio's Maestà, a seminal artwork of the early Italian Renaissance, is unveiled and installed in Siena Cathedral		1311
Jan van Eyck, painter, buried		1441
Jacques Cartier is the first European to describe and map the St. Lawrence River		1534
The first Book of Common Prayer is used for the first time in the Church of England (on Pentecost Sunday)		1549
During the Second Anglo–Dutch War, the Dutch fleet begins a five–day raid on the Medway that would result in the Royal Navy's worst ever defeat		1667
French troops defeat the Austrians at the Battle of Montebello Casteggio		1800
The Congress of Vienna ends, having set the new European political situation		1815
Five hundred Mormons leave Iowa City for the Mormon Trail		1856
Charles Dickens dies at Gadshill Place, near Rochester		1870
Alsace–Lorraine annexed to Germany		1871
Britain signs a 99–year lease on the New Territories of Hong Kong		1898
Britain's Bob FitzSimmons loses the World Heavyweight boxing championship to James J. Jeffries of the USA, in New York		1899
The London Symphony Orchestra gives its first concert		1904
The Cunard liner Lusitania is launched		1906
Edward VII meets Tsar Nicholas II on the Royal Yacht in the Baltic – the first meeting between a British sovereign and a Russian Tsar		1908
William Jennings Bryan resigns as Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State over a disagreement regarding the United States' handling of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania		1915
Prince Philip born		1921
Charles Kingsford–Smith and Charles Uhm complete the first trans–Pacific flight (California to Brisbane)		1928
Donald Duck makes his debut in The Wise Little Hen		1934
Norwegian forces surrender to Germany		1940
Ninety–nine civilians are hanged from lampposts and balconies by German troops in Tulle, France, in reprisal for maquisards attacks		1944
The last of twelve Nazis convicted at Nuremberg is hanged		1951
Austrian climbers Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger and Hermann Buhl make the first ascent of Broad Peak, the world's 12^th–highest mountain (8,051 metres)		1957
HM the Queen opens the newly extended Gatwick airport, a rail link to London making it London's second airport		1958
USS George Washington – the first ballistic–missile submarine – is launched		1959
Duke and Duchess of Kent marry		1961
Israel takes the Golan Heights, on the 5^th day of the 6–day War		1967
Franco closes Spain's border with Gibraltar		1969
King Hussein of Jordan survives an assassination attempt after gunmen open fire on his motorcade as it was driving near his summer palace (12 miles north–east of the capital, Amman)		1970
Princeton University awards an honorary degree to Bob Dylan		1970
First live (radio) broadcast from the House of Commons		1975
In the FIFA World Cup finals, referee Clive Thomas (of Wales) controversially blows the whistle to end the game, moments before Zico of Brazil scores what would have been the winning goal in a first round game against Sweden		1978
Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party wins a landslide second term election victory, taking 397 seats to Labour's 209; the SDP–Liberal Alliance, fighting its first national contest, won just 23 seats, despite receiving nearly as many votes as Labour		1983
Mike Gatting sacked as England cricket captain after reports of frolics with a hotel barmaid		1988
Show trials of leaders of the Tiananmen Square protest begin		1989
In the first case of its kind in Britain, Andrew Richards, a man with a history of sex offences, is imprisoned for life for the attempted rape of another man		1995
Supporters of Pol Pot murder long–time defence minister Son Sen and 14 of his relatives		1997
Brazil beat Scotland 2–1 in the first match of the 1998 World Cup finals, in Paris		1998
Serbian generals surrender and sign an agreement setting out terms for the withdrawal of their forces from Kosovo		1999
Two late goals give Manchester United victory over Bayern Munich in the European Cup Final and a unique treble		1999
Lennox Lewis retains the world heavyweight title by knocking out Mike Tyson in the eighth round		2002
Gordon Brown announces to Parliament that conditions are "not yet" right for Britain to join the euro		2003

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On This Day: 9 June