On this day...9 Dec

1594 - Gustavus II of Sweden was born. 1608 - English poet John Milton was born in London. 1625 - The Treaty of the Hague was signed by England and the Netherlands. The agreement was to subsidize Christian IV of Denmark in his campaign in Germany. 1783 - The first executions at Newgate Prison took place. 1793 - "The America Minerva" was published for the first time. It was the first daily newspaper in New York City and was founded by Noah Webster. 1848 - American author and creator of "Uncle Remus and Brier Rabbit," Joel Chandler Harris was born. 1854 - Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," was published in England. 1879 - Thomas Edison organized the Edison Ore Milling Company. 1884 - Levant M. Richardson received a patent for the ball-bearing roller skate. 1892 - In London, "Widowers' Houses," George Bernard Shaw's first play, opened at the Royalty Theater. 1907 - Christmas Seals went on sale for the first time, in the Wilmington, DE, post office. 1926 - The United States Golf Association legalized the use of steel-shafted golf clubs. 1914 - The Edison Phonograph Works was destroyed by fire. 1917 - Turkish troops surrendered Jerusalem to British troops led by Viscount Allenby. 1940 - During World War II, British troops opened their first major offensive in North Africa. 1940 - The Longines Watch Company signed for the first FM radio advertising contract with experimental station W2XOR in New York City. 1941 - China declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy. 1942 - The Aram Khachaturian ballet "Gayane" was first performed by the Kirov Ballet. 1955 - Sugar Ray Robinson knocked out Carl Olson and regained his world middleweight boxing title. 1958 - In Indianapolis, IN, Robert H.W. Welch Jr. and 11 other men met to form the anti-Communist John Birch Society. 1960 - Sperry Rand Corporation unveiled a new computer, known as "Univac 1107." 1960 - The first episode of "Coronation Street" was screened on ITV. 1962 - "Lawrence of Arabia," by David Lean had its world premiere in London. 1965 - Nikolai V. Podgorny replaced Anastas I. Mikoyan as president of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. 1975 - U.S. President Gerald R. Ford signed a $2.3 billion seasonal loan authorization to prevent New York City from having to default. 1978 - The first game of the Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL) was played between the Chicago Hustle and the Milwaukee Does. 1983 - NATO foreign ministers called on the Soviet Union to join in a "comprehensive political dialogue" to ease tensions in the world. 1984 - Iranian security men seized control of the plane ending a five-day hijacking of a Kuwaiti jetliner, which was parked at the Tehran airport. 1985 - In Argentina, five former military junta members received sentences in prison for their roles in the "dirty war" in which nearly 9,000 people had "disappeared." 1987 - West Bank Palestinians launched an intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation. 1987 - In the Gaza Strip, an Israeli patrol attacked the Jabliya refugee camp. 1990 - Lech Walesa won Poland's first direct presidential election in the country's history. 1990 - Slobodan Milosovic was elected president in Serbia's first free elections in 50 years. 1990 - The first American hostages to be released by Iraq began arriving in the U.S. 1991 - European Community leaders agreed to begin using a single currency in 1999. 1992 - Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation. 1992 - Clair George, former CIA spy chief, was convicted of lying to the U.S. Congress about the Iran-Contra affair. U.S. President George Bush later pardoned George. 1992 - U.S. troops arrived in Mogadishu, Somalia, to oversee delivery of international food aid, in operation 'Restore Hope'. 1993 - The U.S. Air Force destroyed the first of 500 Minuteman II missile silos that were marked for elimination under an arms control treaty. 1993 - Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavor completed repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope. 1993 - At Princeton University in New Jersey, scientists produced a controlled fusion reaction equivalent to 3 million watts. 1994 - Representatives of the Irish Republican Army and the British government opened peace talks in Northern Ireland. 1994 - U.S. President Clinton fired Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders after learning that she had told a conference that masturbation should be discussed in school as a part of human sexuality. 1996 - UN Secretary General Boutros-Ghali approved a deal allowing Iraq to resume its exports of oil and easing the UN trade embargo imposed on Iraq in 1990. 1999 - The U.S. announced that it was expelling a Russian diplomat that had been caught gathering information with an eavesdropping device at the U.S. State Department. 2002 - United Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after losing $4 billion in the previos two years. It was the sixth largest bankruptcy filing. 2003 - In Australia, thieves broke into a home and stole two 300-year-old etchings by Rembrandt. The 4-by-4-inch etchings, a self-portait and a depiction of the artist's mother, were valued around $518,000.