On May 9

The pilots of a Sukhoi Superjet, ignoring alerts from the terrain warning system, crashed the aircraft into Mount Salak in Indonesia, resulting in the deaths of all 45 people on board.

Pope Benedict XVI began the beatification process for his predecessor Pope John Paul II, waiving the standard five years required after the nominee's death.

Police at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, Ghana, fired tear gas to quell unrest at a football match, leading to a stampede that killed 126 people.

An underground methane explosion occurred at the Westray Mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, killing all 26 Canadian coal miners who were working at the time.

Part of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Florida collapsed after a pier was struck by MV Summit Venture, killing 35 people.

Prominent Iranian Jew Habib Elghanian was executed after having been convicted by a revolutionary tribunal of various charges, triggering a mass exodus of Jews from Iran.

The Hotel Polen in Amsterdam was destroyed by fire (pictured), leaving 33 people dead.

About 200 students at Bucks County Community College held a protest after the college canceled a planned speech by gay rights activist Dick Leitsch.

Ngô Đình Cẩn, a younger brother and the confidant of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm, was executed by Nguyễn Khánh's military junta.

In a speech to U.S. broadcasters, FCC chairman Newton Minow described commercial television programming as "a vast wasteland".

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it would approve the use of Searle's Enovid, the first combined oral contraceptive pill.

World War II: The Japanese Take Ichi convoy arrived at Halmahera in the Dutch East Indies after losing many ships and thousands of troops to Allied attacks while attempting to carry two divisions of troops from China to New Guinea.

First World War: Germany repelled Britain's second attempt to blockade the Belgian port of Ostend.

An earthquake struck northern Chile, leading to the deaths of 2,385 people, mostly victims of the ensuing tsunami, as far away as Hawaii and Fiji.

Second Schleswig War: The Battle of Heligoland (depicted), the last naval engagement fought by squadrons of wooden ships, took place between the Danish and Austro-Prussian fleets.