Carl Van Vechten — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1939 African-American contralto Marian Anderson performed a landmark open-air concert at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied the use of Constitution Hall because of her race.
CultureOn this day — April 9 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Carl Van Vechten — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1939 
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1957 The Suez Canal in Egypt reopened to shipping after being cleared of blockships and wreckage left from the 1956 Suez Crisis.
History
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1960 Hendrik Verwoerd, South African Prime Minister and chief architect of apartheid, narrowly survived an assassination attempt by farmer David Pratt at a Johannesburg trade fair.
PoliticsSuicide bombers attacked Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, on Palm Sunday, killing at least 45 people in attacks claimed by the Islamic State.
HistoryIbrahim Baré Maïnassara, the military officer who had ruled Niger since a 1996 coup, was assassinated by his own presidential guard.
Death
NASA — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1921 Mary Jackson, African-American mathematician and NASA's first Black female engineer, whose story was told in the book and film 'Hidden Figures,' was born in Hampton, Virginia.
Birth