On this day in history - October 9

What Happened On This Day – October 9

• 2012 Assassination Attempt on Malala Yousafzai

  The Pakistani education activist was shot at and injured while going back home from school. Malala survived the attack and has since gone on to become one of the leading voices for the education of girls in the world. In 2014, at the age of 17, she received the Nobel Peace Prize along with Kailash Satyarthi, making her the youngest recipient of the prestigious award.

• 1986 Phantom of Opera makes its theatrical debut

  The musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in London’s West End. The plot of the musical was inspired by French author Gaston Leroux's novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, which follows the life of Erik or the Phantom, a disfigured musical genius. The musical is the longest running show on Broadway.

• 1970 Khmer Republic established

  The Khmer Republic was formally established under the leadership of General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak. These two leaders took power earlier in took power in a coup against Prince Norodom Sihanouk

• 1962 Ugandan independence

  Uganda gained independence from British rule. The country had become a British protectorate in 1894, 32 years after the first European, British John Hanning Speke set foot in the country. Milton Obote became the first prime minister of an independent Uganda.

• 1874 General Postal Union Created

  The precursor the Universal Postal Union, a specialized agency of the United Nations, was formed after 22 countries signed the Treaty of Bern. The treaty regulated international mail and postage. 4 years later, in 1878, the union changed its name to the Universal Postal Union to reflect the growing international membership of the group.