1980 46 years ago Selected Events May 9 2 sources

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

On May 9, in the year 1980, Part of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Florida collapsed after a pier was struck by MV Summit Venture, killing 35 people. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of May 9, one of 304 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, officially referred to as the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, is a pair of long beam bridges with a central tall cable-stayed bridge. It spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect Pinellas County to Manatee County. The current Sunshine Skyway opened in 1987 and is the second bridge of that name on the site. It was designed by the Figg & Muller Engineering Group and built by the American Bridge Company. The bridge is considered the flagship bridge of Florida and serves as a gateway to Tampa Bay. The four-lane bridge carries Interstate 275 and U.S. Route 19, passing through Pinellas County, Hillsborough County and Manatee County. It is a toll bridge, with a toll assessed on two-axle vehicles traveling in either direction at a rate of $1.16 with the state's SunPass system.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on May 9, 1980 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 3 May 2026.

On This Date in History 304

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 May 9 Sean Burroughs, American baseball player (born 1980)
Notable Deaths 2024 May 9 Roger Corman, American film director, producer, and actor (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2024 May 9 Rex Murphy, Canadian political commentator (born 1947)
Historical Events 2023 May 9 The May 9 riots following the arrest of Imran Khan in Pakistan
Selected Events 2023 May 9 Pakistani protests: Riots broke out following the arrest of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan
Historical Events 2022 May 9 Russo-Ukrainian War: United States President Joe Biden signs the 2022 Lend-Lease Act into law, a rebooted World War II-e
Notable Deaths 2022 May 9 John Leo, American a writer and journalist (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2022 May 9 Rieko Kodama, Japanese game developer (born 1963)
Historical Events 2020 May 9 The COVID-19 recession causes the U
Notable Deaths 2020 May 9 Little Richard, American singer, songwriter, and pianist (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2019 May 9 Freddie Starr, English comedian, impressionist, singer and actor (born 1943)
Historical Events 2018 May 9 Barisan Nasional, the coalition that had governed Malaysia since the country's independence in 1957, suffer an historic
Notable Deaths 2018 May 9 Per Kirkeby, Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2017 May 9 Robert Miles, a Swiss-born Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ (born 1969)
Notable Deaths 2015 May 9 Edward W
Notable Deaths 2015 May 9 Kenan Evren, Turkish general and politician, 7th President of Turkey (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2015 May 9 Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 9 Giacomo Bini, Italian priest and missionary (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 9 Harlan Mathews, American lawyer and politician (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 9 Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy, Indian politician, 12th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 9 Mary Stewart, British author and poet (born 1916)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 9 Ramón Blanco Rodríguez, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1952)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 9 George M
Notable Deaths 2013 May 9 Humberto Lugo Gil, Mexican lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Hidalgo (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 9 Ottavio Missoni, Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2012 May 9 Bertram Cohler, American psychologist, psychoanalyst, and academic (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2012 May 9 Geoffrey Henry, Cook Islander lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2012 May 9 Vidal Sassoon, English-American hairdresser and businessman (born 1928)
Selected Events 2012 May 9 The pilots of a Sukhoi Superjet, ignoring alerts from the terrain warning system, crashed the aircraft into Mount Salak
Notable Deaths 2011 May 9 Wouter Weylandt, Belgian cyclist (born 1984)
Notable Deaths 2010 May 9 Lena Horne, American singer, actress, and activist (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2010 May 9 Otakar Motejl, Czech lawyer and politician (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2009 May 9 Chuck Daly, American basketball player and coach (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2008 May 9 Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2008 May 9 Baptiste Manzini, American football player (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2008 May 9 Nuala O'Faolain, Irish journalist and producer (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2008 May 9 Pascal Sevran, French singer, television host, and author (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2007 May 9 Dwight Wilson, Canadian soldier (born 1901)
Selected Events 2005 May 9 Pope Benedict XVI began the beatification process for his predecessor Pope John Paul II, waiving the standard five years
Notable Deaths 2004 May 9 Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen cleric and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2004 May 9 Alan King, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2004 May 9 Brenda Fassie, South African singer (born 1964)
Notable Deaths 2003 May 9 Russell B
Historical Events 2002 May 9 The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agree to ha
Historical Events 2001 May 9 In Ghana, 129 football fans die in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium disaster
Selected Events 2001 May 9 Police at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, Ghana, fired tear gas to quell unrest at a football match, leading to a stamp
Notable Births 2000 May 9 Trey Lance, American football player
Notable Deaths 1998 May 9 Alice Faye, American actress and singer (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 1998 May 9 Talat Mahmood, Indian singer and actor (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 1997 May 9 Rawya Ateya, Egyptian captain and politician (born 1926)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

More on May 9

Browse Further

📅 All events on May 9 304 events 📖 All events in 1980 🏷 More Selected Events events
0

Comments 0

Sign in to join the discussion.