1. On February 9, 1861, the Virginia Secession Convention voted to secede from the United States in response to Abraham Lincoln's election as president and the escalating tensions between the North and South leading up to the Civil War. However, not all Virginia residents were in favor of secession and the state eventually divided, with the western counties forming West Virginia.

2. On February 9, 1882, the Virginia State Female Normal School (now known as Longwood University) was founded in Farmville, Virginia, becoming the third state-supported institution for women in the United States. The school's mission was to educate women as teachers and prepare them for leadership roles in their communities.

3. February 9, 1825, marked the opening of the historic James River and Kanawha Canal, which connected Richmond to the Ohio River and helped spur economic growth in Virginia. The canal was an engineering feat of its time, spanning over 197 miles and featuring 90 locks, aqueducts, and tunnels.

4. In 1969, on February 9th, the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) became the last all-male public college in the United States to admit its first female student, Elizabeth de Saussure. The decision came after a federal appeals court ruled that VMI's male-only admission policy was unconstitutional.

5. On February 9, 1915, the iconic poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe's grandnephew, John Prentiss Poe, was named as the new head football coach at the University of Virginia. He led the team to a respectable 5-3 record that season, but ultimately resigned the following year due to health issues.