Events

Pre-1600

• 141 BC Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China.

• 1009 First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.

• 1044 The people of Constantinople riot against emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, whose preference of his mistress Maria Skleraina over empress Zoe Porphyrogenita is seen as an insult.

• 1226 Khwarazmian sultan Jalal ad-Din conquers the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

• 1230 Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II defeats Theodore of Epirus in the Battle of Klokotnitsa.

• 1500 The fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral leaves Lisbon for the Indies. The fleet will discover Brazil which lies within boundaries granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494.

1601–1900

• 1701 Safavid troops retreat from Basra, ending a three-year occupation.

• 1765 After a campaign by the writer Voltaire, judges in Paris posthumously exonerate Jean Calas of murdering his son. Calas had been tortured and executed in 1762 on the charge, though his son may have actually died by suicide.

• 1776 Scottish philosopher Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations, ushering in the classical period of political economy.

• 1796 Napoléon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais.

• 1811 Paraguayan forces defeat Manuel Belgrano at the Battle of Tacuarí.

• 1815 Francis Ronalds describes the first battery-operated clock in the Philosophical Magazine.

• 1841 The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the United States v. The Amistad case that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally.

• 1842 Giuseppe Verdi's third opera, Nabucco, receives its première performance in Milan; its success establishes Verdi as one of Italy's foremost opera composers.

• 1842 The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush.

• 1847 Mexican–American War: The first large-scale amphibious assault in U.S. history is launched in the Siege of Veracruz.

• 1862 American Civil War: and (rebuilt from the engines and lower hull of the USS Merrimack) fight to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between two ironclad warships.

• 1883 Demonstration of 9 March 1883: Parisian anarchists, unemployed and carpenters narrowly miss the Presidential palace during a violent protest; first use of the black flag as a symbol of anarchism by Louise Michel.

1901–present

• 1908 Inter Milan is founded on Football Club Internazionale, following a schism from A.C. Milan.

• 1916 Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa leads nearly 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against the border town of Columbus, New Mexico.

• 1933 Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to Congress, the first of his New Deal policies.

• 1942 World War II: Dutch East Indies unconditionally surrenders to the Japanese forces in Kalijati, Subang, West Java, and the Japanese complete their Dutch East Indies campaign.

• 1944 World War II: Soviet Army planes attack Tallinn, Estonia.

• 1945 World War II: A coup d'état by Japanese forces in French Indochina removes the French from power.

• 1945 World War II: Allied forces carry out firebombing over Tokyo, destroying most of the capital and killing over 100,000 civilians.

• 1946 Bolton Wanderers stadium disaster at Burnden Park, Bolton, England, kills 33 and injures hundreds more.

• 1954 McCarthyism: CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy", produced by Fred Friendly.

• 1956 Soviet forces suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy.

• 1957 The 8.6 Andreanof Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands, causing over $5 million in damage from ground movement and a destructive tsunami.

• 1959 The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.

• 1960 Dr. Belding Hibbard Scribner implants for the first time a shunt he invented into a patient, which allows the patient to receive hemodialysis on a regular basis.

• 1961 Sputnik 9 successfully launches, carrying a dog and a human dummy, and demonstrating that the Soviet Union was ready to begin human spaceflight.

• 1967 Trans World Airlines Flight 553 crashes in a field in Concord Township, Ohio, following a mid-air collision with a Beechcraft Baron, killing 26 people.

• 1974 The Mars 7 Flyby bus releases the descent module too early, missing Mars.

• 1976 Forty-two people die in the Cavalese cable car disaster, the deadliest cable car accident in history.

• 1977 The Hanafi Siege: In a 39-hour standoff, armed Hanafi Muslims seize three Washington, D.C., buildings.

• 1978 President Soeharto inaugurates Jagorawi Toll Road, the first toll highway in Indonesia, connecting Jakarta, Bogor and Ciawi, West Java.

• 1987 Chrysler announces its acquisition of American Motors Corporation.

• 1997 Comet Hale–Bopp: Observers in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia are treated to a rare double feature as an eclipse permits Hale-Bopp to be seen during the day.

• 2000 Nupedia, a multi-language online encyclopedia, is launched.

• 2011 Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights.

• 2012 A truce between the Salvadoran government and gangs in the country goes into effect when 30 gang leaders are transferred to lower security prisons.

• 2015 Two Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopters collide in mid-air over Villa Castelli, Argentina, killing all 10 people on board both aircraft, including French athletes Florence Arthaud, Camille Muffat and Alexis Vastine, as well as producers and guests for the French TV show Dropped.

• 2020 Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy, announces in a televised address and signs the decree imposing the first nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in the world.

• 2023 A shooting in the Alsterdorf quarter of Hamburg, Germany, kills eight people and injures another eight.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1454 Amerigo Vespucci, Italian cartographer and explorer, namesake of the Americas (died 1512)

• 1534 Joseph of Anchieta, Spanish Jesuit saint and missionary (died 1597)

• 1564 David Fabricius, German theologian, cartographer and astronomer (died 1617)

• 1568 Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian saint, namesake of Gonzaga University (died 1591)

1601–1900

• 1611 Pierre-Joseph-Marie Chaumonot, French-Canadian missionary (died 1693)

• 1662 Franz Anton von Sporck, German noble (died 1738)

• 1697 Friederike Caroline Neuber, German actress (died 1760)

• 1737 Josef Mysliveček, Czech violinist and composer (died 1781)

• 1749 Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, French journalist and politician (died 1791)

• 1753 Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general (died 1800)

• 1758 Franz Joseph Gall, German neuroanatomist and physiologist (died 1828)

• 1763 William Cobbett, English journalist and author (died 1835)

• 1806 Edwin Forrest, American actor and philanthropist (died 1872)

• 1814 Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and playwright (died 1861)

• 1815 David Davis, American jurist and politician (died 1886)

• 1820 Samuel Blatchford, American lawyer and jurist (died 1893)

• 1824 Amasa Leland Stanford, American businessman and politician, founded Stanford University (died 1893)

• 1847 Martin Pierre Marsick, Belgian violinist, composer, and educator (died 1924)

• 1850 Hamo Thornycroft, English sculptor and academic (died 1925)

• 1856 Eddie Foy, Sr., American actor and dancer (died 1928)

• 1863 Mary Harris Armor, American suffragist (died 1950)

• 1887 Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and physician, influential eugenicist within the Nazi party (died 1976)

• 1890 Rupert Balfe, Australian footballer and lieutenant (died 1915)

• 1890 Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian politician and diplomat, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1986)

• 1891 José P. Laurel, Filipino lawyer, politician and President of the Philippines (died 1959)

• 1892 Mátyás Rákosi, Hungarian politician (died 1971)

• 1892 Vita Sackville-West, English author, poet, and gardener (died 1962)

1901–present

• 1902 Will Geer, American actor (died 1978)

• 1904 Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American soldier and engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (died 2002)

• 1910 Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (died 1981)

• 1911 Clara Rockmore, American classical violin prodigy and theremin player (died 1998)

• 1915 Johnnie Johnson, English air marshal and pilot (died 2001)

• 1918 George Lincoln Rockwell, American sailor and politician, founded the American Nazi Party (died 1967)

• 1918 Mickey Spillane, American crime novelist (died 2006)

• 1920 Franjo Mihalić, Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (died 2015)

• 1921 Carl Betz, American actor (died 1978)

• 1922 Ian Turbott, New Zealand-Australian former diplomat and university administrator (died 2016)

• 1923 James L. Buckley, American lawyer, judge, and politician (died 2023)

• 1923 André Courrèges, French fashion designer (died 2016)

• 1923 Walter Kohn, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2016)

• 1926 Joe Franklin, American radio and television host (died 2015)

• 1927 Jackie Jensen, American baseball player (died 1982)

• 1928 Gerald Bull, Canadian-American engineer and academic (died 1990)

• 1928 Keely Smith, American singer and actress (died 2017)

• 1929 Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese lawyer, politician and President of Guyana (died 2002)

• 1929 Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (died 2013)

• 1930 Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (died 2015)

• 1931 Jackie Healy-Rae, Irish politician (died 2014)

• 1932 Qayyum Chowdhury, Bangladeshi painter and academic (died 2014)

• 1932 Walter Mercado, Puerto Rican astrologer and actor (died 2019)

• 1933 Lloyd Price, American R&B singer-songwriter (died 2021)

• 1933 David Weatherall, English physician, geneticist, and academic (died 2018)

• 1933 Artt Frank, American jazz drummer and biographer (died 2024)

• 1934 Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and cosmonaut, first human in space (died 1968)

• 1934 Joyce Van Patten, American actress

• 1935 Andrew Viterbi, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Qualcomm Inc.

• 1936 Mickey Gilley, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2022)

• 1936 Marty Ingels, American actor and comedian (died 2015)

• 1937 Bernard Landry, Canadian lawyer, politician and Premier of Quebec (died 2018)

• 1937 Harry Neale, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster

• 1937 Brian Redman, English race car driver

• 1939 Malcolm Bricklin, American businessman, founded Bricklin and Yugo

• 1940 Raul Julia, Puerto Rican actor (died 1994)

• 1941 Jim Colbert, American golfer (died 2026)

• 1941 Ernesto Miranda, American criminal (died 1976)

• 1941 Trish Van Devere, American actress

• 1941 Malcolm Smith, Canadian-American motorcycle racer (died 2024)

• 1942 John Cale, Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer

• 1942 Ion Caramitru, Romanian actor and artistic director (died 2021)

• 1942 Mark Lindsay, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and producer

• 1943 Bobby Fischer, American chess player and author (died 2008)

• 1943 Charles Gibson, American journalist

• 1944 Lee Irvine, South African cricketer

• 1945 Robert Calvert, English singer-songwriter and playwright (died 1988)

• 1945 Dennis Rader, American serial killer

• 1945 Robin Trower, English guitarist and vocalist

• 1946 Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (died 2014)

• 1946 Bernd Hölzenbein, German footballer and scout (died 2024)

• 1946 Warren Skaaren, American screenwriter and producer (died 1990)

• 1947 Keri Hulme, New Zealand author and poet (died 2021)

• 1948 Emma Bonino, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs

• 1948 Eric Fischl, American painter and sculptor

• 1948 Jeffrey Osborne, American singer and drummer

• 1949 Neil Hamilton, Welsh lawyer and politician

• 1949 Tapani Kansa, Finnish singer (died 2025)

• 1950 Doug Ault, American baseball player and manager (died 2004)

• 1950 Andy North, American golfer

• 1950 Howard Shelley, English pianist and conductor

• 1951 Helen Zille, South African journalist, politician and Premier of the Western Cape

• 1952 Bill Beaumont, English rugby player and manager

• 1954 Carlos Ghosn, Brazilian-Lebanese-French business executive

• 1954 Bobby Sands, PIRA volunteer, Irish republican, politician, died on hunger strike (died 1981)

• 1954 Jock Taylor, Scottish motorcycle racer (died 1982)

• 1955 Teo Fabi, Italian race car driver

• 1955 Józef Pinior, Polish academic and politician

• 1956 Mark Dantonio, American football player and coach

• 1956 Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs

• 1956 David Willetts, English academic and politician

• 1958 Linda Fiorentino, American actress

• 1958 Paul MacLean, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

• 1959 Tom Amandes, American actor

• 1959 Takaaki Kajita, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

• 1959 Lonny Price, American actor, director, and screenwriter

• 1960 Finn Carter, American actress

• 1960 Željko Obradović, Serbian basketball player and coach

• 1961 Rick Steiner, American wrestler

• 1961 Darrell Walker, American basketball player and coach

• 1962 Jan Furtok, Polish football player and manager (died 2024)

• 1963 Ivan Henjak, Croatian-Australian rugby league player and coach

• 1963 Terry Mulholland, American baseball player

• 1963 Jean-Marc Vallée, Canadian director and screenwriter (died 2021)

• 1964 Juliette Binoche, French actress

• 1964 Phil Housley, American ice hockey player and coach

• 1965 Brian Bosworth, American football player and actor

• 1965 Benito Santiago, Puerto Rican baseball player

• 1966 Brendan Canty, American drummer and songwriter

• 1966 Tony Lockett, Australian footballer

• 1968 Youri Djorkaeff, French footballer

• 1969 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, American basketball player

• 1969 Kimberly Guilfoyle, American lawyer and journalist

• 1970 Naveen Jindal, Indian businessman and politician

• 1970 Martin Johnson, English rugby player and coach

• 1970 Shannon Leto, American musician and songwriter

• 1971 Emmanuel Lewis, American actor

• 1972 Jodey Arrington, American politician

• 1972 Jean Louisa Kelly, American actress and singer

• 1972 Kerr Smith, American actor

• 1973 Aaron Boone, American baseball player and manager

• 1973 Liam Griffin, English race car driver

• 1974 Mark Harrity, Australian cricketer

• 1975 Adonal Foyle, Vincentian-American basketball player

• 1975 Juan Sebastián Verón, Argentine footballer

• 1977 Radek Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player

• 1977 Mark Tookey, Australian rugby league player

• 1978 Chris Phillips, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman

• 1979 Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor

• 1979 Jordan Klepper, American comedian

• 1980 Matt Barnes, American basketball player

• 1980 Chingy, American rapper

• 1980 Matthew Gray Gubler, American actor

• 1981 Antonio Bryant, American football player

• 1981 Chad Gilbert, American musician, songwriter, and producer

• 1981 Clay Rapada, American baseball player

• 1982 Ryan Bayley, Australian cyclist

• 1982 Érika de Souza, Brazilian basketball player

• 1982 Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, Croatian tennis player

• 1983 Clint Dempsey, American soccer player

• 1983 Wayne Simien, American basketball player

• 1984 Abdoulay Konko, French footballer

• 1984 Julia Mancuso, American skier

• 1985 Brent Burns, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1985 Jesse Litsch, American baseball player

• 1985 Pastor Maldonado, Venezuelan race car driver

• 1985 Parthiv Patel, Indian cricketer

• 1986 Bryan Bickell, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1986 Damien Brunner, Swiss ice hockey player

• 1986 Colin Greening, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1986 Brittany Snow, American actress and producer

• 1987 Daniel Hudson, American baseball player

• 1987 Bow Wow, American rapper and actor

• 1989 Taeyeon, South Korean singer

• 1990 Daley Blind, Dutch footballer

• 1990 YG, American rapper

• 1991 Jooyoung, South Korean singer-songwriter

• 1993 George Baldock, Greek footballer (died 2024)

• 1993 Miikka Salomäki, Finnish ice hockey player

• 1993 Suga, South Korean rapper, songwriter and record producer

• 1994 Morgan Rielly, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1995 Cierra Ramirez, American actress and singer

• 1997 Nadeo Argawinata, Indonesian footballer

• 1997 Chika, American rapper

• 1998 Najee Harris, American football running back

• 1999 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Finnish ice hockey player

• 2000 Khaby Lame, Senegalese-Italian social media personality

• 2001 Jeon Somi, South Korean-Canadian singer

• 2002 Usman Garuba, Spanish basketball player

• 2003 Sunisa Lee, American gymnast

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 886 Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, Muslim scholar and astrologer (born 787)

• 1202 Sverre of Norway, King of Norway and founder of the House of Sverre

• 1440 Frances of Rome, Italian nun and saint (born 1384)

• 1444 Leonardo Bruni, Italian humanist (born c. 1370)

• 1463 Catherine of Bologna, Italian nun and saint (born 1463)

• 1566 David Rizzio, Italian-Scottish courtier and politician (born 1533)

1601–1900

• 1649 James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, Scottish soldier and politician (born 1606)

• 1649 Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, English soldier and politician (born 1590)

• 1661 Cardinal Mazarin, Italian-French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1602)

• 1703 Alexander Chalmers Polish-Scottish merchant, jurist, and politician, mayor of Old Warsaw (b. 1645)

• 1709 Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu, English courtier and politician (born 1638)

• 1808 Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (born 1739)

• 1810 Ozias Humphry, English painter and academic (born 1742)

• 1825 Anna Laetitia Barbauld, English poet, author, and critic (born 1743)

• 1831 Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger, German author and playwright (born 1752)

• 1847 Mary Anning, English paleontologist (born 1799)

• 1851 Hans Christian Ørsted, Danish physicist and chemist, discovered electromagnetism and the element aluminium (born 1777)

• 1876 Louise Colet, French poet (born 1810)

• 1888 William I, German Emperor (born 1797)

• 1895 Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (born 1836)

• 1897 Sondre Norheim, Norwegian-American skier (born 1825)

1901–present

• 1918 Frank Wedekind, German author and playwright (born 1864)

• 1925 Willard Metcalf, American painter and academic (born 1858)

• 1926 Mikao Usui, Japanese spiritual leader, founded Reiki (born 1865)

• 1937 Paul Elmer More, American journalist and critic (born 1864)

• 1943 Otto Freundlich, German painter and sculptor (born 1878)

• 1954 Vagn Walfrid Ekman, Swedish oceanographer and academic (born 1874)

• 1955 Miroslava Stern (Miroslava), Czech-Mexican actress (born 1925)

• 1964 Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (born 1870)

• 1969 Abdul Munim Riad, Egyptian general (born 1919)

• 1971 Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria, Coptic Orthodox Pope (born 1902)

• 1974 Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr., American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1915)

• 1974 Harry Womack, American singer (born 1945)

• 1983 Faye Emerson, American actress (born 1917)

• 1983 Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1905)

• 1988 Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German lawyer, politician and Chancellor of Germany (born 1904)

• 1989 Robert Mapplethorpe, American photographer (born 1946)

• 1991 Jim Hardin, American baseball player (born 1943)

• 1992 Menachem Begin, Belarusian-Israeli soldier, politician and Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913)

• 1993 C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian and author (born 1909)

• 1994 Charles Bukowski, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (born 1920)

• 1994 Eddie Creatchman, Canadian wrestler, referee, and manager (born 1928)

• 1994 Fernando Rey, Spanish actor (born 1917)

• 1995 Edward Bernays, Austrian-American propagandist (born 1891)

• 1996 George Burns, American comedian, actor, and writer (born 1896)

• 1997 Jean-Dominique Bauby, French journalist and author (born 1952)

• 1997 Terry Nation, Welsh author and screenwriter (born 1930)

• 1997 The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper, songwriter, and actor (born 1972)

• 1999 Harry Somers, Canadian pianist and composer (born 1925)

• 1999 George Singh, Belizean jurist and Chief Justice of Belize (born 1937)

• 2000 Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and educator (born 1908)

• 2003 Stan Brakhage, American director and cinematographer (born 1933)

• 2003 Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician, President of Nauru (born 1946)

• 2004 John Mayer, Indian composer (born 1930)

• 2006 Tom Fox, American activist (born 1951)

• 2006 Anna Moffo, American soprano (born 1932)

• 2006 John Profumo, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for War (born 1915)

• 2007 Brad Delp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1951)

• 2007 Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1921)

• 2010 Willie Davis, American baseball player and manager (born 1940)

• 2010 Doris Haddock, American activist and politician (born 1910)

• 2010 Wilfy Rebimbus, Indian singer (born 1942)

• 2010 Henry Wittenberg, American wrestler (born 1918)

• 2011 David S. Broder, American journalist and academic (born 1929)

• 2013 Max Jakobson, Finnish journalist and diplomat (born 1923)

• 2013 Merton Simpson, American painter and art collector (born 1928)

• 2015 James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish soldier and politician (born 1920)

• 2016 Robert Horton, American actor (born 1924)

• 2016 Clyde Lovellette, American basketball player and coach (born 1929)

• 2017 Howard Hodgkin, British painter (born 1932)

• 2018 Jo Min-ki, Korean actor (born 1965)

• 2020 John Bathersby, Australian Catholic bishop (born 1936)

• 2021 James Levine, American conductor and pianist (born 1943)

• 2021 Roger Mudd, American journalist (born 1928)

• 2023 Chaim Topol, Israeli actor (born 1935)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

• Catherine of Bologna

• Forty Martyrs of Sebaste

• Frances of Rome

• Pacian

• Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (Coptic Orthodox Church)

• Gregory of Nyssa (Episcopal Church (United States))

• March 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Teachers' Day or Eid Al Moalim (Lebanon)

References

Sources

External links

• BBC: On This Day

• Historical Events on March 9