March 9 is the 68th day of the year (69th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 297 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
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 .
1230 – Bulgarian tsar Ivan Asen II defeats Theodore of Epirus in the Battle of Klokotnitsa .
1276 – Augsburg becomes a Free imperial city .
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 .
1566 – David Rizzio , private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots , is murdered in the Palace of Holyroodhouse , Edinburgh , Scotland.
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 committed suicide.
1796 – Napoléon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais .
1811 – Paraguayan forces defeat Manuel Belgrano at the Battle of Tacuarí .
1831 – The French Foreign Legion is established by King Louis Philippe to support his war in Algeria .
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 writers.
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 : The USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fight to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads , the first battle between two ironclad warships .
1896 – Prime Minister Francesco Crispi resigns following the Italian defeat at the Battle of Adwa .
1908 – Inter Milan was founded on Football Club Internazionale , following a schism from the Milan Cricket and Football Club.
1910 – The Westmoreland County coal strike , involving 15,000 coal miners represented by the United Mine Workers , begins.
1916 – Mexican Revolution : Pancho Villa leads nearly 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against the border town of Columbus, New Mexico .
1925 – Pink's War : The first Royal Air Force operation conducted independently of the British Army or Royal Navy begins.
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 , represented by KNIL Commander in Chief Lieutenant General Hein Ter Poorten , unconditionally surrendered to the Japanese forces in Kalijati, Subang , West Java , and Japanese completed their Dutch East Indies campaign .
1944 – World War II: Japanese troops counter-attack American forces on Hill 700 in Bougainville in a battle that would last five days.
1944 – World War II: Soviet Army planes attack Tallinn , Estonia .
1945 – World War II: The first nocturnal incendiary attack on Tokyo inflicts damage comparable to that inflicted on Hiroshima five months later.
1945 – World War II: A coup d'état by Japanese forces in French Indochina removes the French from power.
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 – A magnitude 8.3 earthquake in the Andreanof Islands , Alaska triggers a Pacific-wide tsunami causing extensive damage to Hawaii and Oahu .
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 human dummy nicknamed Ivan Ivanovich , and demonstrating that Soviet Union was ready to begin human spaceflight .
1967 – Trans World Airlines Flight 553 , a Douglas DC-9-15 , crashes in a field in Concord Township, Ohio following a mid-air collision with a Beechcraft Baron , killing 26.
1976 – Forty-two people died in the 1976 Cavalese cable car disaster , the worst cable-car accident to date.
1977 – The Hanafi Siege : In a thirty-nine-hour standoff, armed Hanafi Muslims seize three Washington, D.C. , buildings, killing two and taking 149 hostage.
1978 – President Soeharto inaugurated Jagorawi Toll Road , the first toll highway in Indonesia , connecting Jakarta , Bogor and Ciawi, West Java .
1989 – Financially troubled Eastern Air Lines files for bankruptcy .
1991 – Massive demonstrations are held against Slobodan Milošević in Belgrade .
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.
2011 – Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights.
2012 – At least 130 rockets are fired into Israel from Gaza , and 12 Palestinians militants are killed as part of the latest escalation in violence in the region.
2015 – Two helicopters collided near Villa Castelli, Argentina killing 10 people.
Births
1213 – Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1271)
1285 – Emperor Go-Nijō of Japan (d. 1318)
1454 – Amerigo Vespucci , Italian cartographer and explorer (d. 1512)
1568 – Aloysius Gonzaga , Italian saint (d. 1591)
1737 – Josef Mysliveček , Czech violinist and composer (d. 1781)
1749 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau , French journalist and politician (d. 1791)
1753 – Jean-Baptiste Kléber , French general (d. 1800)
1758 – Franz Joseph Gall , German neuroanatomist and physiologist (d. 1828)
1763 – William Cobbett , English journalist and author (d. 1835)
1806 – Edwin Forrest , American actor and philanthropist (d. 1872)
1814 – Taras Shevchenko , Ukrainian poet and playwright (d. 1861)
1815 – David Davis , American jurist and politician (d. 1886)
1820 – Samuel Blatchford , American lawyer and jurist (d. 1893)
1824 – Amasa Leland Stanford , American businessman and politician, founded Stanford University (d. 1893)
1833 – Frederick A. Schroeder , German-American businessman and politician, 18th Mayor of Brooklyn (d. 1899)
1847 – Martin Pierre Marsick , Belgian violinist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)
1850 – Hamo Thornycroft , English sculptor and academic (d. 1925)
1856 – Eddie Foy, Sr. , American actor and dancer (d. 1928)
1856 – Tom Roberts , English-Australian painter and educator (d. 1931)
1887 – Fritz Lenz , German geneticist and physician (d. 1976)
1887 – Phil Mead , English cricketer and footballer (d. 1958)
1890 – Rupert Balfe , Australian footballer and lieutenant (d. 1915)
1890 – Vyacheslav Molotov , Russian politician and diplomat, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1986)
1891 – José P. Laurel , Filipino lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Philippines (d. 1959)
1892 – Mátyás Rákosi , Hungarian soldier and politician (d. 1971)
1892 – Vita Sackville-West , English author, poet, and gardener (d. 1962)
1900 – Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta (d. 1948)
1902 – Will Geer , American actor and activist (d. 1978)
1904 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch , American soldier and engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (d. 2002)
1905 – Gerard Helders , Dutch jurist and politician, Dutch Minister of Colonial Affairs (d. 2013)
1910 – Samuel Barber , American pianist and composer (d. 1981)
1911 – Clara Rockmore , Lithuanian-American violinist (d. 1998)
1915 – Johnnie Johnson , English air marshal and pilot (d. 2001)
1918 – George Lincoln Rockwell , American sailor and politician, founded the American Nazi Party (d. 1967)
1918 – Mickey Spillane , American author and actor (d. 2006)
1920 – Franjo Mihalić , Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (d. 2015)
1921 – Carl Betz , American actor (d. 1978)
1922 – Ian Turbott , New Zealand-Australian former diplomat and university administrator
1922 – Bill Bainbridge , English former footballer
1923 – James L. Buckley , American lawyer, judge, and politician
1923 – André Courrèges , French fashion designer (d. 2016)
1923 – Walter Kohn , Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
1924 – Peter Scholl-Latour , German journalist, author, and academic (d. 2014)
1924 – Ben Schadler , American professional basketball player (d. 2015)
1924 – William Hamilton , American theologian (d. 2012)
1926 – Joe Franklin , American radio and television host (d. 2015)
1928 – Gerald Bull , Canadian-American engineer and academic (d. 1990)
1929 – Desmond Hoyte , Guyanese lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Guyana (d. 2002)
1929 – Zillur Rahman , Bangladeshi politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (d. 2013)
1930 – Ornette Coleman , American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (d. 2015)
1930 – Taina Elg , Finnish-American actress and dancer
1931 – Thore Skogman , Swedish singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2007)
1931 – Jackie Healy-Rae , Irish politician (d. 2014)
1932 – Qayyum Chowdhury , Bangladeshi painter and academic (d. 2014)
1932 – Walter Mercado , Puerto Rican-American astrologer and actor
1932 – Jože Pučnik , Slovenian sociologist and politician (d. 2003)
1932 – Keely Smith , American singer and actress
1933 – Mel Lastman , Canadian businessman and politician, 62nd Mayor of Toronto
1933 – Lloyd Price , American singer-songwriter
1933 – David Weatherall , English physician, geneticist, and academic
1934 – Del Close , American actor, author, and educator (d. 1999)
1934 – Yuri Gagarin , Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 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
1936 – Marty Ingels , American actor and comedian (d. 2015)
1937 – Bernard Landry , Canadian lawyer and politician, 28th Premier of Quebec
1937 – Harry Neale , Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
1937 – Brian Redman , English race car driver
1938 – Lill-Babs , Swedish singer and actress
1940 – Raúl Juliá , Puerto Rican-American actor and singer (d. 1994)
1941 – Ernesto Miranda , American criminal, inspired the Miranda rights (d. 1976)
1942 – John Cale , Welsh singer-songwriter, viola player, and producer (The Velvet Underground and Theatre of Eternal Music )
1942 – Mark Lindsay , American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and producer (Paul Revere & the Raiders )
1943 – Bobby Fischer , American chess player and author (d. 2008)
1943 – Charles Gibson , American journalist
1945 – Robert Calvert , English singer-songwriter and playwright (Hawkwind ) (d. 1988)
1945 – Dennis Rader , American serial killer
1945 – Robin Trower , English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Procol Harum and The Paramounts )
1946 – Alexandra Bastedo , English actress (d. 2014)
1946 – Jim Cregan , English guitarist and songwriter (Blossom Toes , Streetwalkers , and Family )
1946 – Warren Skaaren , American screenwriter and producer (d. 1990)
1946 – Bernd Hölzenbein , German footballer and scout
1947 – Keri Hulme , New Zealand author and poet
1948 – Emma Bonino , Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1948 – Eric Fischl , American painter and sculptor
1948 – Jeffrey Osborne , American singer and drummer (L.T.D. )
1948 – Chris Thompson , English singer and guitarist (Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Night )
1949 – Trevor Burton , English singer and guitarist (The Move )
1949 – Neil Hamilton , Welsh lawyer and politician
1950 – Doug Ault , American baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
1950 – Howard Shelley , English pianist and conductor
1950 – Danny Sullivan , American race car driver and sportscaster
1951 – Zakir Hussain , Indian tabla player, composer, and actor
1951 – Michael Kinsley , American journalist
1951 – Helen Zille , South African journalist and politician, 7th Premier of the Western Cape
1952 – Bill Beaumont , English rugby player and manager
1953 – Lucinha Lins , Brazilian actress and singer
1953 – Willem Boeschoten , Dutch rower
1954 – Bobby Sands , Irish Republican Army volunteer; abstentionist MP (d. 1981)
1954 – Jock Taylor , Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1982)
1955 – Teo Fabi , Italian race car driver
1955 – Ornella Muti , Italian actress
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, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
1957 – PZ Myers , American biologist, author, and academic
1957 – Mona Sahlin , Swedish politician, 6th Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden
1958 – Linda Fiorentino , American actress
1958 – Martin Fry , English singer-songwriter (ABC and Vice Versa )
1958 – Paul MacLean , Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1959 – Tom Amandes , American actor and director
1959 – Giovanni di Lorenzo , Swedish-German journalist
1959 – Takaaki Kajita , Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1959 – Lonny Price , American actor, director, and screenwriter
1961 – Mike Leach , American football player and coach
1961 – Rick Steiner , American wrestler
1961 – Darrell Walker , American basketball player and coach
1962 – Jan Furtok , Polish footballer and manager
1962 – Pete Wishart , Scottish singer and politician (Big Country and Runrig )
1963 – Ivan Henjak , Australian rugby player and coach
1963 – Terry Mulholland , American baseball player
1963 – David Pogue , American journalist and author
1963 – Jean-Marc Vallée , Canadian director and screenwriter
1964 – Juliette Binoche , French actress
1964 – Phil Housley , American ice hockey player and coach
1964 – Valérie Lemercier , French actress, singer, director
1964 – Steve Wilkos , American police officer and talk show host
1965 – Brian Bosworth , American football player and actor
1965 – Benito Santiago , Puerto Rican baseball player
1966 – Brendan Canty , American drummer and songwriter (Fugazi )
1966 – Tony Lockett , Australian footballer
1966 – Michael Patrick MacDonald , Irish-American author and activist
1968 – Youri Djorkaeff , French footballer
1968 – Brian Heidik , American reality show contestant, winner of Survivor: Thailand
1968 – Johnny Kelly , American drummer (Type O Negative , Danzig , A Pale Horse Named Death , and Seventh Void )
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 drummer and actor (Thirty Seconds to Mars and The Wondergirls )
1970 – David Guido Pietroni , Italian director and producer
1971 – C-Murder , American rapper and actor
1971 – Emmanuel Lewis , American actor
1971 – Diego Torres , Argentinian singer-songwriter and actor
1973 – Aaron Boone , American baseball player and sportscaster
1973 – Liam Griffin , English race car driver and businessman
1974 – Mark Harrity , Australian cricketer
1975 – Roy Makaay , Dutch footballer and manager
1975 – Juan Sebastián Verón , Argentinian footballer
1976 – Ben Mulroney , Canadian journalist and game show host
1977 – Radek Dvořák , Czech ice hockey player
1978 – MickDeth , American bass player (Eighteen Visions , Bleeding Through , and Clear ) (d. 2013)
1978 – Lucas Neill , Australian footballer
1979 – Oscar Isaac , Guatemalan-American actor
1980 – Trent Croad , New Zealand-Australian footballer
1980 – Matthew Gray Gubler , American actor, model, and writer
1981 – Antonio Bryant , American football player
1981 – Clay Rapada , American baseball player
1982 – Matt Bowen , Australian rugby player
1982 – Mirjana Lučić-Baroni , Croatian tennis player
1983 – Clint Dempsey , American soccer player
1983 – Ioannis Masmanidis , German footballer
1983 – Maite Perroni , Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (RBD )
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 – Parthiv Patel , Indian cricketer
1986 – Brittany Snow , American actress and singer
1986 – Colin Greening , Canadian ice hockey player
1987 – Bow Wow , American rapper and actor
1988 – Alodia Gosiengfiao , Filipino model, actress, and singer
1989 – Artem Borodulin , Russian figure skater
1989 – Kim Tae-yeon , South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (Girls' Generation , Girls' Generation-TTS , and SM the Ballad )
1990 – YG , American rapper
1990 – Daley Blind , Dutch footballer
1990 – Tatsuki Machida , Japanese figure skater
1990 – Aras Özbiliz , Turkish-Armenian footballer
1991 – Domo Genesis , American rapper (Odd Future and MellowHigh )
1991 – Brenna O'Brien , Canadian actress
1992 – Dianne Necio , Filipino model, Binibining Pilipinas-International 2011
1993 – Larnell Cole , English footballer
1994 – Angeli Gonzales , Filipino actress
1994 – Morgan Rielly , Canadian ice hockey player
Deaths
1202 – Sverre of Norway (b. 1145)
1440 – Frances of Rome , Italian nun and saint (b. 1384)
1566 – David Rizzio , Italian-Scottish courtier and politician (b. 1533)
1649 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton , Scottish soldier and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1606)
1649 – Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland , English soldier and politician, Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard (b. 1590)
1661 – Cardinal Mazarin , Italian-French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1602)
1709 – Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu , English courtier and politician (b. 1638)
1808 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder , Italian architect, designed the Piercefield House and St James' Church (b. 1739)
1810 – Ozias Humphry , English painter and academic (b. 1742)
1825 – Anna Laetitia Barbauld , English poet, author, and critic (b. 1743)
1851 – Hans Christian Ørsted , Danish physicist and chemist (b. 1777)
1888 – William I, German Emperor (b. 1797)
1895 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch , Austrian journalist and author (b. 1836)
1897 – Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani , Afghan ideologist and activist (b. 1838)
1897 – Sondre Norheim , Norwegian-American skier (b. 1825)
1905 – Nikolai Anderson , Estonian philologist and linguist (b. 1845)
1918 – Frank Wedekind , German author and playwright (b. 1864)
1925 – Willard Metcalf , American painter and academic (b. 1858)
1926 – Mikao Usui , Japanese spiritual leader, founded Reiki (b. 1865)
1937 – Paul Elmer More , American journalist and critic (b. 1864)
1943 – Otto Freundlich , German painter and sculptor (b. 1878)
1947 – Jhaverchand Meghani , Indian poet and playwright (b. 1896)
1948 – Edgar de Wahl , Ukrainian-Estonian linguist and scholar (b. 1867)
1954 – Vagn Walfrid Ekman , Swedish oceanographer and academic (b. 1874)
1955 – Miroslava , Czech-Mexican actress (b. 1925)
1964 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck , German general (b. 1870)
1969 – Abdul Munim Riad Egyptian general (b. 1919)
1971 – Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (b. 1902)
1974 – Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr. , American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
1983 – Faye Emerson , American actress and singer (b. 1917)
1983 – Rex Marshall , American actor and radio host (b. 1919)
1983 – Ulf von Euler , Swedish physiologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
1985 – Harry Catterick , English footballer and manager (b. 1919)
1988 – Kurt Georg Kiesinger , German lawyer and politician, 3rd Chancellor of Germany (b. 1904)
1989 – Robert Mapplethorpe , American photographer (b. 1946)
1991 – Jim Hardin , American baseball player (b. 1943)
1992 – Menachem Begin , Belarusian-Israeli soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Israel , Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
1993 – Bob Crosby , American singer and actor (b. 1913)
1993 – C. Northcote Parkinson , English historian and author (b. 1909)
1994 – Charles Bukowski , German-American author and poet (b. 1920)
1994 – Eddie Creatchman , Canadian wrestler, referee, and manager (b. 1928)
1994 – Fernando Rey , Spanish actor (b. 1917)
1996 – George Burns , American actor and singer (b. 1896)
1997 – Jean-Dominique Bauby , French journalist and author (b. 1952)
1997 – Terry Nation , Welsh author and screenwriter (b. 1930)
1997 – The Notorious B.I.G. , American rapper (Junior M.A.F.I.A. ) (b. 1972)
1999 – Harry Somers , Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1925)
2000 – Jean Coulthard , Canadian composer and educator (b. 1908)
2000 – Ivo Robić , Croatian singer-songwriter (b. 1923)
2003 – Stan Brakhage , American director and cinematographer (b. 1933)
2003 – Bernard Dowiyogo , Nauruan politician, 2nd President of Nauru (b. 1946)
2004 – Rust Epique , American guitarist and painter (Crazy Town and pre)Thing ) (b. 1968)
2004 – Albert Mol , Dutch actor and author (b. 1917)
2005 – Chris LeDoux , American singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
2005 – Kurt Lotz , German businessman (b. 1912)
2005 – István Nyers , French-Hungarian footballer (b. 1924)
2006 – Tom Fox , American activist (b. 1951)
2006 – John Profumo , English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1915)
2006 – Laura Stoica , Romanian singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1967)
2007 – Brad Delp , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Boston , RTZ , and Beatlejuice ) (b. 1951)
2007 – Glen Harmon , Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
2010 – Willie Davis , American baseball player and manager (b. 1940)
2010 – Doris Haddock , American activist and politician (b. 1910)
2011 – David S. Broder , American journalist and academic (b. 1929)
2012 – Willye Dennis , American librarian and politician (b. 1926)
2012 – Joy Mukherjee , Indian actor and director (b. 1939)
2012 – Jose Tomas Sanchez , Filipino cardinal (b. 1920)
2013 – Max Jakobson , Finnish journalist and diplomat (b. 1923)
2013 – Viren J. Shah , Indian businessman and politician, 21st Governor of West Bengal (b. 1926)
2013 – Merton Simpson , American painter and art collector (b. 1928)
2014 – Mohammed Fahim , Afghan field marshal and politician, Vice President of Afghanistan (b. 1924)
2014 – William Clay Ford, Sr. , American businessman (b. 1925)
2014 – Nazario Moreno González , Mexican drug lord (b. 1970)
2015 – Windell Middlebrooks , American actor (b. 1979)
2015 – James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead , Irish soldier and politician (b. 1920)
2015 – Camille Muffat , French swimmer (b. 1989)
2015 – Alexis Vastine , French boxer (b. 1986)
2016 – Jon English , English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1949)
2016 – Robert Horton , American actor (b. 1924)
2016 – Clyde Lovellette , American basketball player and coach (b. 1929)
2016 – Naná Vasconcelos , Brazilian singer and berimbau player (b. 1944)
Holidays and observances
External links
Months and days of the year
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December