March 9 in History

Significant events that happened on this day.

Historical Events

2011

Space Shuttle Discovery completed its final mission after 27 years of service

NASA's most-traveled orbiter landed at Kennedy Space Center for the last time, having flown 39 missions and logged 365 days in space. Discovery had de...

1989

The Soviet Union conducted its first competitive elections since 1917

Major

Voters could choose between multiple candidates for seats in the new Congress of People's Deputies. Boris Yeltsin won a landslide victory in Moscow, w...

1959

Barbie made her debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York

Major

Ruth Handler introduced the world's most famous doll, named after her daughter Barbara. The original Barbie wore a black and white striped swimsuit an...

1959

The Barbie doll's fictional birthday was established as this date by Mattel

While Barbie debuted at the Toy Fair on March 9, 1959, Mattel also designated this as her official "birthday" in her backstory. According to her biogr...

1959

A new planet was briefly announced by astronomers before being debunked

Scientists claimed to have discovered a tenth planet in our solar system and tentatively named it. The announcement generated worldwide excitement bef...

1954

CBS broadcasted the first color television program to five East Coast cities

The special program featured stars like Ed Sullivan and Arthur Godfrey demonstrating the new technology. Only a few hundred people could actually watc...

1933

The U.S. Congress began its first 100 days session under Franklin D. Roosevelt

Major

FDR pushed through an unprecedented amount of legislation to combat the Great Depression, including the Emergency Banking Act passed on the first day....

1932

Japan declared Manchukuo as an independent nation, though it was actually a puppet state

After invading Manchuria in 1931, Japan installed the last Chinese emperor, Puyi, as the nominal ruler of this new country. The League of Nations refu...

1842

The first documented use of anesthesia during surgery was performed by Dr. Crawford Long

Dr. Long used diethyl ether to remove a tumor from a patient's neck painlessly in Georgia. However, he didn't publish his findings until 1849, allowin...

1796

Napoleon Bonaparte married Joséphine de Beauharnais in a civil ceremony

Napoleon was so smitten he arrived on time, while Joséphine showed up two hours late. He famously wrote her passionate letters during military campaig...

1562

The first recorded kiss in cinema history was filmed between two actors

Though often disputed, this date marks one of cinema's earliest romantic moments. The brief kiss scandalized some viewers who thought it was too intim...

1454

Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence, Italy

The explorer and cartographer would have two continents named after him: North and South America. Unlike Columbus, Vespucci correctly identified that...