March 9 in History

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

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.

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.

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

Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights.

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

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.

Chrysler announces its acquisition of American Motors Corporation.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

American Civil War: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (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.

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

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

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

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.

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

Paraguayan forces defeat Manuel Belgrano at the Battle of Tacuarí.

Napoléon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Sunisa Lee, American gymnast

Usman Garuba, Spanish basketball player

Jeon Somi, South Korean-Canadian singer

Khaby Lame, Senegalese-Italian social media personality

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Finnish ice hockey player

Najee Harris, American football running back

Nadeo Argawinata, Indonesian footballer

Chika, American rapper

Cierra Ramirez, American actress and singer

Morgan Rielly, Canadian ice hockey player

George Baldock, Greek footballer (died 2024)

Miikka Salomäki, Finnish ice hockey player

Suga, South Korean rapper, songwriter and record producer

Jooyoung, South Korean singer-songwriter

Daley Blind, Dutch footballer

YG, American rapper

Taeyeon, South Korean singer

Daniel Hudson, American baseball player

Bow Wow, American rapper and actor

Bryan Bickell, Canadian ice hockey player

Damien Brunner, Swiss ice hockey player

Colin Greening, Canadian ice hockey player

Brittany Snow, American actress and producer

Brent Burns, Canadian ice hockey player

Jesse Litsch, American baseball player

Pastor Maldonado, Venezuelan race car driver

Parthiv Patel, Indian cricketer

Abdoulay Konko, French footballer

Julia Mancuso, American skier

Clint Dempsey, American soccer player

Wayne Simien, American basketball player

Ryan Bayley, Australian cyclist

Érika de Souza, Brazilian basketball player

Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, Croatian tennis player

Antonio Bryant, American football player

Chad Gilbert, American musician, songwriter, and producer

Clay Rapada, American baseball player

Matt Barnes, American basketball player

Chingy, American rapper

Matthew Gray Gubler, American actor

Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor

Jordan Klepper, American comedian

Chris Phillips, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman

Radek Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player

Mark Tookey, Australian rugby league player

Adonal Foyle, Vincentian-American basketball player

Juan Sebastián Verón, Argentine footballer

Mark Harrity, Australian cricketer

Aaron Boone, American baseball player and manager

Liam Griffin, English race car driver

Jodey Arrington, American politician

Jean Louisa Kelly, American actress and singer

Kerr Smith, American actor

Emmanuel Lewis, American actor

Naveen Jindal, Indian businessman and politician

Martin Johnson, English rugby player and coach

Shannon Leto, American musician and songwriter

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, American basketball player

Kimberly Guilfoyle, American lawyer and journalist

Youri Djorkaeff, French footballer

Brendan Canty, American drummer and songwriter

Tony Lockett, Australian footballer

Brian Bosworth, American football player and actor

Benito Santiago, Puerto Rican baseball player

Juliette Binoche, French actress

Phil Housley, American ice hockey player and coach

Ivan Henjak, Croatian-Australian rugby league player and coach

Terry Mulholland, American baseball player

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

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

Rick Steiner, American wrestler

Darrell Walker, American basketball player and coach

Finn Carter, American actress

Željko Obradović, Serbian basketball player and coach

Tom Amandes, American actor

Takaaki Kajita, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Lonny Price, American actor, director, and screenwriter

Linda Fiorentino, American actress

Paul MacLean, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Mark Dantonio, American football player and coach

Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs

David Willetts, English academic and politician

Teo Fabi, Italian race car driver

Józef Pinior, Polish academic and politician

Carlos Ghosn, Brazilian-Lebanese-French business executive

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

Jock Taylor, Scottish motorcycle racer (died 1982)

Bill Beaumont, English rugby player and manager

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

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

Andy North, American golfer

Howard Shelley, English pianist and conductor

Neil Hamilton, Welsh lawyer and politician

Tapani Kansa, Finnish singer (died 2025)

Emma Bonino, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Eric Fischl, American painter and sculptor

Jeffrey Osborne, American singer and drummer

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

Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (died 2014)

Bernd Hölzenbein, German footballer and scout (died 2024)

Warren Skaaren, American screenwriter and producer (died 1990)

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

Dennis Rader, American serial killer

Robin Trower, English guitarist and vocalist

Lee Irvine, South African cricketer

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

Charles Gibson, American journalist

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

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

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

Jim Colbert, American golfer (died 2026)

Ernesto Miranda, American criminal (died 1976)

Trish Van Devere, American actress

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

Raul Julia, Puerto Rican actor (died 1994)

Malcolm Bricklin, American businessman, founded Bricklin and Yugo

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

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

Brian Redman, English race car driver

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

Marty Ingels, American actor and comedian (died 2015)

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

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

Joyce Van Patten, American actress

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

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

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

Qayyum Chowdhury, Bangladeshi painter and academic (died 2014)

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

Jackie Healy-Rae, Irish politician (died 2014)

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

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

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

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

Keely Smith, American singer and actress (died 2017)

Jackie Jensen, American baseball player (died 1982)

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

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

André Courrèges, French fashion designer (died 2016)

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

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

Carl Betz, American actor (died 1978)

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

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

Mickey Spillane, American crime novelist (died 2006)

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

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

Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (died 1981)

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

Will Geer, American actor (died 1978)

Mátyás Rákosi, Hungarian politician (died 1971)

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

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

Rupert Balfe, Australian footballer and lieutenant (died 1915)

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

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

Mary Harris Armor, American suffragist (died 1950)

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

Hamo Thornycroft, English sculptor and academic (died 1925)

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

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

Samuel Blatchford, American lawyer and jurist (died 1893)

David Davis, American jurist and politician (died 1886)

Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and playwright (died 1861)

Edwin Forrest, American actor and philanthropist (died 1872)

William Cobbett, English journalist and author (died 1835)

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

Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general (died 1800)

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

Josef Mysliveček, Czech violinist and composer (died 1781)

Friederike Caroline Neuber, German actress (died 1760)

Franz Anton von Sporck, German noble (died 1738)

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

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

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

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

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

Chaim Topol, Israeli actor (born 1935)

James Levine, American conductor and pianist (born 1943)

Roger Mudd, American journalist (born 1928)

John Bathersby, Australian Catholic bishop (born 1936)

Jo Min-ki, Korean actor (born 1965)

Howard Hodgkin, British painter (born 1932)

Robert Horton, American actor (born 1924)

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

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

Max Jakobson, Finnish journalist and diplomat (born 1923)

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

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

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

Doris Haddock, American activist and politician (born 1910)

Wilfy Rebimbus, Indian singer (born 1942)

Henry Wittenberg, American wrestler (born 1918)

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

Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1921)

Tom Fox, American activist (born 1951)

Anna Moffo, American soprano (born 1932)

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

John Mayer, Indian composer (born 1930)

Stan Brakhage, American director and cinematographer (born 1933)

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

Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and educator (born 1908)

Harry Somers, Canadian pianist and composer (born 1925)

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

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

Terry Nation, Welsh author and screenwriter (born 1930)

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

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

Edward Bernays, Austrian-American propagandist (born 1891)

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

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

Fernando Rey, Spanish actor (born 1917)

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

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

Jim Hardin, American baseball player (born 1943)

Robert Mapplethorpe, American photographer (born 1946)

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

Faye Emerson, American actress (born 1917)

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

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

Harry Womack, American singer (born 1945)

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

Abdul Munim Riad, Egyptian general (born 1919)

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

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

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

Otto Freundlich, German painter and sculptor (born 1878)

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

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

Willard Metcalf, American painter and academic (born 1858)

Frank Wedekind, German author and playwright (born 1864)

Sondre Norheim, Norwegian-American skier (born 1825)

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

William I, German Emperor (born 1797)

Louise Colet, French poet (born 1810)

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

Mary Anning, English paleontologist (born 1799)

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

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

Ozias Humphry, English painter and academic (born 1742)

Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (born 1739)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leonardo Bruni, Italian humanist (born c. 1370)

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

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

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