March 9th

Space Shuttle Discovery completes its final mission. The shuttle touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after its journey to the International Space Station (ISS).

Dr. Antonia Novello was sworn in as both the first Hispanic and woman to be U.S. surgeon general.

The deadliest cable car accident in history occurs in Italy. 43 people died when the cable car plunged 160 ft (50 meters) to the ground after the steel cable had snapped. 14-year-old Alessandra Piovesana was the only survivor.

U.S. Supreme Court issued N.Y. Times v. Sullivan ruling.

Soviet flight Sputnik 9 carries and returns a dog named Chernushka (Blackie), frogs and a guinea pig from orbit.

The Barbie doll goes on sale. The American toy company Mattel claims that more than one billion Barbie dolls have been sold so far, with about 3 dolls being sold every second.

The special session of Congress known as the "100 days" opened, launching FDR's New Deal.

The electron microscope is invented. German physicist Ernst Ruska is credited with the invention of the microscope. His first instrument allowed a resolution of 50 nanometers (billionths of a meter).

Russian Bolshevik Party becomes the Communist Party.

The first battle between two ironclad ships, the Monitor (Union) and Merrimack (Confederate) occurred, revolutionizing naval warfare.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Amistad slaves were free.

Napoleon Bonaparte married Josephine de Beauharnais, widow of a former French officer executed during the revolution.

Publication of the influential economics book "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith.

Martin Luther begins preaching his "Invocavit Sermons" in the German city of Wittenberg, reminding citizens to trust God's word rather than violence and thus helping bring to a close the revolutionary stage of the Reformation.

Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne of the Han Dynasty in China and rules for 54 years.