TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – MARCH 9
141 BC Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne of the Han Dynasty in China and rules for 54 years
1497 Nicolaus Copernicus 1st recorded astronomical observation,
1617 The Treaty of Stolbovo ends the occupation of Northern Russia by Swedish troops.
1765 After a public 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 had actually committed suicide.
1776 Adam Smith publishes the influential economics book “The Wealth of Nations”
1788 Connecticut becomes the 5th state
1820 Congress passes the Land Act, paving the way for westward expansion.
1841 The rebel slaves who seized a Spanish slave ship, the Amistad, in 1839 are freed by the Supreme Court despite Spanish demands for extradition.
1862 The first battle between two ironclad ships, the Monitor (Union) and Merrimack (Confederate) occurred, revolutionizing naval warfare.
1864 Ulysses S. Grant is appointed commander of Union Army
1907 1st involuntary sterilization law enacted, Indiana
1916 Mexican bandit Pancho Villa leads 1,500 horsemen on a raid of Columbus, N.M. killing 17 U.S. soldiers and citizens.
1959 The Barbie doll is unveiled at a toy fair in New York City.
1964 Supreme Court issues New York Times vs Sullivan decision, public officials must prove malice to claim libel & recover damages
1968 General William Westmoreland asks for 206,000 more troops in Vietnam.
1973 In a referendum in Northern Ireland over the future of the province people vote to remain within the United Kingdom. But a boycott by the Roman Catholic population meant only 59% of the population had taken part in the vote.
1974 Work on the 800 mile long Alaska Oil pipeline connecting oil fields in northern Alaska to the sea port at Valdez. It is completed in just over two years in 1977 and transports up to 2 million barrels of oil per day.
1976 1st female cadets accepted to West Point Military Academy
1977 Hanafi Muslims invade 3 buildings in Washington, D.C., siege ended Mar 11th
1987 Chrysler Corp offered to buy American Motors Corp for $1 billion
2006 Liquid water is discovered on Enceladus, the sixth largest moon of Saturn
2007 The US Justice Department releases an internal audit that found that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had acted illegally in its use of the USA Patriot Act to secretly obtain personal information about US citizens
2010 A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with terror offences that include using the Internet to recruit militants for overseas attacks. Colleen LaRose, who is also known as Fatima LaRose and ‘Jihad Jane,’ was arrested in Philadelphia in October, 2009.
2015 US President Barack Obama signs an executive order declaring Venezuela a national security threat to the US
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
