Today in history

On March 9, 1451,

explorer Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence, Italy.

In 1661

Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the chief minister of France, died, leaving King Louis XIV in full control.

In 1796

the future emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, married Josephine de Beauharnais. (The couple divorced in 1809.)

In 1822

Charles Graham of New York was granted a patent for artificial teeth.

In 1846

the Treaty of Lahore ended the first Sikh War in India, and Britain gained additional territory.

In 1860

the first Japanese ambassador to the United States, Niimi Buzennokami, and his staff arrived in San Francisco.

In 1862,

during the Civil War, the ironclads Monitor and Virginia (formerly known as the Merrimac) clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Va.

In 1916

Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, N.M., killing more than a dozen people.

In 1933,

Congress, called into special session by President Franklin Roosevelt, began its “100 days” of enacting New Deal legislation.

In 1942,

during World War II, the Dutch formally surrendered Java.

In 1943

chess champion Bobby Fischer was born in Chicago.

In 1945,

during World War II, U.S. B-29 bombers launched incendiary bomb attacks against Japan.

In 1954

CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow critically reviewed Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s antiCommunism campaign on an episode of “See It Now.”

In 1959

the original Barbie doll debuted in U.S. stores.