FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

Today is Friday, March 9, the 69th day of 2012. There are 297 days left in the year.

1452 ― Pope Nicolaas I crowns Frederik III Roman Catholic-German emperor

1496 ― Jews expelled from Carintha Austria

1497 ― Nicolaus Copernicus 1st recorded astronomical observation

1522 ― Marten Luther preaches his Invocavit

1617 ― Sweden and Russia sign the Peace of Stolbowa

1697 ― Czar Peter the Great begins a tour of West Europe

1796 ― Napoleon Bonaparte marries Josephine de Beauharnais

1820 ― The Philippines chases out foreigners; about 125 die

1841 ― The U.S. Supreme Court rules Negroes are free (Amistad Incident)

1916 ― Germany declares war against Portugal

1918 ― The Russian Bolshevik Party becomes the Communist Party

1918 ― Ukrainian mobs massacre Jews of Seredino Buda

1936 ― Babe Ruth turns down Reds to make a comeback as a player

1945 ― Japanese proclaim the "independence" of Indo-China

1953 ― Josef Stalin buried in Moscow

1962 ― Egyptian President Nasser declares Gaza belongs to Palestinians

1979 ― France performs a nuclear test at Muruora Island

1984 ― John Lennon's "Borrowed Time" is released

1989 ― Eastern Airlines files for bankruptcy

1995 ― Mexican peso worth 7.55 pesos to a dollar (record)