Today is Monday, March 9, the 68th day of 2009. There are 297 days left in the year.
1497 _ Nicolaus Copernicus first recorded astronomical observation,
1522 _ Marten Luther preaches his Invocavit
1562 _ Kissing in public banned in Naples (punishable by death)
1796 _ Napoleon Bonaparte marries Josephine de Beauharnais
1902 _ Composer Gustav Mahler marries Alma Schindler in Vienna
1918 _ Russian Bolshevik Party becomes the Communist Party
1945 _ Japanese proclaim the ``independence" of Indochina
1959 _ Barbie, the popular girls' doll, debuted, over 800 million sold
1961 _ First animal returned from space, dog named Blackie, aboard Sputnik 9
1963 _ Beatles began first British tour, supporting Tommy Roe & Chris Montez