Today in History

On March 9, 1945, during World War II, over 300 U.S. B-29 bombers began Operation Meetinghouse, a massive firebombing raid on Tokyo. The raid killed an estimated 100,000 civilians, left 1 million homeless and destroyed 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) of the city.

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In 1796, the future emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, married Josephine de Beauharnais.

In 1841, the U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. The Amistad, ruled 7-1 in favor of a group of illegally enslaved Africans who were captured off the U.S. coast after seizing control of a Spanish schooner, La Amistad. The justices ruled that the Africans should be set free.

In 1862, during the American Civil War, the ironclad warships USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimac) clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The first engagement of ironclad warships opened a new era in naval warfare.

In 1916, more than 400 Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, New Mexico, killing 18 Americans.

In 1959, the Barbie doll was introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York.

In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court, in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, raised the standard for public officials to prove they’d been libeled in their official capacity by news organizations.

In 1997, rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) was killed in a still-unsolved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles at age 24.

In 2022, a Russian airstrike devastated a maternity hospital in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, killing four people and wounding at least 17.

Today’s birthdays: Singer Jeffrey Osborne is 78. Actor Juliette Binoche is 62. Actor Emmanuel Lewis is 55. Actor Oscar Isaac is 47. Comedian Jordan Klepper (TV: “The Daily Show”) is 47. Rapper Chingy is 46. Actor Matthew Gray Gubler is 46. Retired soccer player Clint Dempsey is 43. Olympic skiing gold medalist Julia Mancuso is 42. Actor Brittany Snow is 40. Rapper Bow Wow is 39. Rapper YG is 36. Social media personality Khaby Lame is 26. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Sunisa Lee is 23.