March 9 Birthday
On March 9, 1841, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. The Amistad, freeing the African captives who had seized control of the Spanish slave ship La Amistad in 1839. The captives, led by Sengbe Pieh (known in America as Joseph Cinqué), had killed the captain and ordered the surviving crew to sail to Africa. The crew sailed north instead, and the ship was intercepted by the US Navy off Long Island. The case was argued by former President John Quincy Adams, who was seventy-three and serving in the House of Representatives. Adams argued for eight hours over two days, challenging the Court to uphold the principle that all men are created equal. The Court ruled 7-1 that the captives had been illegally enslaved and had the right to resist. They returned to Sierra Leone in 1842. The case was depicted in Steven Spielberg's 1997 film, which took considerable dramatic liberties. Barbie was introduced on March 9, 1959, at the American International Toy Fair in New York. The doll was created by Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel, who had observed her daughter Barbara playing with paper dolls and imagining adult careers. Barbie was the first adult-bodied doll marketed to children — previous dolls were babies or toddlers, designed to teach mothering. Barbie has had over 250 careers: astronaut, surgeon, presidential candidate, firefighter, rapper. She has also been criticized for promoting an impossible body image — if Barbie were a real woman, she would be 5'9", 110 pounds, and unable to walk upright because her proportions do not support a human spine. Mattel has diversified Barbie's body types and skin tones in recent years, but the original remains the best-selling doll in history, with over a billion sold. The first Ford Mustang rolled off the assembly line on March 9, 1964, in Dearborn, Michigan. It was unveiled to the public on April 17 at the New York World's Fair and sold 22,000 units on the first day. Lee Iacocca, the Ford executive who championed the Mustang, had predicted it would sell 80,000 in its first year. It sold 418,000. The Mustang created the "pony car" class — affordable, sporty, youthful. Its success saved Ford, which had been losing market share to General Motors. Iacocca was later fired by Henry Ford II, who reportedly said, "Sometimes you just don't like a guy." Iacocca went to Chrysler and saved that company from bankruptcy. Yuri Gagarin, born this day in 1934, was the first human in space. He was chosen partly for his size — Vostok 1 was small — and partly for his personality. He was charming, humble, and had a winning smile. He was killed in a training flight in 1968 at thirty-four. Bobby Fischer, born the same day, became world chess champion in 1972 by defeating Boris Spassky. He forfeited the title in 1975 by refusing to defend it. He spent his later years as a recluse, making anti-Semitic and anti-American statements despite being Jewish and American. People born on March 9 fall under the zodiac sign of Pisces. The birthstone is Aquamarine and the birth flower is Daffodil. Historical events on March 9 include 1841: Supreme Court rules in United States v. The Amistad, freeing the captives, 1959: Barbie doll introduced at American International Toy Fair in New York, 1964: First Ford Mustang rolls off assembly line. Famous people born on March 9 include Yuri Gagarin (1934), Bobby Fischer (1943), Raul Julia (1940).