UPI Almanac for Monday, March 9, 2015

Today is Monday, March 9, the 68th day of 2015 with 297 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Mercury, Neptune and Saturn. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Uranus and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include explorer Amerigo Vespucci in 1454; Leland Stanford, railroad builder and founder of California's Stanford University, in 1824; English novelist /poet Victoria Sackville-West in 1892; actor Will Geer in 1902; composer Samuel Barber in 1910; detective novelist Mickey Spillane in 1918; actor Joyce Van Patten in 1934 (age 81); Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, in 1934; actor Marty Ingels in 1936 (age 79); country singer Mickey Gilley in 1936 (age 79); actor Raul Julia in 1940; rock 'n' roll singer Mark Lindsay in 1942 (age 73); actor Trish Van Devere in 1943 (age 72); former world chess champion Bobby Fischer in 1943; rock musician Robin Trower in 1945 (age 70); actor Linda Fiorentino in 1958 (age 57); actor Juliette Binoche in 1964 (age 51); actor Emmanuel Lewis in 1971 (age 44); Olympic gold medal skier Julia Mancuso in 1984 (age 31); rapper/actor Bow Wow (born Shad Gregory Moss) in 1987 (age 28).

On this date in history:

In 1841, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, with one dissent, that the African slaves who seized control of the Amistad slave ship had been illegally forced into slavery and thus were free under U.S. law.

In 1862, a battle between ironclad ships -- the Union's Monitor and the Confederate's Merrimac (renamed the Virginia) -- ended indecisively off Hampton Roads, Va.

In 1864, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was appointed commander in chief of Union forces in the U.S. Civil War.

In 1917, several hundred Mexican guerrillas under the command of Francisco "Pancho" Villa crossed the U.S.-Mexican border and attacked the small border town of Columbus, N.M., killing 17 Americans.

In 1945, more than 300 American B-29 bombers attacked Tokyo with incendiary bombs, killing about 100,000 people and destroying an estimated 250,000 buildings over 16 square miles.

In 1959, Barbie, which became a perennially popular doll, made its debut in stores.

In 1992, a federal judge in New York announced a final $1.3 billion agreement to settle civil suits growing out of the 1989 collapse of Drexel Burham Lambert, once the most powerful firm on Wall Street.

In 2004, John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death for his part in one of 10 Washington-area sniper killings in 2002. (Muhammad was executed in 2009.)

In 2005, Dan Rather stepped down as anchor and managing editor of "CBS Evening News." His departure followed acknowledgment of major flaws in a broadcast about U.S. President George W. Bush's National Guard service.

In 2006, scientists reported evidence of water on a Saturn moon.

In 2008, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was elected to a second term.

In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama lifted the U.S. limit on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, calling it an important advancement in the cause of science in the United States.

In 2011, the archbishop of Philadelphia placed 21 Roman Catholic priests, accused of sexually abusing children, on administrative leave.

In 2013, a house fire in rural southeastern Kentucky killed five children and two adults.

In 2014, William Clay Ford Sr., grandson of Ford Motor Co founder Henry Ford and owner of the Detroit Lions NFL team, died at his suburban Detroit home at the age of 88.

A thought for the day: " Leave the matter of religion to the family ... the church and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate." -- Ulysses S. Grant