NASA astronaut Robert Curbeam works on the International Space Station's S1 truss during the space shuttle Discovery's STS-116 mission in December 2006. On March 9, 2011, the Discovery made its final landing at Kennedy Space Center. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

The Washington, D.C., sniper victims memorial is seen at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Md., on November 10, 2009. John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind behind the attacks, was sentenced to death on March 9, 2004. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Visitors look into the well that holds the vaults containing the remains of President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia at Grant's Tomb in New York City on February 19. On March 9, 1864, Grant was appointed commander in chief of Union forces in the U.S. Civil War. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Barbie Dolls by Mattel are on display at the 113th North American International Toy Fair at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City on February 13, 2016. On March 9, 1959, Barbie, which became a perennially popular doll, made its debut in stores. Celebrate Barbie at 25, 30, and 50. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

The lead flower car for the funeral procession of rapper Notorious B.I.G., aka Christopher Wallace, leaves Campbells Funeral Home in Manhattan, on March 18, 1997, after services. Wallace died March 9, 1997, in a drive-by shooting. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI | License Photo

On March 9, 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. File Photo by Ishikawa Kōyō/Wikimedia

March 9 (UPI) -- 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 1916, 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 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt presented the first of his New Deal policies, the Emergency Banking Act, to Congress, which promptly passed the legislation.

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. Celebrate Barbie at 25, 30, and 50.

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 1997, rapper Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, died from multiple gunshot wounds after a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. He was 24.

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 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, after 39 flights over 27 years of service, the space shuttle Discovery made its final landing at Kennedy Space Center.

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.

In 2016, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia closed their borders to migrants attempting to travel through Europe after leaving their homes in places like Syria and Afghanistan.