◆ On this day

March 9

4 sourced moments from March 9 in history: Amerigo Vespucci was born (1454); Pedro Alvares Cabral set sail toward an accidental Brazil (1500); The first battle between ironclad warships was fought (1862), plus 1 more.

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4 things happened on March 9

newest first ↓

1959 Society & Economy · Business & Markets

The Barbie doll made its debut

In 1959 Mattel unveiled an 11-inch adult-figured fashion doll at a New York toy fair, and a billion-doll industry was born.

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1862 History · War & Conflict

The first battle between ironclad warships was fought

Off Virginia in 1862, two iron-armored ships dueled to a draw and made every wooden navy on Earth obsolete overnight.

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1500 History · Modern

Pedro Alvares Cabral set sail toward an accidental Brazil

A fleet bound for India swung so far west it bumped into a continent, handing Portugal a claim to Brazil.

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1454 Geography · Borders & Maps

Amerigo Vespucci was born

Two continents bear the first name of a Florentine navigator who argued that a vast new landmass lay beyond the western ocean.

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