What’s Observed on March 9
Born on March 9: Pisces ♓
Pisces, the twelfth and final sign of the zodiac, spans February 19 to March 20 and is symbolized by two fish swimming in opposite directions, tied together by a cord, representing the tension between fantasy and reality, or the conscious and subconscious mind. Ruled by Neptune, the planet of dreams, intuition, and illusion, Pisces is widely regarded as the most emotionally sensitive and imaginative sign of the zodiac. As a Water sign, Pisces navigates the world primarily through feeling and empathy, often absorbing the moods of people around it as though they were its own. Its Mutable modality reflects a deep adaptability and fluidity, comfortable going with the flow rather than forcing rigid plans. People born under this sign are often drawn to art, music, and other creative or spiritual pursuits where their vivid imagination can take shape. Compassionate to a fault, Pisces individuals are frequently the ones quietly caring for others, sometimes at the expense of their own boundaries and needs.
Personality Traits
Strengths
- Deeply empathetic and compassionate
- Highly imaginative and artistic
- Intuitive and perceptive
- Selfless and generous
- Adaptable to change
Weaknesses
- Prone to escapism or avoidance
- Overly trusting, can be taken advantage of
- Difficulty setting boundaries
- Tends toward melancholy
- Indecisive
Compatible Signs
Fun Facts
- Pisces' symbol of two fish bound together swimming in opposite directions comes from a Greek myth in which Aphrodite and Eros transformed into fish and tied themselves together to escape the monster Typhon.
- As the twelfth and final sign of the zodiac, Pisces is often described as embodying traits of all the preceding signs, a kind of culmination of the zodiac wheel.
- Neptune, Pisces' modern ruling planet, is the Roman god of the sea, discovered in 1846 and named for its blue, oceanic appearance.
- Notable Pisces include Albert Einstein, Rihanna, Steve Jobs, and Kurt Cobain.
- Classical astrology assigns Jupiter as Pisces' ruler, before Neptune's discovery in the 19th century gave the sign its modern ruling planet.
Born on March 9
- 1454
Amerigo Vespucci
Italian explorer and cartographer after whom the Americas are named
- 1814
Taras Shevchenko
Ukrainian poet and national literary icon
- 1934
Yuri Gagarin
Soviet cosmonaut, first human in space
- 1943
Bobby Fischer
American chess grandmaster and World Champion
- 1964
Juliette Binoche
French actress and Academy Award winner
- 1979
Oscar Isaac
Guatemalan-American actor
- 2003
Sunisa Lee
American Olympic gold medalist gymnast
On This Day in History
- 1776
Scottish economist Adam Smith publishes "The Wealth of Nations," a foundational text of modern economics.
Scottish philosopher Adam Smith published "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," arguing that free markets, guided by self-interest and competition, produce broad prosperity more effectively than mercantilist state control. The work became the foundational text of classical economics and continues to shape economic policy debates today.
- 1796
Napoleon Bonaparte marries Josephine de Beauharnais just before departing to command the Army of Italy.
Napoleon Bonaparte married Josephine de Beauharnais, a widow six years his senior with two children, in a small civil ceremony days before departing to lead the Army of Italy. Their passionate but tumultuous relationship, chronicled in Napoleon's surviving love letters, ended in divorce in 1810 due to Josephine's inability to bear him an heir.
- 1841
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the Amistad case that a group of illegally enslaved Africans were free, ordering their release.
The Supreme Court ruled that Africans who had seized control of the slave ship Amistad after being illegally captured were free individuals rather than property, rejecting Spanish claims for their return. Former president John Quincy Adams argued the case before the Court, and the ruling allowed the Africans to eventually return home.
- 1862
The ironclad warships USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fight to a draw at the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between armored warships.
The Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia, rebuilt from the scuttled USS Merrimack, fought the newly arrived Union ironclad USS Monitor to a tactical draw at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The clash rendered wooden warships obsolete overnight and marked the beginning of the modern era of armored naval warfare.
- 1933
President Franklin D. Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to Congress, the first major legislation of the New Deal.
Days after taking office amid a banking crisis, Franklin D. Roosevelt sent Congress the Emergency Banking Act, which passed within hours and gave the government authority to reopen solvent banks under federal supervision. The swift action helped restore public confidence and stemmed the wave of bank runs gripping the nation.
- 1945
Japanese forces stage a coup in French Indochina, ending French colonial administration in the region.
As Allied forces closed in on Japan, Japanese troops staged a swift coup against French colonial administrators in Indochina, imprisoning officials and seizing control after France's Vichy government had allowed nominal French rule to continue. The coup ended eight decades of French colonial authority in the region, if only temporarily.
- 1959
The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.
Mattel introduced the Barbie doll, designed by company co-founder Ruth Handler and modeled partly on a German novelty toy, at the American International Toy Fair in New York. The doll became one of the best-selling toys in history and a lasting, often debated, cultural icon regarding beauty standards and gender roles.
- 1997
Influential rapper The Notorious B.I.G. is killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles.
Rapper Christopher Wallace, known as The Notorious B.I.G., was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles just months after the similar killing of rival Tupac Shakur. His death, which remains officially unsolved, marked a tragic peak in the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry of the 1990s.
- 2011
Space Shuttle Discovery completes its final landing after 39 missions, retiring the most-flown orbiter in NASA's fleet.
Space Shuttle Discovery, the most-flown orbiter in NASA's fleet with 39 missions spanning nearly three decades, touched down for the final time at Kennedy Space Center. Discovery had launched the Hubble Space Telescope and carried numerous astronauts to the International Space Station before its retirement to the Smithsonian.
- 2020
Italy becomes the first country to impose a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.
As COVID-19 infections surged, Italy became the first Western democracy to impose a nationwide lockdown, restricting movement for its entire population of 60 million people. The dramatic measure, initially met with skepticism, foreshadowed similar restrictions soon adopted by countries around the world as the pandemic spread globally.