MONDAY, March 9, 2026

141-B.C. Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne of the Han Dynasty in China and rules for 54 years 1517- A copy of Martin Luther's 95 theses, the publication of which began the Protestant Reformation in Europe 1522-Martin Luther begins preaching his "Invocavit Sermons" in the German city of Wittenberg, reminding citizens to trust God's word rather than violence, helping bring to a close the revolutionary stage of the Reformation 1776-Adam Smith publishes the influential economics book "The Wealth of Nations" 1918-Russian Bolshevik Party is renamed the All-Russian Communist Party 1933-U.S. Congress is called into a special session by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, beginning its "100 days" during which it passes 77 laws 1961-Soviet flight Sputnik 9 carries and returns from orbit a dog named Chernushka (Blackie), frogs, and a guinea pig