1. In 1638, the first recorded ostrich arrived in America on March 9th. It was brought over by a ship from Africa and was exhibited in Boston.

2. On March 9, 1776, the Turtle, the first submarine used in combat, was invented by David Bushnell, a Yale graduate. It was piloted by Sergeant Ezra Lee and used against a British ship, the HMS Eagle, in New York Harbor.

3. Connecticut became the fifth state to ratify the United States Constitution on March 9, 1788, thereby helping to establish the new federal government.

4. On this day in 1875, the first indoor ice hockey game was played in New Haven, Connecticut. The Yale University hockey team hosted their archrivals, the Harvard University hockey team, at a rink built in the Yale gymnasium.

5. The Connecticut River Flood of 1936 was the worst flood in Connecticut history, inundating the state with floodwaters on March 9. The flood caused extensive damage and claimed many lives across the state.