This day in history:
- 960 – Zhao Kuangyin declares himself Emperor Taizu of Song, ending the Later Zhou and beginning the Song dynasty.
- 1801 – John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
- 1703 – In Edo (now Tokyo), all but one of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death.
- 2003 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia adopts a new constitution, becoming a loose confederacy between Montenegro and Serbia.
Births:
- 1986 – Mahmudullah Riyad, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1987 – Lucie Šafářová, Czech tennis player
- 1986 – Maximilian Götz, German racing driver
Deaths:
- 2004 – Hilda Hilst, Brazilian poet, novelist, and playwright (b. 1930)
- 1617 – Lodewijk Elzevir, Dutch publisher, co-founded the House of Elzevir (b. 1546)
- 1958 – Henry Kuttner, American author and screenwriter (b. 1915)
Holidays:
- World Cancer Day
- Rosa Parks Day (California and Missouri, United States)
- Earliest day on which Ash Wednesday can fall, while March 10 is the latest; celebrated on the first day of Lent (Western Christianity)
Random Article of the day:
The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, the design was outwardly based on the M14 rifle and is, in appearance, a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, though with its own gas system design.
Since 1973, Ruger has introduced several variants, including variants chambered in both .223 Remington and 5.56×45mm NATO, the Ranch Rifle with a civilian style rear aperture sight and integral scope ring mounts on the receiver, the Mini-14 GB with a bayonet lug and flash suppressor, variants with folding stocks, stainless steel versions of the most popular variants, a target version featuring a heavyweight barrel and barrel tuner, the Mini Thirty, which is chambered for 7.62×39mm, as well as variants chambered in 6.8mm Remington SPC and .300 AAC Blackout. The rifle is currently used by military personnel, law enforcement and corrections personnel, and civilians in the United States and around the world.

