diff --git a/Misc/ACKS b/Misc/ACKS
index 480e35d..0347f67 100644
--- a/Misc/ACKS
+++ b/Misc/ACKS
@@ -802,6 +802,7 @@
 Jason Trowbridge
 Anthony Tuininga
 Stephen Turner
+Theodore Turocy
 Bill Tutt
 Doobee R. Tzeck
 Eren Türkay
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index a1f07f7..1780e5d 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -35,6 +35,10 @@
 Library
 -------
 
+- Issue #9444: Argparse now uses the first element of prefix_chars as
+  the option character for the added 'h/help' option if prefix_chars
+  does not contain a '-', instead of raising an error.
+
 - Issue #7372: Fix pstats regression when stripping paths from profile
   data generated with the profile module.