On This Day - What Happened On March 13 | Britannica

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1781 The planet Uranus discovered English astronomer William Herschel observed this day in 1781 the seventh planet from the Sun, Uranus—first described by him as “a curious either nebulous star or perhaps a comet” and named for the father of the god Saturn. STScI/NASA/JPL

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Susan B. Anthony American suffragist bornFebruary 15, 1820Adams, Massachusetts(Birthday in 7 days)diedMarch 13, 1906 (aged 86)Rochester, New YorkPrints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (reproduction no. LC-USZ62-27885) 1941 Mahmoud Darwish Palestinian poet 1911 L. Ron Hubbard American writer 1855 Percival Lowell American astronomer 1764 Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey prime minister of United Kingdom 1741 Joseph II Holy Roman emperor See All Biographies On This Day

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2021 American boxer Marvin Hagler, a durable middleweight champion who was one of the greatest boxers of the 1970s and '80s, died at age 66. Take our boxing quizDave Cannon/Allsport 2020 Breonna Taylor, an African American EMT, was killed by Louisville, Kentucky, police officers as they burst into her apartment during a botched raid; her death led to massive protests by Black Lives Matter activists and others who called for police reform. What inspired the Black Lives Matter movement?© Maddie Meyer/Getty Images 2013 Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected pope of the Roman Catholic Church; taking the name Francis I, he succeeded Benedict XVI, who had resigned. Test your knowledge of popes and antipopes© Abaca Press/Alamy 2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., announced that it was ceasing publication of its print version, the oldest and longest continually published English-language general print encyclopaedia.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1996 A gunman invaded a primary school in the small Scottish town of Dunblane and shot to death 16 young children and their teacher before turning a gun on himself; the school shooting resulted in various changes to British gun laws. 1986 Soviet cosmonauts Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyev were sent aloft aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to rendezvous with the space station Mir and become its first occupants. Take our famous astronauts and cosmonauts quizNASA 1938 The Anschluss, political union between Austria and Germany, was announced. Test your knowledge of German history© Marschalek/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org 1925 The Tennessee legislature passed a bill that banned the teaching of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in the state's public schools; in a highly publicized trial, high-school teacher John T. Scopes was later convicted of breaking the law. Read more about this and nine other “trials of the century.”© Topical Press Agency—Hulton Archive/Getty Images 1911 L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology, was born in Tilden, Nebraska. Test your knowledge of famous AmericansAP Images 1886 American aerial photographer Albert W. Stevens, who took the first photograph of Earth's curvature (1930) and the first photographs of the Moon's shadow on Earth during a solar eclipse (1932), was born in Belfast, Maine. Test your knowledge of planet Earth 1884 Al-Mahdī began the Siege of Khartoum, capital of the Sudan, which was defended by an Egyptian garrison under the British general Charles George (“Chinese”) Gordon. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about AfricaCharles Beery/Shostal Associates 1881 Tsar Alexander II of Russia was assassinated in St. Petersburg. Discover how much you know about Russian history© Photos.com/Thinkstock 1870 Artist William J. Glackens, whose paintings of street scenes and urban life rejected the dictates of 19th-century academic art and introduced a matter-of-fact realism into American art, was born. Take our artists quizPhotograph by Katie Chao. Brooklyn Museum, New York, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 41.1085 1809 Shortly after Sweden surrendered Finland to Russia, Swedish King Gustav IV Adolf was overthrown. How much do you know about Swedish history?Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (NMGrh 3334), collection.nationalmuseum.se. 1741 The Holy Roman emperor Joseph II, who at first was coruler (1765–80) with his mother, Maria Theresa, and then acted as sole ruler (1780–90) of the Austrian Habsburg dominions, was born. Test your knowledge of kings and emperors© Leemage—Corbis/Getty Images 1642 The marquis de Cinq-Mars, a favourite of King Louis XIII of France, signed a secret treaty with King Philip IV of Spain in a plot to overthrow Cardinal Richelieu. Sort fact from fiction in our French history quizCourtesy of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.