Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/March 13

March 13:

William Herschel

• 1781 - William Herschel (pictured) discovered the planet Uranus, thinking it was a comet.

• 1881 - Tsar Alexander II of Russia was assassinated in a Nihilist plot by Ignacy Hryniewiecki.

• 1921 - Mongolia, under Roman Ungern von Sternberg, proclaimed its independence from China.

• 1954 - Viet Minh forces under Vo Nguyen Giap unleashed a massive artillery barrage on the French military to begin the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the final battle in the First Indochina War.

• 1996 - Dunblane massacre: A spree killer in Dunblane, Scotland shot 16 children and a teacher at a primary school to their death and then committed suicide.

Recent days: March 12 – March 11 – March 10

More anniversaries:

• February 29
• March 1
• March 2