13 March in history

6 events that happened on 13 March, from 1519 to 1996.

  1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    1519 CE 507 years ago

    Hernán Cortés lands on the Mexican coast

    Cortés's expedition of about 500 men reached the Tabasco coast. Within two and a half years, with Indigenous allies, he overthrew the Aztec Empire and captured Tenochtitlan.

    Aztec EmpireHernán CortésTenochtitlanAztec Empire

  2. 1639 CE 387 years ago

    New College in Massachusetts is named after John Harvard

    The college at Cambridge took the name of John Harvard, a young minister who left it his library and half his estate. Founded in 1636, Harvard is the oldest university in the United States.

    United States

  3. 1781 CE 245 years ago

    William Herschel discovers Uranus

    From his garden in Bath, Herschel spotted an object he first took for a comet. It proved to be a new planet, the first discovered with a telescope, doubling the known size of the solar system.

  4. 1881 CE 145 years ago

    Tsar Alexander II assassinated in St Petersburg

    Members of the revolutionary group People's Will threw bombs at the Tsar's carriage. Alexander, who had freed the serfs, died within hours, and his son's reign brought harsh reaction.

  5. 1940 CE 86 years ago

    Winter War ends as the Moscow Peace Treaty takes effect

    Finland ceded about a tenth of its territory, including Karelia, to the Soviet Union. Its stubborn defence had cost the Red Army heavily and preserved Finnish independence.

    Soviet UnionFinlandKarelia

  6. 1996 CE 30 years ago

    Gunman kills 16 children and their teacher at Dunblane

    Thomas Hamilton opened fire in the gym of Dunblane Primary School in Scotland before killing himself. Public campaigning led to a near-total ban on private handgun ownership in Britain.

    Scotland

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