March 13 Birthday
On March 13, 1781, William Herschel, a German-born musician living in Bath, England, observed a new object in the constellation Gemini. He initially believed it was a comet, but observations over subsequent weeks showed it was in a nearly circular orbit beyond Saturn. It was the first planet discovered since antiquity. Herschel wanted to name it Georgium Sidus — George's Star — after King George III, who rewarded him with a royal pension. Astronomers elsewhere rejected the name; the convention of naming planets after classical deities prevailed, and the planet was named Uranus. Herschel's sister Caroline, who assisted him, was the first woman to be paid for scientific work in England. She discovered eight comets. Tsar Alexander II was assassinated on this day in 1881 by members of the People's Will, a revolutionary organization. Alexander had been a reformer — he emancipated the serfs in 1861, reformed the courts, and abolished corporal punishment. But the pace of reform was too slow for the revolutionaries, who wanted a constitution and a constituent assembly. The assassination was bungled — the first bomb damaged the tsar's carriage but did not kill him. Alexander emerged to inspect the damage, and a second bomber threw a bomb at his feet. He died of his wounds. His son Alexander III reversed the reforms, increased censorship, expanded the secret police, and persecuted minorities. The assassination of a reformer by radicals who wanted faster reform produced a reaction that made reform impossible — a pattern that would repeat throughout Russian history. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu began on March 13, 1954, when Viet Minh forces under General Võ Nguyên Giáp attacked the French garrison in a valley in northwestern Vietnam. The French had deliberately positioned the garrison in a valley, believing that artillery could not be brought through the surrounding mountains. Giáp's men disassembled heavy artillery and dragged it up the mountains by hand, then reassembled it overlooking the French positions. The siege lasted fifty-six days. The French surrendered on May 7. 2,200 French soldiers died and 5,000 were wounded; Viet Minh casualties exceeded 20,000. The battle ended French colonial rule in Indochina and led to the partition of Vietnam at the 17th parallel, setting the stage for American involvement. Joseph Priestley, born this day in 1733, discovered oxygen in 1774. He called it "dephlogisticated air," as the phlogiston theory was still current. He was a clergyman, a philosopher, and a political radical who supported both the American and French Revolutions. A mob burned his house and laboratory in Birmingham in 1791, and he emigrated to Pennsylvania. People born on March 13 fall under the zodiac sign of Pisces. The birthstone is Aquamarine and the birth flower is Daffodil. Historical events on March 13 include 1781: William Herschel discovers the planet Uranus, 1881: Tsar Alexander II of Russia assassinated by revolutionaries, 1954: Battle of Dien Bien Phu begins, leading to end of French colonial rule in Indochina. Famous people born on March 13 include Joseph Priestley (1733), Neil Sedaka (1939), Dana Delany (1956).