March 13
March 13 is the 73rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 293 days remain until the year's end. It falls in winter (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Pisces.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On March 13 the Sun's declination is approximately -3.2°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a March 13.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
No widely-observed holidays catalogued for this day in our base set. See the external almanacs above for region-specific observances.
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
1781 — German-British astronomer William Herschel discovered Uranus, the first planet found in modern times. ↗(245 years ago)more
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or volatiles. The planet's atmosphere has a complex layered cloud structure and has the lowest minimum temperature of all the Solar System's planets.
1881 — Tsar Alexander II of Russia was assassinated by members of the People's Will. ↗(145 years ago)more
Alexander II was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881. He is also known as Alexander the Liberator because of his historic Edict of Emancipation, which officially abolished Russian serfdom in 1861.
1930 — The discovery of Pluto was announced by the Lowell Observatory. ↗(96 years ago)more
Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume by a small margin, but is less massive than Eris.
1969 — Apollo 9 returned to Earth after testing the lunar module in Earth orbit. ↗(57 years ago)more
Apollo 9 was the third human spaceflight in NASA's Apollo program, which successfully tested systems and procedures critical to landing on the Moon. The three-man crew consisted of Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart.
2013 — Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected as Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope. ↗(13 years ago)more
Pope Francis was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 13 March 2013 until his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American, and the first pope born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.
Notable births
1733 — Joseph Priestley, English chemist who discovered oxygen. ↗(293 years ago)more
Joseph Priestley was an English chemist, Unitarian, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator and classical liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted experiments in several areas of science.
1939 — Neil Sedaka, American singer. ↗(87 years ago)more
Neil Sedaka was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Beginning his music career in 1957, he sold millions of records worldwide and wrote or co-wrote over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody.
Notable deaths
1996 — Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish filmmaker. ↗(30 years ago)more
Krzysztof Kieślowski was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for Dekalog (1989), The Double Life of Veronique (1991), and the Three Colours trilogy (1993–1994).
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (73) | 73 · prime |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (293) | 293 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 13032026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | -3.22° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 84 days |