Today:
1. 1781: The astronomer Sir William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus.
2. 1852: Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was published in book form for the first time after being serialized in an abolitionist newspaper.
3. 1881: Tsar Alexander II of Russia was assassinated by members of the terrorist organization Narodnaya Volya.
4. 1925: Scopes Trial: A law in Tennessee prohibited the teaching of evolution in public schools, leading to the arrest of high school teacher John T. Scopes for teaching evolution, resulting in a famous trial.
5. 1930: The news of the discovery of Pluto by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh was announced by the Lowell Observatory.
6. 1996: The Dunblane school massacre occurred in Scotland, where 16 children and one teacher were killed by a gunman who then committed suicide.
7. 2003: The journal Nature reported that 350,000-year-old footprints of an upright-walking human had been found in Italy.
8. 2013: Pope Francis was elected as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope from the Americas, the Southern Hemisphere, and the first Jesuit pope.
9. 2015: A solar eclipse, known as the total solar eclipse of March 20, was observed in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Norway.
10. 2019: A mass shooting occurred at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, resulting in the deaths of 51 people and the injury of 40 others.