Herschel Discovers Uranus
March 13, 1781
A German-born organist in Bath, sweeping his homemade reflecting telescope through Gemini, spotted a greenish disc that moved. William Herschel thought it was a comet. Within months the astronomers agreed: it was a planet, the first found since antiquity. He named it for George III; everyone else called it Uranus.
In context
Also in 1781 (4 other events on record)
- Cornwallis Surrenders at Yorktown · North America · War
- Kant's Critique of Pure Reason · Europe · Culture
- Joseph II Abolishes Serfdom in Habsburg Lands · Europe · Politics
- Articles of Confederation Ratified · North America · Politics
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Science
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.
Sources