This Day In History : August 13

1989 United States

US space shuttle STS-28 lands

Space Shuttle STS-28, designated for the mission Discovery-8, landed on August 13, 1989, at Edwards Air Force Base in California, United States. STS-28 was the 30th NASA Space Shuttle mission, the fourth shuttle mission dedicated to United States Department of Defense (DoD) purposes, and the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Columbia.

Also on This Day in History August 13

Discover what happened on August 13 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, August 13

1888 John Logie Baird

Scottish engineer who invented the television
1902 Felix Wankel

German engineer who invented the first rotary internal combustion engine
1844 Johann Friedrich Miescher

Swiss biochemist and biologist who studied cell metabolism and discovered nucleic acids
1822 Heinrich Ludwig d' Arrest

German astronomer who hastened the discovery of Neptune
1625 Erasmus Bartholin

Danish physician, mathematician and physicist (Latin Bartholinus) who discovered the optical phenomenon of double refraction

Deaths on This Day, August 13

1910 Florence Nightingale

Italian-English nurse who was the founder of modern nursing
1946 H.G. Wells

English novelist who is called the father of Science Fiction
1971 W.O. Bentley

English engineer and motoring pioneer who founded Bentley Motors Limited
1907 Hermann Carl Vogel

German astronomer who discovered spectroscopic binaries
1881 Francesco Selmi

Italian chemist and toxicologist who is considered one of the founders of colloid chemistry

1918

Women are able to enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time

In 1918, women were able to enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time, marking a significant milestone in military service and gender equality efforts.

1960

The Central African Republic declares their independence from France

The Central African Republic declared its independence from France on August 13, 1960. This marked a significant moment in the country's history as it gained sovereignty after being a French territory for many years.

1642

Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovers Mars' southern polar cap

Christiaan Huygens, the Dutch astronomer, indeed made significant contributions to the study of Mars. His observations of the Martian polar caps were part of his broader astronomical work, contributing to our understanding of the Red Planet's features.

1996

Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 3.0

Microsoft released Internet Explorer 3.0 on August 13, 1996. This version of the web browser introduced several key features that enhanced its usability and performance, including support for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Java applets, and a faster rendering engine. Internet Explorer 3.0 was a significant upgrade over its predecessor, solidifying Microsoft's position in the browser wars of the 1990s and contributing to the rapid growth of the World Wide Web.