UFOs - Phoenix Lights

March 13, 1997

Thousands of people witness lights over Arizona and Nevada in a space of about 300 miles. Many believe these were UFOs, while others claim they were flares dropped by the USAF.

U.S. Army Kills 6,000 Sheep with Nerve Gas

March 13, 1968

The U.S. Army accidentally kills 6,000 sheep with nerve gas, but denied it for 30 years - until finally admitting they had known all along that they had caused it.
An army aircraft was flying a nerve gas test mission over the Dugway Proving Ground with chemical dispensers containing the nerve agent VX when a malfunction caused one of the dispensers to fail to completely empty. As the aircraft gained altitude after its bombing run, the remaining VX gas leaked out behind the aircraft over ranches outside of Salt Lake City, eventually settling over a flock of sheep, killing 6,000 of them. People working in the area developed nervous-system illnesses that were indicative of low levels of VX exposure.
The Army initially denied responsibility for the incident. However, a 1970 study conducted by the Army showed incontrovertible evidence that the gas test killed the sheep, stating that VX was found in both snow and grass samples from the area. This report was not released to the public until 28 years later in 1998.
The international outcry over the incident led U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1969 to ban all open-air chemical weapons testing.

Hitler Assassination Attempt

March 13, 1943

As Adolf Hitler was boarding a plane, Henning von Tresckow asked a member of Hitler's staff to deliver a package containing brandy to a friend in Berlin. The package actually contained a bomb with a 30-minute fuse. Tresckow planned on using Hitler's death for a coup against the Nazi high command. However, due to a defective fuse, the bomb did not go off and Hitler landed safely in Berlin.
Tresckow continued to plan assassination attempts, but was unable to succeed. After another failed attempt in 1944, Tresckow committed suicide.

Civil War - Confederacy Authorizes the Use of Slaves in Combat

March 13, 1865

The Confederate Congress authorizes the use of slaves in combat roles for the army. The Confederacy was in serious need of bodies to defend the itself against the Union. Up to this time slaves had worked behind the lines for the Confederacy as cooks, servants, and laborers, but were officially banned from fighting in combat roles, even though a few did. Soldiers who owned slaves were allowed to bring slaves with them to work as servants.
Confederate general Robert E. Lee requested that slaves who fought be freed, but the law specified they would remain slaves and were not guaranteed to receive their freedom upon conclusion of the war.
Feeling that the use of slaves would necessitate their eventual freedom, some politicians argued against the law protesting, "What did we go to war for, if not to protect our property?"
But, with the end of the war occurring only a few weeks later, there is no record of any black units being accepted into the Confederate Army as a result of this law.

Rights of Man

March 13, 1791

The first part of Thomas Paine's book Rights of Man arguing that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people and used these points to defend the French Revolution. It was in response to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). It sold 1,000,000 copies. The second part was printed in 1792.

Uranus

March 13, 1781

The planet Uranus is discovered by Sir William Herschel. It was the first planet discovered by telescope. At first he thought it was a comet, but observations from other astronomers proved it was a planet.
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and is classified as an ice giant. It is the only planet whose name is derived from Greek mythology (Greek god of the sky Ouranos).

Sean Kenney

Born March 13, 1944

American actor. Best known for playing the physically disabled Christopher Pike, the first captain of the USS Enterprise, in the original Star Trek TV series.
Jeffrey Hunter played Christopher Pike in the unaired pilot episode, The Cage, for the original Star Trek TV series. When the pilot was rejected, Hunter quit the show and was replaced by William Shatner as James T. Kirk. A later episode, The Menagerie, used footage from the pilot, but used actor Sean Kenney as the older, disabled Christopher Pike.
Kenney also played Lieutenant DePaul in the Star Trek episodes Arena and A Taste of Armageddon.

Edward "Butch" O'Hare

Born March 13, 1914 d. 1943

U.S. naval aviator. Chicago's O'Hare airport is named after him. In 1942 he single-handedly attacked nine Japanese bombers, shooting down five, saving the USS Lexington from certain destruction. These actions made him the U.S. Navy's first flying ace, and the Navy's first WWII recipient of the Medal of Honor. He died in action the following year.
His father, "Easy Eddie" O'Hare, was Al Capone's lawyer, but turned against Capone and helped convict Capone for income tax evasion. Afterwards, he was ambushed and shot to death in his car (1939). Many believe Capone ordered the hit.

Percival Lowell

Born March 13, 1855 d. 1916

American astronomer. He predicted the existence of the dwarf planet Pluto, which was discovered in 1930 - 14 years after his death.
He also popularized the idea that intelligent life had constructed canals on Mars - This was later proved to be false.