2013 Pope Francis succeeds Pope Benedict XVI
Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina became the 266th leader of the Catholic Church, which has 1.2 billion members around the world.

1997 A series of unidentified lights appeared over Phoenix, Arizona
The Phoenix Lights caused heated debate in the UFO community. It emerged later that some of the lights were caused by illumination flares dropped from a U.S. Air Force plane.

1943 German troops liquidate the Jewish ghetto in Kraków
Thousands of men, women, and children were murdered by the Nazis or deported to extermination camps. The horrific event is portrayed in the film, Schindler’s List.

1845 Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto is premiered
The German composer’s opus 64 is one of the most frequently performed violin concertos in history.

1781 Uranus is discovered
German-born British astronomer William Herschel is credited with the planet’s discovery. It is the third largest planet by radius, in the solar system.