TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012

Today is Tuesday, March 13, the 73rd day of 2012. There are 293 days left in the year.

1519 ― Cortez lands in Mexico

1634 ― Academie Francaise opens

1781 ― Sir William Herschel sees ``comet" (really discovered Uranus)

1921 ― Mongolia (formerly Outer Mongolia) declares independence from China

1933 ― Banks reopen

1935 ― Driving tests introduced in Great Britain

1951 ― Israel demands DM6.2 billion compensation from Germany

1961 ― Pablo Picasso (79) marries his model Jacqueline Rocque (37)

1965 ― Jeff Beck replaces Eric Clapton of the Yardbirds

1979 ― European Monetary System is established, ECU created