On this day

13 February in history.

5 moments from 1954 to 2008: discovery, creativity and courage, each with a source to read more.

5 moments

Kevin Rudd on screen in Federation Square , Melbourne , apologising to the Stolen Generations

2008

A nation says sorry. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology in Parliament to Indigenous Australians, especially the Stolen Generations, children taken from their families.

Wikipedia: Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples

Photo: Flickr user 'virginiam' / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

More from 13 February

  1. American college basketball player Frank Selvy of Furman University during the 1953-54 season

    1954

    A hundred points in one game

    College basketball player Frank Selvy scored 100 points in a single game, something no other top-level college player has ever done.

    Wikipedia: Frank Selvy

    Photo: Unknown Furman Univrsity / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  2. Rodney Powell (standing) talks with other sit-in participants at Walgreens drugstore in Nashville, Tennessee

    1960

    Students sit in in Nashville

    Black college students began peaceful sit-ins at lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee. Within months, many counters in the city were open to everyone.

    Wikipedia: Nashville sit-ins

    Photo: James Garvin "Jimmy" Ellis (1921–1982), staff photographer for The Tennessean / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  3. Leonardo da Vinci

    1967

    Lost notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

    Two of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks turned up in Madrid at the National Library of Spain. They had been filed in the wrong place for years.

    Wikipedia: Codex Madrid (Leonardo)Wikipedia: Leonardo da Vinci

    Photo: Attributed to Francesco Melzi / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  4. A light curve for V886 Centauri, adapted from Kanaan, et al., The Astrophysical Journal, vol 390 pp L89-L91, 1992 May 10

    2004

    A star made of diamond

    Astronomers announced that the core of a cooling white dwarf star, BPM 37093, had probably turned into a giant crystal of carbon, much like a diamond.

    Wikipedia: BPM 37093Wikipedia: White dwarf

    Photo: PopePompus / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Moments chosen for discovery, creativity and courage. Each one links to a source where you can read more; photos are credited to their owners.