Celebrating a young girl s age-old discovery Oct 13, 2021

Celebrating a young girl s age-old discovery

When 12-year-old Mary Anning uncovered the complete skeleton of a fish-like creature near her home on England"s southern coast in 1811, extinction was a shaky idea in science. Fossils were nothing new—everything dies and leaves remains, after all. But could an entire species really die off? Were more of these 17-foot sea monsters lurking in the depths of the English Channel?

© Christopher Jones/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Oct 13, 2018‘Hello’ from zero degrees longitude
Oct 13, 2019Acadia transformed
Oct 13, 2020Where can you find a red fox?
Oct 13, 2022Alaska moose
Oct 13, 2023Vieste, Apulia, Italy
Oct 13, 2024Royal Alcázar of Seville, Spain
Oct 13, 2025Cedar Mesa, Utah, for Indigenous Peoples Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb 25, 2021Trevi in bloom
Nov 17, 2020Take a hike near Lovers Lane
Jun 8, 2022World Oceans Day
Feb 18, 2021A river runs through it
Nov 30, 2025Christmas market in Leipzig, Germany
Jun 25, 2024Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Apr 12, 2018Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia
Jul 27, 2019Longer days mean warmer sand
Apr 14, 2018It’s National Dolphin Day!
Apr 19, 2020Step into the dark
Aug 1, 2022Hawai i Volcanoes National Park at 106
Sep 2, 2023National Hummingbird Day
Sep 1, 2018Let the Highland games begin
Oct 6, 2018A bite of ancient history
Apr 25, 2019Here comes summer
Apr 9, 2021A timeless view of the night sky
Oct 27, 2018Don’t get lost in there
Jul 1, 2022Tour de France
Sep 10, 2025Hay bales in North Yorkshire, England
May 25, 2019Traveling warblers
Mar 18, 2018Christmas Tree Point Road and Twin Peaks, San Francisco
Oct 15, 2025National Mushroom Day
Apr 17, 2021A river runs through it
Oct 31, 2024Happy Halloween!
Mar 9, 2023Waimea Canyon and Waipoo Falls, Kauai, Hawaii
Jan 21, 2026Squirrel Appreciation Day
Jan 6, 2022Kochelsee in Bavaria
Jul 15, 2025Perseid meteor shower over Nevada
Jul 26, 2018Exploring the wilder side of New York
May 22, 2018Happy birthday to Crater Lake National Park