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

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
Oct 13, 2026Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 11, 202625th anniversary of September 11, 2001
Mar 8, 2020Joan charges Riverside Park
Feb 19, 2020Flocking together in the Antarctic
Sep 6, 2022National Mushroom Month
Jul 13, 2024International Rock Day
Jul 8, 2022Preveli Gorge
Oct 19, 2018Portland celebrates its bounty
Aug 24, 2018A new park with a new mission
Aug 23, 2022Menton, France
Aug 12, 2023World Elephant Day
Mar 19, 2025A black heron canopy feeding in Botswana
Sep 19, 2026Oktoberfest, Germany
Aug 30, 2024International Whale Shark Day
Jun 27, 2019The roots of invention
Jul 25, 2025Colorful houses of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Jan 22, 2018Bird’s-eye view of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
Mar 24, 2021A whale of a picture
Nov 17, 2024Red deer stag in Glen Affric, Scottish Highlands
Jan 6, 2019A winter wonderland in Northeast China
Jun 6, 2022Indigo bunting
Dec 5, 2020A cozy winter village
Feb 25, 2022 Legacy mural in Philadelphia
Mar 28, 2021Cherry blossoms spring to life
Sep 1, 2025Labor Day parade in 1915 Chicago
Oct 25, 2020A most sincere pumpkin patch
Mar 8, 2021A notorious advocate for women
Oct 15, 2022International Archaeology Day
Feb 27, 2022International Polar Bear Day
Jul 9, 2024Talampaya National Park, Argentina
Jul 4, 2023Happy Independence Day!