π James Clerk Maxwell, who explained light (1831)
Where: Edinburgh, Scotland
Nearby on the globe: Edinburgh Castle β π Open the 3D globe
π On This Day: June 13
June 13, 1831: James Clerk Maxwell, who explained light. Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell was born on this day in 1831 in Edinburgh. Using equations, he showed that electricity and magnetism are linked, and that light itself is a wave of electricity and magnetism. His ideas made radio and mobile phones possible.
β¨ More events on this day
- 1956 π Real Madrid beat Reims 4β3 in Paris to win the very first European Cup, the competition known today as the UEFA Champions League.
- 1983 π The Pioneer 10 spacecraft crossed the orbit of Neptune, becoming the first human-made object to travel beyond all the major planets.
- 2010 π A capsule from Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft landed in Australia carrying dust from the asteroid Itokawa, the first asteroid sample ever brought to Earth.
π§ Question of the day
According to Maxwell, light is a wave of what?
- Electricity and magnetism
- Sound
- Water
Show the answer
Answer: Electricity and magnetism
π Landmarks that opened on June 13
Questions
What happened on June 13?
June 13, 1831: James Clerk Maxwell, who explained light. It happened in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Which landmarks opened on June 13?
St. Johns Bridge (opened 1931).
In the game, the "Today on Earth" panel shows this story on its day, with a question to answer and a place to fly to.