uranus88Snificant Events. March 13, 1781: British astronomer William Herschel discovers Uranus – the first new planet discovered since ancient times – while searching for faint stars. 1787-1851: Four Uranian moons are discoveredThe seventh planet from the Sun, Uranus orbits at about 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion km), more than 19 times farther than Earth's orbit.