October 10
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Template:Linked-title is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). There are 82 days remaining.
Events
- 680 - Battle of Karbala: Shia Imam Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Shi'a Muslims as Aashurah.
- 732 - Battle of Tours: Near Poitiers, France, leader of the Franks, Charles Martel and his men, defeat a large army of Moors, stopping the Muslims from spreading into Western Europe. The governor of Cordoba, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, is killed during the battle.
- 1471 - Battle of Brunkeberg in Stockholm: Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with help of farmers and miners, repels an attack by Christian I, King of Denmark.
- 1575 - Battle of Dormans: Roman Catholic forces under Duke Henry of Guise defeated the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others.
- 1582 - Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
- 1631 - A Saxon army takes over Prague.
- 1780 - The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000-30,000 in the Caribbean.
- 1845 - In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 midshipmen students and seven professors.
- 1860 - The original cornerstone of the University of the South was laid in Sewanee, Tennessee.
- 1868 - Carlos Céspedes issued the Grito de Yara from his plantation, La Demajagua, proclaiming Cuba's independence.
- 1877 - Lieutenant-Colonel George Armstrong Custer is given a funeral with full military honors.
- 1889 - Barnard College was founded.
- 1910 - Tau Epsilon Phi Fraternity is established at Columbia University.
- 1911 - Wuchang Uprising which led to the demise of Qing Dynasty, the last Imperial court in China, and the founding of the Republic of China.
- 1911 - The KCR East Rail commenced service between Kowloon and Canton.
- 1913 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson triggered the explosion of the Gamboa Dike thus ending construction on the Panama Canal.
- 1919 - Richard Strauss' opera Die Frau ohne Schatten receives its debut performance in Vienna.
- 1920 - The Carinthian Plebiscite determined that the larger part of Carinthia became part of Austria.
- 1933 - A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by sabotage while en route from Cleveland, Ohio to Chicago, the first such proven case in the history of commercial aviation.
- 1935 - A tornado destroyed the 160 metre tall wooden radio tower in Langenberg. As a result of this catastrophe, few wooden towers were constructed after this date.
- 1938 - The Blue Water Bridge opens, connecting Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario
- 1938 - World War II: The Munich Agreement cedes the Sudetenland to Germany.
- 1944 - Holocaust: 800 Gypsy children are systematically murdered at Auschwitz death camp.
- 1954 - The Communist Party of Honduras is founded.
- 1957 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he was refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant. manga artist Rumiko Takahashi was born.
- 1963 - France cedes control of the Bizerte naval base to Tunisia.
- 1964 - The 1964 Summer Olympics open in Tokyo, Japan
- 1966 - Simon and Garfunkel release the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
- 1967 - The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, enters into force.
- 1970 - Fiji becomes independent.
- 1970 - In Montreal, Quebec, a national crisis hits Canada when Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
- 1971 - Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, the London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
- 1973 - Vice President of the United States Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with federal income tax evasion.
- 1978 - US President Jimmy Carter signs a bill into law that authorizes the minting of the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
- 1979 - The Pac-Man arcade game is released to the Japanese market by Namco.
- 1985 - United States Navy F-14 fighter jets intercept an Egyptian plane carrying the Achille Lauro cruise ship hijackers and force it to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily where they are arrested.
- 1986 - An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale strikes San Salvador, El Salvador, killing an estimated 1,500 people.
- 1987 - Fiji becomes a republic.
- 1995 - South African President Nelson Mandela attends Genadendal.
- 1997 - The NHL's Carolina Hurricanes win their first-ever regular season game by defeating the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
- 1997 - An Austral Airlines DC-9-32 crashes and explodes near Nuevo Berlin, Uruguay, killing 74.
Births
- 1678 - John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Scottish soldier (d. 1743)
- 1684 - Antoine Watteau, French painter (d. 1721)
- 1700 - Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, French sculptor (d. 1759)
- 1731 - Henry Cavendish, British scientist (d. 1810)
- 1780 - John Abercrombie, Scottish physician (d. 1844)
- 1794 - William Whiting Boardman, American politician (d. 1871)
- 1813 - Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (d. 1901)
- 1819 - Heinrich Joseph Dominicus Denzinger, German theologian (d. 1883)
- 1825 - Paul Kruger, President of the Transvaal Republic (d. 1904)
- 1828 - Samuel J. Randall, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1890)
- 1830 - Queen Isabella II of Spain (d. 1904)
- 1834 - Aleksis Kivi, Finnish author (d. 1872)
- 1837 - Robert Gould Shaw, American Army officer (d. 1863)
- 1861 - Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian explorer, Nobel laureate (d. 1930)
- 1863 - Louis Cyr, French Canadian strongman (d. 1912)
- 1863 - Helen Dunbar, American actress (d. 1933)
- 1864 - T. Frank Appleby, United States Congressman from New Jersey (d. 1924)
- 1870 - Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin, Russian writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1953)
- 1885 - Walter Anderson, German folklorist (d. 1962)
- 1895 - Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Deva Gosvami Maharaja, Indian guru (d. 1988)
- 1895 - Wolfram von Richthofen, German field marshal d. 1945)
- 1898 - Lilly Daché, French-born milliner (d. 1989)
- 1900 - Helen Hayes, American actress (d. 1993)
- 1901 - Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor (d. 1966)
- 1902 - Vinnie Malone, Italian-American gangster (d. 1979)
- 1903 - Vernon Duke, American composer and songwriter (d. 1969)
- 1903 - Prince Charles of Belgium, Prince Regent of Belgium (d. 1983)
- 1906 - Paul Creston, American composer (d. 1985)
- 1906 - R.K. Narayan, Indian novelist (d. 2001)
- 1908 - Johnny Green, American songwriter, arranger and conductor (d. 1989)
- 1908 - Mercè Rodoreda, Catalan novelist (d. 1983)
- 1913 - Claude Simon, French writer, Nobel laureate (d. 2005)
- 1914 - Tommy Fine, American baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1914 - Ivory Joe Hunter, American R&B singer (d. 1974)
- 1917 - Thelonious Monk, American jazz pianist (d. 1982)
- 1923 - Nicholas Parsons, English actor
- 1924 - James Clavell, Australian author (d. 1994)
- 1924 - Ed Wood, American filmmaker (d. 1978)
- 1924 - Ludmilla Tchérina, French ballet dancer and actress (d. 2004)
- 1926 - Richard Jaeckel, American actor (d. 1997)
- 1927 - Dana Elcar, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1930 - Mustafa Zaidi, Pakistani poet (d. 1970)
- 1930 - Yves Chauvin, French chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1930 - Harold Pinter, English playwright, Nobel laureate
- 1932 - Harry Smith, English footballer
- 1933 - Jay Sebring, American hair stylist and Manson murder victim (d. 1969)
- 1938 - Moriyama Daido, Japanese photographer
- 1941 - Peter Coyote, American actor
- 1942 - Radu Vasile, Romanian Prime Minister, 17 April 1998- 13 December 1999
- 1946 - Charles Dance, English actor
- 1946 - Naoto Kan, Japanese politician
- 1946 - John Prine, American singer
- 1946 - Chris Tarrant, English TV presenter
- 1946 - Ben Vereen, American actor
- 1946 - Peter Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1947 - Martin Ruane, English professional wrestler (d. 1998)
- 1948 - Séverine, French singer
- 1948 - Ed Volker, American musician
- 1951 - Ratu Epeli Ganilau, Fijian statesman
- 1953 - Midge Ure, Scottish musician
- 1953 - Gus Williams, American basketball player
- 1955 - David Lee Roth, American singer
- 1956 - Amanda Burton, Northern Irish actress
- 1957 - Rumiko Takahashi, Japanese artist
- 1958 - Tanya Tucker, American singer
- 1959 - Kirsty MacColl, English singer (d. 2000)
- 1959 - Bradley Whitford, American actor
- 1960 - Eric Martin, American singer (Mr. Big)
- 1961 - Jodi Benson, American voice actress
- 1961 - Henrik Jørgensen, Danish marathon runner
- 1961 - Julia Sweeney, American actress and comedian
- 1963 - Anita Mui, Hong Kong singer (d. 2003)
- 1963 - Daniel Pearl, American journalist (d. 2002)
- 1963 - Rebecca Pidgeon, American actress
- 1963 - Jolanda de Rover, Dutch swimmer
- 1963 - Vegard Ulvang, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1965 - Chris Penn, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1965 - Clive Jones, British Engineer
- 1965 - Toshi, Japanese singer (X Japan)
- 1966 - Tony Adams, English footballer
- 1968 - Bart Brentjens, Dutch mountain biker
- 1969 - Brett Favre, American football player
- 1970 - Dean Kiely, Irish footballer
- 1970 - Bai Ling, Chinese American actress
- 1970 - Corinna May, German singer
- 1970 - Sir Matthew Pinsent, English rower
- 1970 - Maja Tatic, Serbian singer
- 1971 - Ian Bennett, English footballer
- 1971 - Evgeny Kissin, Russian pianist
- 1972 - Alexei Zhitnik, Russian ice hockey player
- 1973 - Mario López, American actor
- 1973 - Semmy Schilt, Dutch kickboxer
- 1974 - Dale Earnhardt Jr., American race car driver
- 1974 - Julio Ricardo Cruz, Argentinian footballer
- 1974 - Chris Pronger, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 - Bob Burnquist, Brazilian-born skateboarder
- 1976 - Pat Burrell, American baseball player
- 1978 - Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, American actress
- 1978 - Mya Harrison, American singer
- 1979 - Nicolás Massú, Chilean tennis player
- 1979 - Ahn Chil Hyun (Kangta), lead singer of the former South Korean group H.O.T.
- 1980 - Tim Maurer, American singer (Suburban Legends)
- 1980 - Elvis Hammond, Ghanaian footballer
- 1982 - Amon Buchanan, Australian rules footballer
- 1983 - Vusimuzi Sibanda, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1984 - Stephanie Cheng, Hong Kong singer
- 1984 - Chiaki Kuriyama, Japanese actress
- 1984 - Paul Posluszny, American football player
- 1985 - Layke Anderson, British actor
- 1985 - Dominique Cornu, Belgian professional cyclist
- 1986 - Andrew McCutchen, American baseball player
Deaths
- 19 - Germanicus, Roman general (b. 15 BC)
- 680 - Husayn ibn Ali, Shi'a immam, Mahomet grandson (b. 626)
- 732 - Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Moorish Governor of Andalusia
- 833 - al-Ma'mun, Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (b. 786)
- 1359 - King Hugh IV of Cyprus (b. 1295)
- 1459 - Gianfrancesco Poggio Bracciolini, Italian humanist and classicist (b. 1380)
- 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss reformer (killed in battle) (b. 1484)
- 1659 - Abel Tasman, Dutch explorer (b. 1603)
- 1674 - Thomas Traherne, English poet
- 1691 - Isaac de Benserade, French poet (b. 1613)
- 1708 - David Gregory, Scottish astronomer (b. 1659)
- 1714 - Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (b. 1646)
- 1720 - Antoine Coysevox, French sculptor (b. 1640)
- 1723 - William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1665)
- 1725 - Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil, Governor-General of New France (b. 1643)
- 1747 - John Potter, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1674)
- 1759 - Granville Elliott, British military officer (b. 1713)
- 1765 - Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1688)
- 1795 - Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, Italian theologian and historian (b. 1714)
- 1806 - Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, German prince (b. 1772)
- 1827 - Ugo Foscolo, Italian writer (b. 1778)
- 1837 - Charles Fourier, French philosopher (b. 1772)
- 1872 - William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State (b. 1801)
- 1875 - Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Russian novelist, poet and dramatist (b. 1817)
- 1876 - Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville, French geologist (b. 1814)
- 1893 - Lip Pike, American baseball player (b. 1845)
- 1901 - Lorenzo Snow, fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1814)
- 1913 - Katsura Taro, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1848)
- 1914 - King Carol I of Romania (b. 1839)
- 1927 - Gustave Whitehead, German-born inventor (b. 1874)
- 1930 - Adolf Engler, German botanist (b. 1844)
- 1939 - Eleanor Rigby, a real person whose name may have suggested the title to The Beatles song (b. 1895)
- 1940 - Berton Churchill, Canadian actor (b. 1876)
- 1963 - Roy Cazaly, Australian rules footballer (b. 1893)
- 1964 - Eddie Cantor, American singer and vaudeville performer (b. 1892)
- 1964 - Heinrich Neuhaus, Soviet pianist (b. 1888)
- 1970 - Édouard Daladier, French politician (b. 1884)
- 1971 - John Cawte Beaglehole, New Zealand historian (b. 1901)
- 1976 - Silvana Armenulic, Yugoslavian folk singer (b. 1939)
- 1978 - Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete (b. 1910)
- 1979 - Christopher Evans, British psychologist and computer scientist (b. 1931)
- 1979 - Paul Paray, French conductor (b. 1886)
- 1983 - Ralph Richardson, English actor (b. 1902)
- 1985 - Yul Brynner, Russian-born actor (b. 1920)
- 1985 - Orson Welles, American director and actor (b. 1915)
- 1986 - Gleb Wataghin, Ukrainian-Italian physicist (b. 1899)
- 1998 - Clark Clifford, United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1906)
- 2000 - Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (b. 1916)
- 2002 - Teresa Graves, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
- 2003 - Eugene Istomin, American pianist (b. 1925)
- 2004 - Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (b. 1963)
- 2004 - Christopher Reeve, American actor (b. 1952)
- 2004 - Arthur H. Robinson, American cartographer (b. 1915)
- 2004 - Maurice Shadbolt, New Zealand writer (b. 1932)
- 2005 - Wayne Booth, American literary critic (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Milton Obote, President of Uganda (b. 1925)
- 2006 - Michael John Rogers, English ornithologist (b. 1932)
- 2006 - Ian Scott, Canadian politician (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances
- Occasionally (once every five or six years, when it falls on a Monday), October 10th is when Columbus Day and Canadian Thanksgiving are observed. Far less frequently, October 10th is coincidental with Yom Kippur.
- RC Saints - Saint Thomas of Villanueva? ; Saint Paulinus of York (in England); Viktor of Xanten
- Republic of China (Taiwan) - National Day (Double Tenth Day 雙十國慶)
- Fiji - Fiji Day (National Day)
- Japan - National Health-Sports Day
- World Mental Health Day
- Old Michelmas - Celtic holiday
- French Republican Calendar - Tournesol (Sunflower) Day, nineteenth day in the Month of Vendémiaire
- North Korea - Party Foundation Party (celebration the founding of the Workers Party of Korea)
- Finland - The Day of Finnish literature