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This day in history

This day in history: 10 May

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Born on this day · Died on this day123 · 62

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Key facts

241 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 10 May.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2024: Start of the May 2024 solar storms, the most powerful set of geomagnetic storms since the 2003 Halloween solar storms.

Holidays and observances

Children's Day (Maldives)

Christian feast day: Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus

Christian feast day: Blessed Beatrice d'Este

Christian feast day: Blessed Ivan Merz

Christian feast day: Calepodius

Christian feast day: Catald

Christian feast day: Comgall

Christian feast day: Damien of Molokai

Christian feast day: Job (Roman Catholic Church)

Christian feast day: John of Ávila

Christian feast day: May 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Solange of Bourges

Events

2024Start of the May 2024 solar storms, the most powerful set of geomagnetic storms since the 2003 Halloween solar storms.

2022Queen Elizabeth II misses the State Opening of Parliament for the first time in 59 years. It was the first time that a new session of Parliament was opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge acting as Counsellors of State.

2017Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last footholds of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Al-Tabqah, bringing the Battle of Tabqa to an end.

2013One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

2012The Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria, killing 55 people.

2005A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 20 m from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.

2002FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.

1997The 7.3 Mw Qayen earthquake strikes Iran's Khorasan Province killing 1,567 people.

1996A blizzard strikes Mount Everest, killing eight climbers by the next day.

1994Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.

1993In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills over 200 workers.

1975Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder.

1969Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.

1967The Northrop M2-F2 crashes on landing, becoming the inspiration for the novel Cyborg and TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.

1962Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.

1961Air France Flight 406 is destroyed by a bomb over the Sahara, killing 78.

1946First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.

1942World War II: The Thai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign.

1941World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.

1941World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.

1940World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.

1940World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. On the same day, Germany invades France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Meanwhile, the United King

1933Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.

1924J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and remains so until his death in 1972.

1922The United States annexes the Kingman Reef.

1916Sailing in the lifeboat James Caird, Ernest Shackleton arrives at South Georgia after a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island.

1908Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.

1904The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded. It would eventually become the Audi company.

1899Finnish farmworker Karl Emil Malmelin kills seven people with an axe at the Simola croft in the village of Klaukkala.

1881Carol I is crowned the King of the Romanian Kingdom.

1876The Centennial Exposition is opened in Philadelphia.

1872Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.

1869The First transcontinental railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory with the golden spike.

1865American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6.

1857Indian Rebellion of 1857: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut.

1849Astor Place Riot: A riot breaks out at the Astor Opera House in Manhattan, New York City over a dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Charles Macready, killing at least 22 and injuring over 120.

1837Panic of 1837: New York City banks suspend the payment of specie, triggering a national banking crisis and an economic depression whose severity was not surpassed until the Great Depression.

1833A revolt broke out in southern Vietnam against Emperor Minh Mang, who had desecrated the deceased mandarin Le Van Duyet.

1824The National Gallery in London opens to the public.

1801First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.

Born on this day

2000Bae Jin-young, South Korean singer

1997Brittany Broski, American comedian and singer

1997Richarlison, Brazilian footballer

1996Alex Tuch, American ice hockey player

1996Kateřina Siniaková, Czech tennis player

1996Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, Canadian ice hockey player

1996Tyus Jones, American basketball player

1995Andrew Anderson, American bowler

1995Gabriella Papadakis, French ice dancer

1995Missy Franklin, American swimmer

1993Jake Zyrus, Filipino singer

1990Ivana Španović, Serbian long jumper

1990Salvador Pérez, Venezuelan baseball player

1988Adam Lallana, English footballer

1985Farah Jacquet, Belgian politician

1985Jon Schofield, English canoe racer

1985Ryan Getzlaf, Canadian ice hockey player

1984Edward Mujica, Venezuelan baseball player

1982Adebayo Akinfenwa, English footballer

1981Humberto Suazo, Chilean footballer

1978Kenan Thompson, American actor and comedian

1977Adrian Morley, English rugby league player

1975Hazem Emam, Egyptian footballer and politician

1975Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver

1975Ueli Kestenholz, Swiss snowboarder (died 2026)

1974Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer

1970David Weir, Scottish footballer

1969Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch footballer and manager

1969John Scalzi, American author and blogger

1968Al Murray, English comedian and television host

1968William Regal, English wrestler

1967Eion Crossan, New Zealand rugby player

1966Jonathan Edwards, English triple jumper

1965Greg Fasala, Australian swimmer

1965Linda Evangelista, Canadian model

1965Paul Langmack, Australian rugby league player and coach

1963Lisa Nowak, American commander and astronaut

1962Robby Thompson, American baseball player and coach

1960Bono, Irish singer-songwriter, musician and activist

1960Dean Heller, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Nevada

Died on this day

2024Jim Simons, American hedge fund manager, mathematician, and philanthropist (born 1938)

2024Sam Rubin, American journalist (born 1960)

2022Bob Lanier, American professional basketball player (born 1948)

2022Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician (born 1934)

2021Pauline Tinsley, British soprano (born 1928)

2020Betty Wright, American soul singer (born 1953)

2019Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, Spanish politician and chemist (born 1951)

2018David Goodall, Australian botanist and ecologist (born 1914)

2015Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (born 1946)

2012Carroll Shelby, American race car driver and designer (born 1923)

2012Gunnar Sønsteby, Norwegian captain and author (born 1918)

2012Horst Faas, German photographer and journalist (born 1933)

2010Frank Frazetta, American illustrator and painter (born 1928)

2008Leyla Gencer, Turkish soprano (born 1928)

2006Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1969)

2003Milan Vukcevich, Serbian-American chemist and chess player (born 1937)

2002Kaifi Azmi, Indian poet and songwriter (born 1919)

2002Yves Robert, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1920)

2001Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian politician, Governor of Himachal Pradesh (born 1934)

2000Dick Sprang, American illustrator (born 1915)

2000Jules Deschênes, Canadian lawyer and judge (born 1923)

1999Shel Silverstein, American poet, author, and illustrator (born 1930)

1994John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (born 1942)

1990Walker Percy, American novelist and essayist (born 1916)

1989Dominik Tatarka, Slovak writer (born 1913)

1988Shen Congwen, Chinese author and academic (born 1902)

1982Peter Weiss, German playwright and painter (born 1916)

1977Joan Crawford, American actress (year of birth disputed)

1974Hal Mohr, American director and cinematographer (born 1894)

1968Scotty Beckett, American actor and singer (born 1929)

Quote of the day

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

Will Durant, on Aristotle

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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