October 10th in History
October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). There are 82 days remaining until the end of the year. (Photo: London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Credit: InSapphoWeTrust, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Today in History
- The Naval School (later United States Naval Academy) opens (1845)
- Triton, largest moon of Neptune, is discovered (1846)
- The Great Chicago Fire ends (1871)
- Construction of the Panama Canal ends (1913)
- The first case of sabotage in commercial aviation brings down a Boeing 247 (1933)
- The Munich Agreement gives the Sudentenland to Nazi Germany (1938)
- 蒋中正 (Chiang Kai-shek) becomes chairman of the Republic of China (1943)
- The worst nuclear accident in British history occurs (1957)
- The Outer Space Treaty comes into effect (1967)
- London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona (1971)
- US Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with income tax evasion (1973)
- US Navy fighter intercept and force down an Egyptian plane carrying the Achille Lauro hijackers (1985)
Birthdays
- Henry Cavendish, scientist (1731)
- Giuseppe Verdi, composer (1813)
- Robert Gould Shaw, Glory commander (1837)
- Helen Hayes, actress (1900)
- Ivory Joe Hunter, “baron of the boogie” (1914)
- Thelonious Monk, pianist (1917)
- James Clavell, author (1924)
- Ed Wood, director (1924)
- Harold Pinter, playwright (1930)
- Peter Coyote, actor (1941)
- John Prine, country/folk artist (1946)
- Ben Vereen, dancer (1946)
- Nora Roberts, author (1950)
- David Lee Roth, singer (1954)
- Tanya Tucker, singer (1958)
- Julia Sweeney, SNL comedienne (1959)
- Daniel Pearl, murdered journalist (1964)
- Brett Favre, football player (1969)
Deaths
- Germanicus, father of Caligula (19)
- Gabriel, slave rebellion leader (1800)
- William Seward, Alaska purchaser (1972)
- Lip Pike, first Jewish professional baseball player (1893)
- Jack Daniel, distiller (1911)
- Adolphus Busch, brewer (1913)
- Eddie Cantor, singer (1964)
- Ludwig von Mises, economist (1973)
- Angelo Muscat, Prisoner butler (1977)
- Ralph Richardson, actor (1983)
- Yul Brynner, actor (1985)
- Orson Welles, actor, director, writer, producer (1895)
- Christopher Reeve, paralyzed Superman (2004)
- Joan Sutherland, soprano (2010)
- Alex Karras, football player and actor (2012)
Holidays
- Arbor Day (Poland)
- Double Ten Day (Taiwan)
- Fiji Day (Fiji)
- Finnish Literature Day (Finland)
- Independence Day (Cuba)
- National Angel Food Cake Day (US)
- Party Foundation Day (North Korea)
- World Day Against the Death Penalty (International)
- World Mental Health Day (International)