October 10th in History

London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, Arizona

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)