October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 82 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 680 – Battle of Karbala: Shia Imam Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Shi'a Muslims as Aashurah.
- 732 – Battle of Tours: Near Poitiers, France, the 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 the 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 defeat the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others.
- 1582 – Because of 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 is laid in Sewanee, Tennessee.
- 1868 – Carlos Céspedes issues the Grito de Yara from his plantation, La Demajagua, proclaiming Cuba's independence.
- 1889 – Barnard College is founded.
- 1910 – The Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity is established at Columbia University.
- 1911 – Wuchang Uprising leads 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 commences service between Kowloon and Canton.
- 1913 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson triggers 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 determines that the larger part of Carinthia should remain part of Austria.
- 1933 – United Airlines Chesterton Crash: A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by sabotage, the first such proven case in the history of commercial aviation.
- 1935 – A tornado destroys the 160 metre tall wooden radio tower in Langenberg. As a result of this catastrophe, few wooden towers are constructed after this date.
- 1935 – A coup d'état by the royalist leadership of the Greek Armed Forces takes place in Athens. It overthrows the government of Panagis Tsaldaris and establishes a regency under military strongman Georgios Kondylis, effectively ending the Second Hellenic Republic.
- 1938 – The Munich Agreement cedes the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany.
- 1942 – The Soviet Union establishes diplomatic relations with Australia.
- 1943 – Double Tenth Incident in Japanese controlled Singapore
- 1944 – Holocaust: 800 Gypsy children are systematically murdered at Auschwitz death camp.
- 1945 – The Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang signed a principle agreement in Chongqing about the future of post-war China. Later, the pact is commonly referred to as the Double-Ten Agreement.
- 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.
- 1957 – The Windscale fire in Cumbria, U.K. is the world's first major nuclear accident.
- 1963 – France cedes control of the Bizerte naval base to Tunisia.
- 1964 – The opening ceremony at The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite.
- 1967 – The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force.
- 1969 – King Crimson releases their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, considered by many to be the first progressive rock album.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1997 – An Austral Airlines DC-9-32 crashes and explodes near Nuevo Berlin, Uruguay, killing 74.
- 2005 – Negotiations between the CDU/CSU and SPD in Germany had concluded that both parties would form a grand coaltion with Angela Merkel of the CDU as chancellor after both parties lost seats in the 2005 German federal election. She was subsequently elected in the Bundestag as chancellor on November 22 of the same year.
- 2008 – Fear grips global stock markets as the Dow Jones average ends the week down 18.2%, the largest weekly percentage drop in the Dow's history.
Births
- 1344 – Mary Plantagenet, English princess (d. 1362)
- 1567 – Infanta Caterina Micaela of Spain (d. 1597)
- 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)
- 1870 – Louise Mack, Australian writer (d. 1935)
- 1885 – Walter Anderson, German folklorist (d. 1962)
- 1889 – Han van Meegeren, Dutch painter, portraitist and art forgers (d. 1947)
- 1895 – Fridolf Rhudin Swedish actor and comedian (d. 1935)
- 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)
- 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)
- 1909 – Robert F. Boyle, American production designer and art director
- 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 – Ludmilla Tchérina, French ballet dancer and actress (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Ed Wood, American filmmaker (d. 1978)
- 1925 – Great Antonio, Croatian-Canadian strongman (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Richard Jaeckel, American actor (d. 1997)
- 1927 – Dana Elcar, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1930 – Eugenio Castellotti, Italian race car driver (d. 1957)
- 1930 – Yves Chauvin, French chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1930 – Harold Pinter, English playwright, Nobel laureate (d. 2008)
- 1930 – Mustafa Zaidi, Pakistani poet (d. 1970)
- 1932 – Harry Smith, English footballer
- 1933 – Jay Sebring, American hair stylist and Manson murder victim (d. 1969)
- 1935 – André Bureau, French Canadian communications executive
- 1935 – Abu Jihad, Founder of the Palestinian group Fatah (d. 1988)
- 1936 – Gerhard Ertl, German surface chemist, Nobel laureate, 2007.
- 1938 – Moriyama Daido, Japanese photographer
- 1939 – Joseph Pitts, American politician
- 1941 – Peter Coyote, American actor
- 1942 – Radu Vasile, Romanian Prime Minister
- 1943 – Frederick Barthelme, American author
- 1946 – Charles Dance, English actor
- 1946 – Mildred Grieveson (aka: Anne Mather, Caroline Fleming, Cardine Fleming), English writer
- 1946 – Naoto Kan, Japanese politician
- 1946 – Peter Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1946 – John Prine, American singer
- 1946 – Chris Tarrant, English TV presenter
- 1946 – Ben Vereen, American actor
- 1947 – Martin Ruane, English professional wrestler (d. 1998)
- 1948 – Séverine, French singer
- 1948 – Ed Volker, American musician
- 1950 – Nora Roberts, American novelist
- 1951 – Epeli Ganilau, Fijian statesman
- 1953 – Midge Ure, Scottish musician
- 1953 – Gus Williams, American basketball player
- 1954 – Rekha, Bollywood actress
- 1955 – David Lee Roth, American singer (Van Halen)
- 1954 – Mohamed Mounir, Egyptian singer and actor
- 1956 – Amanda Burton, Northern Irish actress
- 1956 – Mark Gordon, American film producer
- 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)
- 1960 – Ron Flockhart, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 – Jodi Benson, American voice actress
- 1961 – Henrik Jørgensen, Danish marathon runner
- 1961 – Martin Kemp, British musician (Spandau Ballet) and actor
- 1961 – Julia Sweeney, American actress and comedian
- 1963 – Anita Mui, Hong Kong singer (d. 2003)
- 1963 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist (d. 2002)
- 1963 – Jolanda de Rover, Dutch swimmer
- 1963 – Vegard Ulvang, Norwegian cross-country skier.
- 1964 – Sarah Lancashire, English actress
- 1964 – Quinton Flynn, American voice actor
- 1965 – Clive Jones, British engineer
- 1965 – Chris Penn, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1965 – Rebecca Pidgeon, American actress
- 1965 – Toshi, Japanese singer (X Japan)
- 1965 – Steve Scalise, American politician
- 1966 – Tony Adams, English footballer
- 1967 – Jonathan Littell, French-American writer
- 1967 – Mike Malinin, American drummer (Goo Goo Dolls)
- 1967 – Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco
- 1968 – Bart Brentjens, Dutch mountain biker
- 1969 – Brett Favre, American football player
- 1969 – Wendi McLendon-Covey, American actress
- 1970 – Dean Kiely, Irish footballer
- 1970 – Silke Kraushaar-Pielach, German luger
- 1970 – Bai Ling, Chinese American actress
- 1970 – Corinna May, German singer
- 1970 – Mohammed Mourhit, Belgian athlete
- 1970 – Sir Matthew Pinsent, English rower
- 1971 – Ian Bennett, English footballer
- 1971 – Evgeny Kissin, Russian pianist
- 1972 – Jun Lana, Filipino playwright and screenwriter
- 1972 – Dean Roland, American guitarist (Collective Soul)
- 1972 – Alexei Zhitnik, Russian ice hockey player
- 1973 – Mario López, American actor
- 1973 – Semmy Schilt, Dutch kickboxer
- 1973 – Zach Thornton, American soccer player
- 1974 – Assi Cohen, Israeli comedian and actor
- 1974 – Julio Ricardo Cruz, Argentinian footballer
- 1974 – Dale Earnhardt Jr, American NASCAR Sprint Cup series driver
- 1974 – Chris Pronger, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Ramón Morales, Mexican footballer
- 1975 – Plácido Polanco, Dominican baseball player
- 1976 – Bob Burnquist, Brazilian-born skateboarder
- 1976 – Pat Burrell, American baseball player
- 1978 – Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, American actress
- 1979 – Mya Harrison, American singer
- 1979 – Nicolás Massú, Chilean tennis player
- 1979 – Wu Chun, Brunei born Taiwanese actor (Fahrenheit/Fei Lun Hai)
- 1979 – Ahn Chil Hyun (Kangta), lead singer of the former South Korean group H.O.T.
- 1979 – Joel Przybilla, American basketball player
- 1980 – Elvis Hammond, Ghanaian footballer
- 1980 – Casey FitzSimmons, American football player
- 1980 – Tim Maurer, American singer (Suburban Legends)
- 1980 – Sherine, Egyptian singer
- 1980 – Leanne Marshall, American designer, and winner of Project Runway (season 5)
- 1981 – Michael Oliver, American actor
- 1981 – Una Healy, Irish singer (The Saturdays)
- 1982 – Amon Buchanan, Australian rules footballer
- 1982 – Hideki Mutoh, Japanese racing driver
- 1983 – Vusimuzi Sibanda, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1983 – Tolga Zengin, Turkish football player
- 1984 – Rod Benson, American basketball player
- 1984 – Stephanie Cheng, Hong Kong singer
- 1984 – Chiaki Kuriyama, Japanese actress
- 1984 – Paul Posluszny, American football player
- 1984 – Amber Scott, American child actress
- 1984 – Troy Tulowitzki, American baseball player
- 1985 – Dominique Cornu, Belgian professional cyclist
- 1985 – Aaron Himelstein, American actor
- 1986 – Nathan Jawai, Australian basketball player
- 1987 – Rodjun Cruz, Filipino actor
- 1989 – Aimee Teegarden, American actress
- 1991 – Gabriella Cilmi, Australian singer
- 1991 – Mariana Espósito, Argentine actress, singer and model
Deaths
- 19 – Germanicus, Roman general (b. 15 BC)
- 680 – 10 Muharram 61 AH – Husayn ibn Ali (AS) , Shi'a Imam, Muhammad's 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)
- 1913 – Adolphus Busch, American brewer (Anheuser-Busch) (b. 1839)
- 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)
- 1948 – Ted Horn, American race car driver (b. 1910)
- 1953 – Erima Harvey Northcroft, New Zealand judge (b. 1884)
- 1957 – Karl Genzken, Nazi physician (b. 1885)
- 1963 – Édith Piaf, French singer (b. 1915)
- 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)
- 1977 – Angelo Muscat, Maltese actor (b. 1930)
- 1978 – Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete (b. 1910)
- 1978 – Ralph Marterie, American big band leader (b. 1914)
- 1979 – Christopher Evans, British psychologist and computer scientist (b. 1931)
- 1979 – Paul Paray, French conductor (b. 1886)
- 1982 – Jean Effel, French painter and journalist (b. 1908)
- 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)
- 1990 – Tom Murton, American penologist (b. 1928)
- 1998 – Clark Clifford, United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1906)
- 1998 – Tommy Quaid, Irish hurler (b. 1957)
- 2000 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Eddie Futch, American boxing trainer (b. 1911)
- 2001 – Vasily Mishin, Soviet rocket designer (b. 1917)
- 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)
- 2007 – Mehmed Uzun, Contemporary Kurdish writer and novelist (b. 1953)
- 2008 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese businessman (b. 1947)
Holidays and observances
External links
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