May 10

is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). There are 235 days remaining.

Events

1291 - Scottish nobles recognize the authority of King Edward I of England.
1497 - Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World.
1503 - Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles there.
1534 - Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland.
1768 - John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for the North Briton severely criticizing King George III. This action provokes rioting in London.
1774 - Louis XVI becomes King of France.
1775 - American Revolutionary War: Fort Ticonderoga is taken by a small force led by Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen.
1775 - American Revolutionary War: Representatives from the 13 colonies of the United States meet in Philadelphia and raise the Continental Army to defend the new republic. They place it under command of Cavalier George Washington of Virginia.
1796 - First Coalition: Napoleon I of France wins a decisive victory against Austrian forces at Lodi bridge over the River Adda in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
1801 - First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States.
1824 - National Gallery in London opens to the public.
1837 - Panic of 1837: New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels.
1857 - Indian Mutiny: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys revolt against the British Army.
1864 - American Civil War: Colonel Emory Upton leads a 10-regiment "Attack-in-depth" assault against the Confederate works at The Battle of Spotsylvania, which, though ultimately unsuccessful, would provide the idea for the massive assault against the Bloody Angle on May 12. Upton was wounded slightly but immediately is promoted to Brigadier general.
1865 - American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is captured by Union troops near Irwinville, Georgia.
1865 - American Civil War: Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill in Kentucky, who lingers until his death on June 6.
1869 - The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah (not Promontory Point, Utah) with the golden spike.
1872 - Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.
1877 - Romania declares itself independent from Turkey, recognized on March 26, 1881 after the end of the Romanian independence war.
1908 - Mother's Day is observed for the first time (Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, USA).
1922 - The USA annexes the Kingman Reef.
1924 - J. Edgar Hoover is appointed the Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, and remains so until his death in 1972.
1933 - Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.
1940 - World War II: The first German bombs of the war fall on England at Chilham and Petham, in Kent.
1940 - World War II: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
1940 - World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1940 - World War II: Iceland invaded by the United Kingdom.
1941 - World War II: The House of Commons in London is destroyed by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
1941 - World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland in order to try and negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.
1954 - Bill Haley and the Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the charts.
1960 - The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.
1969 - The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.
1969 - The first "Zip to Zap" rural outdoor rock concert at Zap, North Dakota, is ended prematurely as North Dakota National Guard is ordered to disperse the unruly crowd.
1970 - Bobby Orr flew through the air as he scored the game winning goal of a game in the Stanley Cup Finals.
1979 - The Federated States of Micronesia becomes self-governing.
1981 - François Mitterrand takes office as the first Socialist President of France.
1988 - Michel Rocard becomes Prime Minister of France.
1993 - In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills 188 workers, mostly young women.
1994 - The U.S. state of Illinois executes serial killer John Wayne Gacy for the murder of 33 young men and boys.
1994 - Nelson Mandela becomes the first black president of South Africa.
1994 - An annular eclipse of the sun is visible across much of North America.
1996 - A "rogue storm" near the summit of Mount Everest kills eight climbers, making this the deadliest day in the mountain's history. Among the dead are experienced climbers Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, both of whom were leading paid expeditions to the summit.
1997 - An earthquake near Ardekul in northeastern Iran kills at least 2,400 people.
2001 - The XFL ceases operation by Vince McMahon, Chairman of World Wrestling Federation Entertainment and NBC, citing rapidly decresing ratings.
2001 - In Ghana, a stampede at a football game kills over 120 spectators.
2002 - FBI agent Robert Hanssen is given a life sentence without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
2002 - Lynda Lyon Block is executed in Yellow Mama, the electric chair of Alabama.
2003 - Record shattering tornado activity during the May 2003 Tornado Outbreak Sequence.
2005 - A hand grenade allegedly thrown by Vladimir Arutinian lands about 100 feet from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but malfunctions and does not detonate.
2006 - Russian President, Vladimir Putin, delivers a speech that portrays the USA as Russia's enemy, and talks very much about a renewed arms's race. This is seen as part of the "new Cold War".

Births

563 BCE - Siddhartha Gautama, later Buddha (d. 483 BCE)
1265 - Emperor Fushimi of Japan (d. 1317)
1604 - Jean Mairet, French dramatist (d. 1686)
1641 - Dudley North, English economist (d. 1691)
1727 - Anne Robert Turgot, French statesman (d. 1781)
1760 - Johann Peter Hebel, German poet (d. 1826)
1770 - Louis Nicolas Davout, French marshal (d. 1823)
1788 - Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist (d. 1827)
1838 - John Wilkes Booth, American actor and assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865)
1841 - James Gordon Bennett Jr., American publisher (d. 1918)
1866 - Léon Bakst, Russian artist (d. 1924)
1872 - Marcel Mauss, French sociologist (d. 1950)
1876 - Ivan Cankar, Slovenian writer (d. 1918)
1878 - Gustav Stresemann, Chancellor of Germany, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1929)
1879 - Symon Petlura, Ukrainian statesman (d. 1926)
1886 - Karl Barth, Swiss Protestant theologian (d. 1968)
1886 - Felix Manalo, first Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo (d. 1963)
1888 - Max Steiner, Austrian composer (d. 1971)
1889 - Mae Murray, American actress (d. 1965)
1890 - Alfred Jodl, German general (d. 1946)
1897 - Einar Gerhardsen, Prime minister of Norway (d. 1987)
1899 - Fred Astaire, American singer, dancer, and actor (d. 1987)
1899 - Dimitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-born composer (d. 1979)
1902 - Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian-born film director (d. 1974)
1902 - David O. Selznick, American film producer (d. 1965)
1903 - Otto Bradfisch, nazi leader (d. 1994)
1909 - Maybelle Carter, American musician
1916 - Milton Babbitt, American composer
1927 - Nayantara Sahgal, Indian author
1928 - Arnold Rüütel, Estonian president
1930 - Pat Summerall, American football player and broadcaster
1933 - Barbara Taylor Bradford, English writer
1934 - Cliff Wilson, Welsh snooker player (d. 1994)
1936 - Gary Owens, American actor and announcer
1937 - Tamara Press, Soviet athlete
1943 - Richard Darman, American economist
1944 - Jim Abrahams, American film director
1946 - Donovan, Scottish musician
1946 - Dave Mason, English musician (Traffic)
1952 - Kikki Danielsson, Swedish singer
1953 - John Diamond, British journalist (d. 2001)
1955 - Chris Berman, American sportscaster
1955 - Mark David Chapman, American assassin of John Lennon
1956 - Vladislav Listyev, Russian television anchor and journalist
1957 - Sid Vicious, English bassist (The Sex Pistols) (d. 1979)
1958 - Rick Santorum, U.S. Senator
1958 - Yu Suzuki, creator of Virtua Fighter series
1960 - Bono, Irish singer (U2)
1961 - Danny Carey, American Drummer (Tool, Pigmy Love Circus)
1965 - Linda Evangelista, Canadian model
1966 - Jonathan Edwards, British athlete
1966 - William Regal, Professional wrestler
1967 - Scott Brison, Canadian politician
1967 - Young MC, American rapper
1969 - Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch footballer
1970 - David Weir, Scottish footballer
1971 - Ådne Søndrål, Norwegian speed skater
1972 - Radosław Majdan, Polish footballer
1974 - Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer
1975 - Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
1976 - Rob Malda, founder of Slashdot
1977 - Nick Heidfeld, German Formula 1 driver
1977 - Denise Ho, Hong Kong singer
1977 - Henri Camara, Senegalese footballer
1978 - Kenan Thompson, American actor
1979 - Lee Hyori, South Korean singer
1982 - Adebayo Akinfenwa, English footballer

Deaths

1034 - Mieszko II of Poland (b. 990)
1290 - Duke Rudolph II of Austria (b. 1271)
1424 - Go-Kameyama, Emperor of Japan
1482 - Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1397)
1493 - Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, Scottish politician
1521 - Sebastian Brant, Alsatian humanist (b. 1457)
1566 - Leonhart Fuchs, German botanist (b. 1501)
1641 - Johan Banér, Swedish soldier (b. 1596)
1657 - Gustaf Horn, Swedish soldier and politician (b. 1592)
1691 - Colonel John Birch, English soldier (b. 1615)
1696 - Jean de La Bruyère, French writer (b. 1645)
1717 - John Hathorne, American magistrate (b. 1641)
1726 - Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier (b. 1670)
1733 - Barton Booth, English actor (b. 1681)
1737 - Nakamikado Emperor of Japan (b. 1702)
1774 - King Louis XV of France (b. 1710)
1787 - William Watson, English physician and scientist (b. 1715)
1792 - John Stevens, American delegate to the Continental Congress
1807 - Comte de Rochambeau, French soldier (b. 1725)
1818 - Paul Revere, American patriot (b. 1735)
1829 - Thomas Young, English physician and linguist (b. 1773)
1850 - Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, French chemist and physicist (b. 1778)
1863 - Stonewall Jackson, American Confederate general (b. 1824)
1889 - Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian satirist (b. 1826)
1897 - Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino revolutionary leader (b. 1863)
1904 - Andrei Ryabushkin, Russian painter (b. 1861)
1945 - Richard Glücks, German SS officer (b. 1889)
1950 - Belle da Costa Greene, librarian, bibliographer, archivist (b. 1883)
1955 - Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer (b. 1881)
1960 - Yury Olesha, Russian novelist (b. 1899)
1964 - Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter (b. 1881)
1977 - Joan Crawford, American actress (b. 1905)
1988 - Shen Congwen, Chinese writer (b. 1902)
1989 - Woody Shaw, American jazz musician (b. 1944)
1990 - Walker Percy, American author (b. 1916)
1994 - John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (executed) (b. 1942)
1999 - Shel Silverstein, American poet and composer (b. 1930)
2001 - Deborah Walley, American actress (b. 1943)
2002 - Lynda Lyon Block, convicted murderer (b. 1948)
2003 - Milan Vukcevich, Yugoslavian chemist and chess problem composer (b. 1937)
2005 - David Wayne, American singer (Metal Church) (b. 1958)
2006 - Raizo Matsuno, Japanese politician (b. 1917)
2006 - A.M. Rosenthal, American newspaper editor (b. 1922)
2006 - Soraya, Colombian-American singer (b. 1969)
2006 - Val Guest, British film director (b. 1911)

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Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

Liturgical Feast Days

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