April 10Birthdays & History

On this day: April 10 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 238During the year of Six Emperors, forces of Gordian I and Gordian II are defeated by those of Maximinus Thrax in the battle of Carthage.Africa
2. 428Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople.Middle East
3. 837Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).World
4. 847Election of Pope Leo IV following the death of Pope Sergius II.Europe
5. 1407Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing and is awarded the title "Great Treasure Prince of Dharma".Asia
6. 1500Ludovico Sforza is captured by Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French.Europe
7. 1545The settlement of Villa Imperial de Carlos V (now the city of Potosí) in Bolivia is founded after the discovery of huge silver deposits in the area.Latin America
8. 1606The Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.North AmericaEurope
9. 1710The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, comes into force in Great Britain.Europe
10. 1717Robert Walpole resigns from the British government, commencing the Whig Split which lasts until 1720.Europe
11. 1724Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, his first cantata composed for Easter in Leipzig.Europe
12. 1741War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia gains control of Silesia at the Battle of Mollwitz.Europe
13. 1796War of the First Coalition: A surprise Austrian attack at the Battle of Voltri marks the beginning of the Italian Campaign, the decisive campaign under Napoleon Bonaparte that will end the war a year later.Europe
14. 1809Napoleonic Wars: The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria.Europe
15. 1814Allied forces under the Duke of Wellington attack Toulouse held by Marshall Soult, driving out the French after fierce fighting.OceaniaEurope
16. 1815The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth's climate for the next two years.Asia
17. 1816The Federal government of the United States approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States.North America
18. 1821Greek War of Independence: the island of Psara joins the Greek struggle for independence.Europe
19. 1821Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Ottoman government from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus.Middle East
20. 1826The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town of Missolonghi begin leaving the town after a year's siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive.EuropeMiddle East
21. 1858After the original Big Ben, a 14.5 tonnes (32,000 lb) bell for the Palace of Westminster, had cracked during testing, it is recast into the current 13.76 tonnes (30,300 lb) bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry.Europe
22. 1864Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico.EuropeLatin America
23. 1865American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time.North America
24. 1866The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.North America
25. 1868At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two British/Indian troops die.AfricaEuropeAsia
26. 1872The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska.North America
27. 1887On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of the Catholic University of America.EuropeNorth America
28. 1896Summer Olympics: The Olympic marathon is run ending with the victory of Greek athlete Spyridon Louis.Europe
29. 1900British suffer a sharp defeat by the Boers south of Brandfort. Six hundred British troops are killed and wounded and 800 taken prisoner.EuropeAfrica
30. 1912RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, UK, on her maiden and only voyage.Europe
31. 1919The Third Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Huliaipole.North America
32. 1919Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.Latin America
33. 1925The Russian city of Tsaritsyn is renamed Stalingrad to honor the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Soviet Communist Party General Secretary, who had guided the defense of Tsaritsyn during the Russian Civil War in 1920.Europe
34. 1941World War II: The Axis powers establish the Independent State of Croatia.Europe
35. 1944Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp.Europe
36. 1963One hundred twenty-nine American sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.North America
37. 1968The TEV Wahine, a New Zealand ferry, sinks in Wellington harbour due to a fierce storm – the strongest winds ever in Wellington. Out of the 734 people on board, fifty-three died.Oceania
38. 1970Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.Europe
39. 1972Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu's Art of War and Sun Bin's lost military treatise, are discovered by construction workers in Shandong.Asia
40. 1972Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.AsiaNorth America
41. 1973Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 crashes in a snowstorm on approach to Basel, Switzerland, killing 108 people.Europe
42. 1979Red River Valley tornado outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas, killing 42 people.North America
43. 1981Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands is elected to Westminster as the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He died twenty-six days later.Europe
44. 1988The Ojhri Camp explosion kills or injures more than 1,000 people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan.Asia
45. 1991A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola, the first to be documented by satellites.Africa
46. 1991Italian ferry MS Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, killing 140.Europe
47. 1998The Good Friday Agreement is signed in Northern Ireland.Europe
48. 2009President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces the abrogation of the constitution and assumes all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis.Oceania
49. 2010Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and dozens of other senior officials and dignitaries.Europe
50. 2016The Paravur temple accident, in which a devastating fire caused by the explosion of firecrackers stored for Vishu kills more than one hundred people out of the thousands gathered for the seventh day of Bhadrakali worship.Asia
51. 2016An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, impacting India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan.Asia
52. 2023A mass shooting occurs at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, that leaves five victims dead and eight wounded.North America

Source: Wikipedia "April 10" / CC BY-SA 4.0