May 10Birthdays & History

On this day: May 10 in history

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

1. 28 BCA sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.Asia
2. 946Alberic II of Spoleto arranges the election of pope Agapetus II following the death of Pope Marinus II.Europe
3. 1291Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king.Europe
4. 1294Temür, Khagan of the Mongols, is enthroned as Emperor of the Yuan dynasty.Asia
5. 1497Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World.EuropeLatin America
6. 1503Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.Latin America
7. 1534Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland.North America
8. 1591Elizabeth I is entertained by the Hermit's Welcome at Theobalds.Europe
9. 1688King Narai nominates Phetracha as regent, leading to the revolution of 1688 in which Phetracha becomes king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.Asia
10. 1713Great Northern War: The Russian Navy led by Admiral Fyodor Apraksin land both at Katajanokka and Hietalahti during the Battle of Helsinki.Europe
11. 1768Rioting occurs in London after John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticising King George III.Europe
12. 1773The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by reducing taxes on its tea and granting it the right to sell tea directly to North America. The legislation leads to the Boston Tea Party.EuropeAsiaNorth America
13. 1774Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette become King and Queen of France.Europe
14. 1775American Revolutionary War: The Second Continental Congress takes place in Philadelphia.North America
15. 1775American Revolutionary War: A small Colonial militia led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold captures Fort Ticonderoga.North America
16. 1796War of the First Coalition: Napoleon wins a victory against Austrian forces at Lodi bridge over the Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.Europe
17. 1801First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.AfricaNorth America
18. 1824The National Gallery in London opens to the public.Europe
19. 1833A revolt broke out in southern Vietnam against Emperor Minh Mang, who had desecrated the deceased mandarin Le Van Duyet.Asia
20. 1837Panic of 1837: New York City banks suspend the payment of specie, triggering a national banking crisis and an economic depression whose severity was not surpassed until the Great Depression.North America
21. 1849Astor Place Riot: A riot breaks out at the Astor Opera House in Manhattan, New York City over a dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Charles Macready, killing at least 22 and injuring over 120.North America
22. 1857Indian Rebellion of 1857: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut.Asia
23. 1865American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6.North America
24. 1869The First transcontinental railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory with the golden spike.North America
25. 1872Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.North America
26. 1876The Centennial Exposition is opened in Philadelphia.North America
27. 1881Carol I is crowned the King of the Romanian Kingdom.Europe
28. 1899Finnish farmworker Karl Emil Malmelin kills seven people with an axe at the Simola croft in the village of Klaukkala.Europe
29. 1904The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded. It would eventually become the Audi company.Europe
30. 1908Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.North America
31. 1916Sailing in the lifeboat James Caird, Ernest Shackleton arrives at South Georgia after a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island.World
32. 1922The United States annexes the Kingman Reef.North America
33. 1924J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and remains so until his death in 1972.North America
34. 1933Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.Europe
35. 1940World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. On the same day, Germany invades France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom occupies Iceland.Europe
36. 1940World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.Europe
37. 1941World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.Europe
38. 1941World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.Europe
39. 1942World War II: The Thai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign.Asia
40. 1946First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.North America
41. 1961Air France Flight 406 is destroyed by a bomb over the Sahara, killing 78.Europe
42. 1962Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.North America
43. 1967The Northrop M2-F2 crashes on landing, becoming the inspiration for the novel Cyborg and TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.North America
44. 1969Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.Asia
45. 1975Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder.Asia
46. 1993In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills over 200 workers.Asia
47. 1994Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.Africa
48. 1996A blizzard strikes Mount Everest, killing eight climbers by the next day.Asia
49. 1997The 7.3 Mw Qayen earthquake strikes Iran's Khorasan Province killing 1,567 people.Middle East
50. 2002FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.North AmericaEurope
51. 2005A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 20 m from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.North AmericaEurope
52. 2012The Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria, killing 55 people.Middle East
53. 2013One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.North America
54. 2017Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last footholds of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Al-Tabqah, bringing the Battle of Tabqa to an end.Middle East
55. 2022Queen Elizabeth II misses the State Opening of Parliament for the first time in 59 years. It was the first time that a new session of Parliament was opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge acting as Counsellors of State.Europe
56. 2024Start of the May 2024 solar storms, the most powerful set of geomagnetic storms since the 2003 Halloween solar storms.World

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