April 10

Events

Pre-1600

* 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople.
* 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).
* 1407 – Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing and is awarded the title "Great Treasure Prince of Dharma".
*1500 – Ludovico Sforza is captured by Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French.
* 1545 – The 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.

1601–1900

*1606 – The Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.
*1710 – The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, comes into force in Great Britain.
* 1717 – Robert Walpole resigns from the British government, commencing the Whig Split which lasts until 1720.
*1741 – War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia gains control of Silesia at the Battle of Mollwitz.
*1809 – Napoleonic Wars: The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria.
* 1815 – The 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.
*1816 – The Federal government of the United States approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States.
*1821 – Patriarch 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.
* 1821 – Greek War of Independence: the island of Psara joins the Greek struggle for independence.
*1826 – The 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.
*1858 – After the original Big Ben, a bell for the Palace of Westminster, had cracked during testing, it is recast into the current bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
* 1864 – Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico.
* 1865 – American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time.
*1866 – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.
*1868 – At 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.
*1872 – The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska.
*1875 – India: Arya Samaj is founded in Mumbai by Swami Dayananda Saraswati to propagate his goal of social reform.
*1887 – On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of the Catholic University of America.
*1896 – 1896 Summer Olympics: The Olympic marathon is run ending with the victory of Greek athlete Spyridon Louis.
*1900 – British suffer a sharp defeat by the Boers south of Brandfort. 600 British troops are killed and wounded and 800 taken prisoner.

1901–present

* 1912 – ''RMS Titanic'' sets sail from Southampton, England on her maiden and only voyage.
*1916 – The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) is created in New York City.
*1919 – Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.
*1925 – ''The Great Gatsby'' by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner's Sons.
* 1938 – The 1938 German parliamentary election and referendum seeks approval for a single list of Nazi candidates and the recent annexation of Austria.
* 1939 – '' Alcoholics Anonymous'', A.A.'s "Big Book", is first published.
* 1941 – World War II: The Axis powers establish the Independent State of Croatia.
* 1944 – Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp.
*1963 – One hundred twenty-nine American sailors die when the submarine sinks at sea.
* 1968 – The 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.
*1970 – Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.
* 1971 – Ping-pong diplomacy: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a week-long visit.
*1972 – Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu's ''Art of War'' and Sun Bin's lost military treatise, are accidentally discovered by construction workers in Shandong.
* 1972 – Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.
*1973 – Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 crashes in a snowstorm on approach to Basel, Switzerland, killing 108 people.
*1979 – Red River Valley tornado outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people.
*1988 – The Ojhri Camp explosion kills or injures more than 1,000 people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan.
*1991 – Italian ferry collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, killing 140.
* 1991 – A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites.
*1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is signed in Northern Ireland.
* 2009 – President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces the abrogation of the constitution and assumes all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis.
* 2010 – Polish 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.
*2016 – The 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 seventh day of Bhadrakali worship.
* 2016 – An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, shakes up India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan.
*2019 – Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project announce the first ever image of a black hole, which was located in the centre of the M87 galaxy.

Births

Pre-1600

* 401 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (d. 450)
*1018 – Nizam al-Mulk, Persian scholar and vizier (d. 1092)
* 1472 – Margaret of York, English princess (d. 1472)
*1480 – Philibert II, duke of Savoy (d. 1504)
* 1487 – William I, count of Nassau-Siegen (d. 1559)
*1512 – James V, king of Scotland (d. 1542)
*1579 – Augustus II, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1666)
* 1583 – Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and jurist (d. 1645)

1601–1900

*1603 – Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark (d. 1647)
*1651 – Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician, physicist, and physician (d. 1708)
* 1656 – René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, French-Canadian settler, founded Rimouski (d. 1718)
*1704 – Benjamin Heath, English scholar and author (d. 1766)
*1707 – Michel Corrette, French organist, composer, and author (d. 1795)
*1713 – John Whitehurst, English geologist and clockmaker (d. 1788)
*1755 – Samuel Hahnemann, German-French physician and academic (d. 1843)
* 1762 – Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1834)
* 1769 – Jean Lannes, French marshal (d. 1809)
*1778 – William Hazlitt, English essayist and critic (d. 1830)
*1794 – Matthew C. Perry, English-Scottish American commander (d. 1858)
* 1806 – Juliette Drouet, French actress (d. 1883)
* 1806 – Leonidas Polk, Scottish-American general and bishop (d. 1884)
*1827 – Lew Wallace, American general, lawyer, and politician, 11th Governor of New Mexico Territory (d. 1905)
*1829 – William Booth, English minister, founded The Salvation Army (d. 1912)
*1847 – Joseph Pulitzer, Hungarian-American journalist, publisher, and politician, founded Pulitzer, Inc. (d. 1911)
* 1864 – Eugen d'Albert, Scottish-German pianist and composer (d. 1932)
* 1865 – Jack Miner, American-Canadian farmer, hunter, and environmentalist (d. 1944)
*1867 – George William Russell, Irish author, poet, and painter (d. 1935)
*1868 – George Arliss, English actor and playwright (d. 1946)
* 1868 – Asriel Günzig, Moravian rabbi (d. 1931)
*1873 – Kyösti Kallio, Finnish farmer, banker, and politician, 4th President of Finland (d. 1940)
*1875 – George Clawley, English footballer (d. 1920)
* 1877 – Alfred Kubin, Austrian author and illustrator (d. 1959)
* 1879 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (d. 1939)
* 1879 – Coenraad Hiebendaal, Dutch rower and physician (d. 1921)
*1880 – Frances Perkins, American sociologist, academic, and politician, United States Secretary of Labor (d. 1965)
* 1880 – Montague Summers, English clergyman and author (d. 1948)
*1886 – Johnny Hayes, American runner and trainer (d. 1965)
*1887 – Bernardo Houssay, Argentinian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
*1889 – Louis Rougier, French philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1982)
*1891 – Frank Barson, English footballer and coach (d. 1968)
*1893 – Otto Steinböck, Austrian zoologist (d. 1969)
*1894 – Ben Nicholson, British painter (d. 1982)
*1897 – Prafulla Chandra Sen, Indian accountant and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1990)
*1900 – Arnold Orville Beckman, American chemist, inventor, and philanthropist (d. 2004)

1901–present

*1901 – Dhananjay Ramchandra Gadgil, Indian economist (d. 1971)
*1903 – Patroklos Karantinos, Greek architect (d. 1976)
* 1903 – Clare Turlay Newberry, American author and illustrator (d. 1970)
*1906 – Steve Anderson, American hurdler (d. 1988)
*1910 – Margaret Clapp, American scholar and academic (d. 1974)
* 1910 – Helenio Herrera, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1997)
* 1910 – Paul Sweezy, American economist and publisher, founded the '' Monthly Review'' (d. 2004)
* 1911 – Martin Denny, American pianist and composer (d. 2005)
* 1911 – Maurice Schumann, French journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs for France (d. 1998)
* 1912 – Boris Kidrič, Austrian-Slovenian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Slovenia (d. 1953)
*1913 – Stefan Heym, German-American soldier and author (d. 2001)
*1914 – Jack Badcock, Australian cricketer (d. 1982)
*1915 – Harry Morgan, American actor and director (d. 2011)
* 1915 – Leo Vroman, Dutch-American hematologist, poet, and illustrator (d. 2014)
*1916 – Lee Jung-seob, Korean painter (d. 1956)
*1917 – Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, Indian politician (d. 2013)
* 1917 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
*1919 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (d. 2014)
* 1921 – Chuck Connors, American baseball player and actor (d. 1992)
* 1921 – Jake Warren, Canadian soldier and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States (d. 2008)
* 1921 – Sheb Wooley, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2003)
*1923 – Roger Gaillard, Haitian historian and author (d. 2000)
* 1923 – Jane Kean, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
* 1923 – Floyd Simmons, American decathlete and actor (d. 2008)
* 1923 – Sid Tickridge, English footballer (d. 1997)
* 1923 – John Watkins, South African cricketer (d. 2021)
* 1924 – Kenneth Noland, American soldier and painter (d. 2010)
*1925 – Angelo Poffo, American wrestler and promoter (d. 2010)
*1926 – Jacques Castérède, American comedian (d. 1983)
*1927 – Norma Candal, Puerto Rican actress (d. 2006)
* 1927 – Marshall Warren Nirenberg, American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
*1929 – Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (d. 1959)
* 1929 – Liz Sheridan, American actress (d. 2022)
* 1929 – Max von Sydow, Swedish-French actor (d. 2020)
*1930 – Claude Bolling, French pianist, composer, and actor (d. 2020)
* 1930 – Dolores Huerta, American activist, co-founded the United Farm Workers
* 1930 – Spede Pasanen, Finnish film director and producer, comedian, and inventor (d. 2001)
*1931 – Kishori Amonkar, Indian classical vocalist (d. 2017)
* 1932 – Delphine Seyrig, Swiss/ Alsatian French actress (d. 1990)
* 1932 – Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
* 1933 – Rokusuke Ei, Japanese composer and author (d. 2016)
* 1933 – Helen McElhone, Scottish politician (d. 2013)
*1934 – David Halberstam, American journalist and author (d. 2007)
* 1935 – Patrick Garland, English actor and director (d. 2013)
* 1935 – Peter Hollingworth, Australian bishop, 23rd Governor General of Australia

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