On This Day — 10 October

2022

Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig are jointly awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

Ben Bernanke

2018

Hurricane Michael makes landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. It kills 57 people in the United States, 45 in Florida, and causes an estimated $25.1 billion in damage.

Hurricane Michael

2018

The National Fire and Rescue Administration is founded, replacing the China Fire Services [zh] and the People's Armed Police Forestry Corps [zh] as China's primary firefighting agency.

National Fire and Rescue Administration

2015

Twin bomb blasts in the Turkish capital Ankara kill 109 and injure 500+.

2015 Ankara bombings

2010

The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved as a country.

Netherlands Antilles

2009

Armenia and Turkey sign the Zurich Protocols, intended to normalize relations. However, they are never ratified by either side.

Armenia

2007

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor becomes the first Malaysian in space on board Soyuz TMA-11.

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor

2002

Iraq War: The United States Congress approves the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.

Iraq War

1998

A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises jetliner is shot down by rebels in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 41 people.

Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (1997–2003)

1997

Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 2553 crashes and explodes in Uruguay, killing 74.

Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 2553

1986

A 5.7 Mw  San Salvador earthquake shakes El Salvador, killing 1,500.

1986 San Salvador earthquake

1985

US Navy aircraft intercept an Egyptian airliner carrying the perpetrators of the Achille Lauro hijacking, and force it to land in Italy.

Achille Lauro hijacking

1980

The 7.1 Mw  El Asnam earthquake shakes northern Algeria, killing 2,633 and injuring 8,369.

1980 El Asnam earthquake

1980

The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is founded in El Salvador.

Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front

1979

The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant began operations in Eurajoki, Satakunta, Finland.

Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant

1975

Papua New Guinea joins the United Nations.

Papua New Guinea

1973

U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with evasion of federal income tax.

Spiro Agnew

1971

Aeroflot Flight 773 is destroyed by a bomb over Moscow Oblast, killing 25.

Aeroflot Flight 773

1970

Fiji becomes independent.

Fiji

1970

Canada's October Crisis escalates when Quebec Vice Premier Pierre Laporte is kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec.

October Crisis

1969

King Crimson releases their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King.

King Crimson

1967

The Outer Space Treaty comes into force.

Outer Space Treaty

1964

The Tokyo Summer Olympics opening ceremony is the first to be relayed live by satellites.

1964 Summer Olympics

1963

France cedes control of the Bizerte naval base to Tunisia.

Bizerte

1963

The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty comes into effect.

Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

1957

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to Ghanaian finance minister Komla Agbeli Gbedemah after he is refused service in a Delaware restaurant.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

1957

The Windscale fire results in Britain's worst nuclear accident.

Windscale fire

1954

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Muscat, Neil Innes, sends a signal to the Sultanate's forces, accompanied with oil explorers, to penetrate Fahud, marking the beginning of Jebel Akhdar War.

Muscat and Oman

1945

The Double Tenth Agreement is signed by the Communist Party and the Kuomintang about the future of China.

Double Tenth Agreement

1938

Abiding by the Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia completes its withdrawal from the Sudetenland.

Munich Agreement

1935

In Greece, a coup d'état ends the Second Hellenic Republic.

Coup d'état

1933

A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by sabotage, the first such proven case in the history of commercial aviation.

United Air Lines Flight 23

1928

Chiang Kai-shek becomes Chairman of the Republic of China.

Chiang Kai-shek

1920

The Carinthian plebiscite determines that the larger part of the Duchy of Carinthia should remain part of Austria.

1920 Carinthian plebiscite

1918

RMS Leinster is torpedoed and sunk by UB-123, killing 564, the largest loss of life on the Irish Sea.

RMS Leinster

1913

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike, completing major construction on the Panama Canal.

Woodrow Wilson

1911

The day after a bomb explodes prematurely, the Wuchang Uprising begins against the Chinese monarchy.

Wuchang Uprising

1903

The Women's Social and Political Union is founded in support of the enfranchisement of British women.

Women's Social and Political Union

1868

The Ten Years' War begins against Spanish rule in Cuba.

Ten Years' War

1846

Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune, is discovered by English astronomer William Lassell.

Triton (moon)

1845

In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 students.

Annapolis, Maryland

1780

The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000–30,000 in the Caribbean.

Great Hurricane of 1780

1760

In a treaty with the Dutch colonial authorities, the Ndyuka people of Suriname – descended from escaped slaves – gain territorial autonomy.

Ndyuka people

1580

Over 600 Papal troops land in Ireland to support the Second Desmond Rebellion.

Kingdom of Ireland

1575

Roman Catholic forces under Henry I, Duke of Guise, defeat the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others.

Henri I, Duke of Guise

1492

The crew of Christopher Columbus's ship, the Santa Maria, attempt a mutiny.

Christopher Columbus

1471

Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the help of farmers and miners, repels an attack by King Christian I of Denmark.

Sten Sture the Elder

732

Charles Martel's forces defeat an Umayyad army near Tours, France.

Charles Martel

680

The Battle of Karbala marks the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali.

Battle of Karbala

19

The Roman general Germanicus dies near Antioch. He was convinced that the mysterious illness that ended in his death was a result of poisoning by the Syrian governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, whom he had ordered to leave the province.

AD 19