May 10
is the 130th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar (131st in
leap years). There are 235 days remaining.
*
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.
*
2004 -
Jeff Smith draws the last page of the
Bone comic series.
*
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".
*
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
* 1937 -
Jim Hickman, baseball player
*
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
*
1968 -
Darren Matthews, English professional wrestler
*
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
*
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)
*
Akshaya Tritya in
Hinduism.
*
Astronomy Day in the
United States.
*
Birds' and Trees' Day in
Hungary*
Buddha's Birthday in
Hong Kong,
Macau,
Taiwan, and
South Korea.
*Celebration of the Clandestine Retreat of
Ma'at and
Ra in
Ancient Egypt.
*
Confederate Memorial Day in
North Carolina and
South Carolina.
*
Constitution Day in the
Federated States of Micronesia.
*
Inauguration Day in
South Africa.
*
Mania (mythology) in
Ancient Rome.
*The marriage of
Shiva to
Meenakshi in
Madurai,
India*
Mother's Day in the
United States,
South America,
India,
Mexico,
Oman,
Pakistan, and
Qatar.
*
National Holiday of
Israel*
Native American Day among
Indigenous North Americans.
*
Parent's Day in
South Korea.
*The first possible day on which
Pentecost may fall.
* The
Ploughing Ceremony in
Thailand.
*
Tin Hau's Day in
China.
*Start of
Tori no Mawari/
Bird Week in
Japan.
*
Tritopatores in
Ancient Greece.
*
Whacking Day (
Simpsons).
Saints in the
Roman Catholic Church:
*
Saint Alphius *
Saint Antoninus of Florence (died 1459)
*
Saint Aurelian*
Saint Calepodius *
Saint Cataldus*
Saint Comgall*
Saint Dioscorides*
Saint Epimachus*
Saint Francis of Assisi*
Saint Gordianus*
Saint Isidore the Laborer*
Saint John of Avila*
Saint Job*
Saint Quaratus and Quintus*
Saint Peter Van*
Saint William of Pontoise*
Saint Solange *
Memorial Day of Blessed Damien of Moloka'i*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
ThisDayThatYear.com on May 10May 9 -
May 11 -
April 10 -
June 10 –
listing of all days
