April 10

April 10 is the 100th day of the year (101st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 265 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 879 – Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks.
• 1407 – the lama Deshin Shekpa visits the Ming Dynasty capital at Nanjing. He is awarded with the title Great Treasure Prince of Dharma.
• 1500 – Ludovico Sforza is captured by the Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French.
• 1606 – The Charter of 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 first law regulating copyright is issued in Great Britain.
• 1741 – War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia defeats Austria in the Battle of Mollwitz.
• 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 United States Government approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States.
• 1821 – Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Turks from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus.
• 1826 – The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town Messolonghi start leaving the town after a year's siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive.
• 1856 – The Theta Chi Fraternity is founded at Norwich University.
• 1858 – The original Big Ben, a 14.5 tonne bell for the Palace of Westminster is cast in Stockton-on-Tees by Warner's of Cripplegate. This however cracked during testing and was recast into the 13.76 tonne bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry and is still in use to date.
• 1864 – Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is elected emperor of 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 die from the British/Indian troops.
• 1869 – José Martí founds the Cuban Revolutionary Party.
• 1874 – The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska.
• 1887 – On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of The Catholic University of America.
• 1904 – British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the third and final chapter of The Book of The Law.
• 1912 – The Titanic leaves port in Southampton, England for her first 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.
• 1933 – New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps is created.
• 1941 – World War II: The Axis Powers in Europe establish the Independent State of Croatia from occupied Yugoslavia with Ante Pavelić's Ustaše fascist insurgents in power.
• 1944 – Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler escape from the Birkenau death camp.
• 1953 – Warner Brothers premieres the first 3-D film from a major American studio, entitled House of Wax.
• 1957 – The Suez Canal is reopened for all shipping after being closed for three months.
• 1959 – Akihito, future Emperor of Japan, weds Michiko.
• 1963 – 129 people die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.
• 1968 – Shipwreck of the New Zealand inter-island ferry TEV Wahine outside Wellington harbour.
• 1971 – Ping Pong Diplomacy: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, the People's Republic of China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a weeklong visit.
• 1972 – 20 days after he is kidnapped in Buenos Aires, Oberdan Sallustro is executed by communist guerrillas.
• 1972 – Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.
• 1973 – A British Vanguard turboprop crashes during a snowstorm at Basel, Switzerland killing 104.
• 1979 – Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people.
• 1991 – Italian ferry Moby Prince 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.
• 1992 – The Maraghar Massacre, killing of ethnic Armenian civil population of the village Maraghar by Azerbaijani troops during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
• 2010 – Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board including President Lech Kaczyński.

Births

• 1583 – Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and writer (d. 1645)
• 1651 – Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician (d. 1708)
• 1656 – René Lepage de Ste-Claire, lord-founder of the town of Rimouski, in New France (d. 1718)
• 1704 – Benjamin Heath, English classical scholar (d. 1766)
• 1713 – John Whitehurst, English clockmaker and scientist (d. 1788)
• 1735 – Button Gwinnett, Signer of the US Declaration of Independence (d. 1777)
• 1755 – Samuel Hahnemann, German physician (d. 1843)
• 1762 – Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist (d. 1834)
• 1778 – William Hazlitt, English writer (d. 1830)
• 1794 – Matthew C. Perry, American commodore (d. 1858)
• 1796 – James Bowie, American pioneer and soldier (d. 1836)
• 1827 – Lew Wallace, Union general in the American Civil War and novelist (d. 1905)
• 1829 – William Booth, English founder of the Salvation Army (d. 1912)
• 1837 – Forceythe Willson, American poet (d. 1867)
• 1847 – Joseph Pulitzer, American journalist and publisher (d. 1911)
• 1864 – Eugen d'Albert, German composer (d. 1932)
• 1865 – Jack Miner, Canadian conservationist (d. 1944)
• 1867 – George William Russell, Irish nationalist (d. 1935)
• 1868 – George Arliss, English actor (d. 1946)
• 1880 – Frances Perkins, American politician (d. 1965)
• 1880 – Mohammed Nadir Shah, Afghan king (d. 1933)
• 1880 – Montague Summers, English writer (d. 1948)
• 1887 – Bernardo Houssay, Argentine physiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)
• 1891 – Frank Barson, English footballer (d. 1968)
• 1894 – Shri Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian industrialist (d. 1983)
• 1897 – Ross Youngs, American baseball player (d. 1927)
• 1903 – Claire Boothe Luce, American activist, (d. 1987)
• 1910 – Paul Sweezy, American economist and editor (d. 2004)
• 1911 – Martin Denny, American musician (d. 2005)
• 1912 – Boris Kidrič, Slovenian resistance leader and Communist politician (d. 1953)
• 1913 – Stefan Heym, German author (d. 2001)
• 1915 – Harry Morgan, American actor
• 1917 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979)
• 1918 – Lee Bergere, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1921 – Chuck Connors, American actor (d. 1992)
• 1921 – Sheb Wooley, American actor and singer (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Roger Gaillard, Haitian historian and novelist (d. 2000)
• 1924 – Kenneth Noland, American painter (d. 2010)
• 1925 – Linda Goodman, New York Times bestselling American astrologer and poet (d. 1995)
• 1926 – Junior Samples, American southern comedian (d. 1983)
• 1927 – Marshall Warren Nirenberg, American scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 2010)
• 1929 – Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (d. 1959)
• 1929 – Max von Sydow, Swedish actor
• 1930 – Claude Bolling, French jazz composer and pianist
• 1930 – Norma Candal, Puerto Rican actor and comedian (d. 2006)
• 1930 – Dolores Huerta, American labor activist
• 1930 – Spede Pasanen, Finnish comedian (d. 2001)
• 1932 – Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor
• 1933 – Rokusuke Ei, Japanese lyricist and author
• 1934 – David Halberstam, American journalist and author (d. 2007)
• 1935 – John A. Bennett, American convicted rapist (d. 1961)
• 1936 – John Madden, American football coach and broadcaster
• 1937 – Bella Akhmadulina, Russian poet
• 1938 – Don Meredith, American football player and broadcaster
• 1939 – Claudio Magris, Italian author
• 1940 – Gloria Hunniford, Northern Irish TV and radio presenter
• 1941 – Paul Theroux, American author
• 1942 – Ian Callaghan, English footballer
• 1942 – Nick Auf der Maur, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1998)
• 1943 – Andrzej Badeński, Polish athlete
• 1946 – David Angell, American television producer (d. 2001)
• 1947 – Bunny Wailer, Jamaican musician
• 1949 – Daniel Mangeas, French sports commentator
• 1950 – Ken Griffey, Sr., American baseball player
• 1950 – Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (P-Funk and The Temptations) (d. 1992)
• 1950 – Akiko Wada, Japanese singer and television performer
• 1951 – David Helvarg, American journalist and environmental activist
• 1952 – Narayan Rane, Indian politician
• 1952 – Steven Seagal, American actor
• 1954 – Peter MacNicol, American actor
• 1955 – Lesley Garrett, British soprano
• 1957 – John M. Ford, American science fiction author and poet (d. 2006)
• 1957 – Steven Gustafson, American musician 10,000 Maniacs
• 1958 – Bob Bell, British engineer
• 1958 – Yefim Bronfman, Russian-born pianist
• 1958 – Kenneth Edmonds, American music producer known by his nickname "Babyface"
• 1959 – Davy Carton, Irish musician (Saw Doctors)
• 1959 – Yvan Loubier, Quebec politician
• 1959 – Brian Setzer, American musician (Stray Cats)
• 1960 – Steve Bisciotti, American owner of the Baltimore Ravens
• 1960 – Katrina Leskanich, American musician
• 1960 – Terry Teagle, American basketball player
• 1961 – Nicky Campbell, Scottish TV & radio presenter
• 1961 – Joe Cole, American roadie (d. 1991)
• 1962 – Steve Tasker, American football player
• 1963 – Warren DeMartini, American musician
• 1963 – Doris Leuthard, member of the Swiss Federal Council
• 1965 – Tim Alexander, American musician
• 1967 – Donald Dufresne, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 – David Rovics, American folksinger
• 1968 – Orlando Jones, American actor and comedian
• 1969 – Billy Jayne, American actor
• 1969 – Ekaterini Koffa, Greek sprinter
• 1969 – Mike Mushok, American musician
• 1970 – Enrico Ciccone, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1970 – Leonard Dorin, Canadian boxer
• 1970 – Kenny Lattimore, American singer
• 1970 – Q-Tip, American musician
• 1971 – Al Reyes, Dominican baseball player
• 1971 – Brad William Henke, American actor
• 1972 – Ed Byrne, Irish stand up comedian/voice over artist
• 1973 – Guillaume Canet, French actor and film director
• 1973 – Roberto Carlos, Brazilian footballer
• 1973 – Aidan Moffat, Scottish musician
• 1973 – Christopher Simmons, American designer
• 1974 – Eric Greitens, American former military officer
• 1974 – Petros Passalis, Greek footballer
• 1975 – Chris Carrabba, American singer
• 1975 – Matthew Phillips, New Zealand-born Italian rugby player
• 1976 – Sara Renner, Canadian cross country skier
• 1978 – Sir Christus, Finnish guitarist
• 1979 – Kenyon Coleman, American football player
• 1979 – Shemekia Copeland, American singer
• 1979 – Rachel Corrie, American activist (d. 2003)
• 1979 – Tsuyoshi Domoto, Japanese artist
• 1979 – Sophie Ellis-Bextor, English singer
• 1979 – Peter Kopteff, Finnish footballer
• 1980 – Sean Avery, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Charlie Hunnam, British actor
• 1980 – Kasey Kahne, American race-car driver
• 1980 – Bryce Soderberg, American musician
• 1981 – Gretchen Bleiler, American snowboarder
• 1981 – Laura Bell Bundy, American actor
• 1981 – Liz McClarnon, British singer (Atomic Kitten)
• 1981 – Michael Pitt, American actor
• 1981 – Alexei Semenov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1982 – Andre Ethier, American baseball player
• 1982 – Damián Lanza, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1982 – Chyler Leigh, American actress
• 1983 – Ryan Merriman, American actor
• 1983 – Jamie Chung, American actress
• 1984 – Mandy Moore, American singer/actor
• 1984 – Cara DeLizia, American actress
• 1985 – Dion Phaneuf, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1986 – Olivia Borlée, Belgian athlete
• 1986 – Vincent Kompany, Belgian footballer
• 1986 – Ayesha Takia, Indian actress
• 1986 – Fernando Gago, Argentine footballer
• 1987 – Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano
• 1988 – Haley Joel Osment, American actor
• 1990 – Ben Amos, English footballer
• 1990 – Lulinha, Brazilian footballer
• 1990 – Alex Pettyfer, English actor
• 1991 – Amanda Michalka, American actress and singer
• 2007 – Princess Ariane of the Netherlands, Dutch princess

Deaths

• 879 – King Louis the Stammerer of the West Franks (b. 846)
• 948 – King Hugh of Italy
• 1533 – King Frederick I of Denmark (b. 1471)
• 1545 – Costanzo Festa, Italian composer
• 1585 – Pope Gregory XIII (b. 1502)
• 1599 – Gabrielle d'Estrée, mistress of Henry IV of France (b. 1571)
• 1601 – Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet (b. 1562)
• 1619 – Thomas Jones, Archbishop of Dublin (b. c. 1550)
• 1640 – Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer (b. 1578)
• 1646 – Santino Solari, Swiss architect and sculptor (b. 1576)
• 1667 – Jan Marek Marci, Bohemian doctor and scientist (b. 1595)
• 1704 – William Egon of Fürstenberg, Bishop of Strassburg (b. 1629)
• 1706 – Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier (b. 1666)
• 1756 – Giacomo Antonio Perti, Italian composer (d. 1661)
• 1760 – Jean Lebeuf, French historian (b. 1687)
• 1786 – John Byron, British naval officer (b. 1723)
• 1806 – Horatio Gates, American Revolutionary War figure (b. 1727)
• 1813 – Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian-born mathematician (b. 1736)
• 1823 – Karl Leonhard Reinhold, Austrian philosopher (b. 1757)
• 1882 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (b. 1828)
• 1904 – Queen Isabella II of Spain (b. 1830)
• 1909 – Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet and critic (b. 1837)
• 1910 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet (b. 1856)
• 1919 – Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary (b. 1879)
• 1920 – Moritz Cantor, German mathematician (b. 1829)
• 1931 – Khalil Gibran, Lebanese poet and painter (b. 1883)
• 1938 – Joe "King" Oliver, American musician (b. 1885)
• 1945 – Charles Nordhoff, English-born writer (b. 1887)
• 1945 – H.N. Werkman, Dutch artist and printer (b. 1882)
• 1954 – Auguste Lumière, French film executive (b. 1862)
• 1954 – Oscar Mathisen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1888)
• 1955 – Teilhard de Chardin, French paleontologist and theologian (b. 1881)
• 1958 – Chuck Willis, American singer and songwriter (b. 1928)
• 1962 – Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-born director (b. 1886)
• 1962 – Stuart Sutcliffe, English musician (The Beatles) (b. 1940)
• 1965 – Lloyd Casner, American race car driver and owner (b. 1928)
• 1965 – Linda Darnell, American actress (b. 1923)
• 1966 – Evelyn Waugh, English writer (b. 1903)
• 1968 – Gustavs Celmins, Latvian politician (b. 1899)
• 1969 – Harley J. Earl, American automobile designer (b. 1893)
• 1975 – Marjorie Main, American actress (b. 1890)
• 1979 – Nino Rota, Italian composer (b. 1911)
• 1980 – Kay Medford, American actress (b. 1914)
• 1983 – Issam Sartawi, senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (assassinated) (b. 1935)
• 1986 – Linda Creed, American songwriter (b. 1948)
• 1991 – Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (b. 1955)
• 1991 – Natalie Schafer, American actress (b. 1900)
• 1992 – Sam Kinison, American comedian (b. 1953)
• 1993 – Chris Hani, South African activist (b. 1942)
• 1994 – Sam B. Hall, American politician (b. 1924)
• 1995 – Morarji Desai, Prime Minister of India (b. 1896)
• 1997 – Michael Dorris, American author (b. 1945)
• 1998 – Jack Clemmons, American law enforcement officer (b. 1924)
• 1999 – Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat, German-born biochemist (b. 1910)
• 1999 – Jean Vander Pyl, American voice actress (b. 1919)
• 2000 – Peter Jones, English actor (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Larry Linville, American actor (b. 1939)
• 2000 – Kirsten Rolffes, Danish actress (b. 1928)
• 2003 – Little Eva, American singer (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (b. 1923)
• 2005 – Iakovos, Archbishop of America (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Al Lucas, American football player (b. 1978)
• 2005 – Scott Gottlieb, American drummer (Bleed the Dream) (b. 1970)
• 2007 – Dakota Staton, American singer (b. 1930)
• 2009 – Deborah Digges, American poet (b. 1950)
• 2010 – Passengers in the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash, including:
  • Maria Kaczyńska, First Lady of Poland (b. 1942)
  • Lech Kaczyński, President of Poland (b. 1949)
• 2010 – Dixie Carter, American actress (b. 1939)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day
  • Fulbert of Chartres
  • James, Azadanus and Abdicius
  • William of Ockham (Church of England)
  • April 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada