1516: 1st Jewish ghetto established: Venice compels Jews to live in a specific area.
1633: Bananas went on display in Thomas Johnson’s shop window in London. This was the first time the fruit had been seen in Britain.
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1710: The Copyright Act, known as The Statute of Anne, came into effect in Britain. It allowed authors to hold exclusive rights to their work for up to 50 years after their death. The restrictions were enforced by the Stationers’ Company, a guild of printers given the exclusive power to print and the responsibility to censor literary works.
1815: Mount Tambora explodes in one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history
At least 71,000 people were killed by the eruption. The explosion was heard up to 2000 km
(1200 mi) away.
1816: Kubla Khan
Samuel Taylor Coleridge recited his poem “Kubla Khan” to fellow poet Lord Byron and Byron convinced him to publish it.
1847: Morocco’s Sultan Muhamed V delivers a landmark speech in Tangier calling for national independence from colonial rule.
1858: The 14.5-tonne bell, ‘Big Ben’, was cast in Stockton-on-Tees by Warner’s of Cripplegate. However, the bell cracked during testing. It was recast into the 13.76-tonne bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry and is still in use today. It is the largest of the five bells in the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament).
1864: Maximilian I
Austrian Archduke Maximilian became Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864.
1866: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh, 54. In 1863, Bergh had been appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to a diplomatic post at the Russian court of Czar Alexander II. It was there that he was horrified to witness workhorses beaten by their peasant drivers. En route back to America, a June 1865 visit to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in London awakened his determination to secure a charter not only to incorporate the ASPCA but to exercise the power to arrest and prosecute violators of the law.
1887: Abraham Lincoln was re-buried
President Abraham Lincoln was re-interred with his wife in Springfield, Illinois on April 10, 1887.
1896: Spyridon Louis wins
Spyridon Louis of Greece won the first Olympic marathon (2:58:50) in Athens on April 10, 1896.
1912: The British-built luxury liner Titanic set sail on its maiden and only voyage, from Berth 44, White Star Line dock, Southampton, bound for New York.
1963: The USS Thresher, an atomic submarine, sinks in the Atlantic Ocean, killing the entire crew. One hundred and twenty-nine sailors and civilians were lost when the sub unexpectedly plunged to the sea floor roughly 300 miles off the coast of New England.
1970: The Beatles break up as Paul McCartney leaves the band
In their ten years of existence, the British rock group became one of the most successful bands of all time, selling over a billion albums, according to EMI. McCartney’s announcement came a week before the release of his debut solo album, the starting point of a successful solo career.
1972: US, USSR & 70 other nations agree to ban biological weapons.
1973: Pakistan adopted its third constitution, shifting the role of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from president to prime minister.
1981: Imprisoned Irish Republican Army hunger striker Bobby Sands is elected to the British Parliament.
1994: Tunisia hosts the 19th Africa Cup of Nations. Nigeria wins its second title, and the team’s Rashidi Yekini is the Top scorer with five goals.
1998: Negotiators in Northern Ireland reach a historic peace deal. The Good Friday Agreement ended 30 years of violent conflict about Northern Ireland’s constitutional status (“The Troubles”).
2001: The Netherlands passed a bill permitting euthanasia, the first such national law in the world.
2001: Mercy killings become legal in the Netherlands. In a controversial decision, the Dutch senate approved a bill legalizing euthanasia for patients with unbearable, terminal illnesses.
2010: The President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, dies in a plane crash. Several high-ranking officials, senior members of the Polish clergy, as well as relatives of the Katyn massacre victims were killed. The accident was blamed on pilot error and bad weather.
2011: Supporting forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the rightful winner of Cote D’Ivoire’s 2010 elections, French helicopters fire rockets at the Presidential palace in Abidjan. Former President Gbagbo is arrested. In the four months since Gbagbo lost the election, 3000 people have been killed in political violence.
2016: Earthquake of 6.6 magnitude
A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit 39 kilometres west-southwest of Ashkasham, shaking India, Afghanistan, Srinagar, and Pakistan.
2019: Astronomers released the first-ever image of a black hole, which is in the centre of the massive galaxy M87.
Births on This Day, April 10
Hayley Westenra, 37
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand classical crossover singer. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide, making it one of the fastest-selling albums in her country’s history.
David Helvarg, 73
David Helvarg is an American journalist and environmental activist. He is the founder and president of the marine conservation lobbying organization Blue Frontier Campaign. He is also a participant in the Seaweed Rebellion, an informal marine environmentalist activist movement.
Omar Sharif (10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015)
Omar Sharif was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country’s greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is best known for his appearances in American, British, French, and Italian productions. He died at the age of 83.
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