December 10 Historical Events

The following events took place on December 10. The list is arranged in chronological order.

Found 41 events. Showing 1 - 30.

• 1041
  The son of Empress Zoe of Byzantium succeeds to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V.
• 1317
  The “Nyköping Banquet” - King Birger of Sweden treacherously seizes his two brothers Duke Valdemar and Duke Eric, who were subsequently starved to death in the dungeon of Nyköping Castle.
• 1508
  The League of Cambrai is formed by Pope Julius II, Louis XII of France, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Ferdinand II of Aragon as an alliance against Venice.
• 1510
  Portuguese conquest of Goa: Portuguese naval forces under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque, and local mercenaries working for privateer Timoji, seize Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate, resulting in 451 years of Portuguese colonial rule.
• 1520
  Martin Luther burns his copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine outside Wittenberg’s Elster Gate.
• 1541
  Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham are executed for having affairs with Catherine Howard, Queen of England and wife of Henry VIII.
• 1665
  The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps is founded by Michiel de Ruyter
• 1684
  Isaac Newton’s derivation of Kepler’s laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, is read to the Royal Society by Edmond Halley.
• 1799
  France adopts the metre as its official unit of length.
• 1817
  Mississippi becomes the 20th U.S. state.
• 1861
  American Civil War: The Confederate States of America accept a rival state government’s pronouncement that declares Kentucky to be the 13th state of the Confederacy.
• 1861
  Forces led by Nguyễn Trung Trực, an anti-colonial guerrilla leader in southern Vietnam, sink the French lorcha L'Esperance.
• 1864
  American Civil War: Sherman’s March to the Sea – Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Union Army troops reach the outer Confederate defenses of Savannah, Georgia.
• 1868
  The first traffic lights are installed, outside the Palace of Westminster in London. Resembling railway signals, they use semaphore arms and are illuminated at night by red and green gas lamps.
• 1869
  The Kappa Sigma Fraternity is founded at the University of Virginia.

• 1884
  Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published.
• 1896
  Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi premieres in Paris. A riot breaks out at the end of the performance.
• 1898
  Spanish–American War: The Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the conflict.
• 1899
  Delta Sigma Phi fraternity is founded at the City College of New York.
• 1901
  The first Nobel Prizes are awarded.
• 1906
  U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the mediation of the Russo-Japanese War, becoming the first American to win a Nobel Prize.
• 1907
  The worst night of the Brown Dog riots in London, when 1,000 medical students clash with 400 police officers over the existence of a memorial for animals that have been vivisected.
• 1909
  Selma Lagerlöf becomes the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature
• 1927
  The phrase “Grand Ole Opry” is used for the first time on-air.
• 1932
  Thailand becomes a constitutional monarchy.
• 1936
  Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII signs the Instrument of Abdication.
• 1941
  World War II: The Royal Navy capital ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse are sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo bombers near Malaya.
• 1941
  World War II: Battle of the Philippines – Imperial Japanese forces under the command of General Masaharu Homma land on Luzon.
• 1948
  The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• 1949
  Chinese Civil War: The People’s Liberation Army begins its siege of Chengdu, the last Kuomintang-held city in mainland China, forcing President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek and his government to retreat to Taiwan.