On this day: October 10

Events on October 10

• 415 The second church structure of Hagia Sophia was inaugurated. Wikipedia
• 680 Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of Muhammad, was killed at the Battle of Karbala by the forces of Yazid I, whom Husayn had refused to recognize as caliph. Wikipedia
• 680 The Battle of Karbala marks the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. Wikipedia
• 732 Charles Martel's forces defeat an Umayyad army near Tours, France. Wikipedia
• 1492 The crew of Christopher Columbus's ship, the Santa Maria, attempt a mutiny. Wikipedia
• 1845 In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 students. Wikipedia
• 1846 Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune, is discovered by English astronomer William Lassell. Wikipedia
• 1868 The Ten Years' War begins against Spanish rule in Cuba. Wikipedia
• 1911 The Xinhai Revolution began with the Wuchang Uprising, marking the beginning of the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China. Wikipedia
• 1913 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike, completing major construction on the Panama Canal. Wikipedia
• 1918 RMS Leinster is torpedoed and sunk by UB-123, killing 564, the largest loss of life on the Irish Sea. Wikipedia
• 1928 Chiang Kai-shek becomes Chairman of the Republic of China. Wikipedia
• 1935 In Greece, a coup d'état ends the Second Hellenic Republic. Wikipedia
• 1938 Abiding by the Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia completes its withdrawal from the Sudetenland. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: The Kempeitai, the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army, arrested and tortured fifty-seven civilians and civilian internees on suspicion of their involvement in a raid on Singapore Harbour. Wikipedia
• 1945 The Double Tenth Agreement is signed by the Communist Party and the Kuomintang about the future of China. Wikipedia
• 1957 U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to Ghanaian finance minister Komla Agbeli Gbedemah after he is refused service in a Delaware restaurant. Wikipedia
• 1963 The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits all test detonations of nuclear weapons except for those conducted underground, went into effect. Wikipedia
• 1970 Fiji becomes independent. Wikipedia
• 1971 Aeroflot Flight 773 is destroyed by a bomb over Moscow Oblast, killing 25. Wikipedia
• 1975 Papua New Guinea joins the United Nations. Wikipedia
• 1992 After 20 years of construction, Vidyasagar Setu, the longest cable-stayed bridge in India, opened, joining Kolkata and Howrah. Wikipedia
• 2002 Iraq War: The United States Congress approves the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. Wikipedia
• 2009 Armenia and Turkey sign the Zurich Protocols, intended to normalize relations. However, they are never ratified by either side. Wikipedia
• 2010 The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved as a country. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia

Born on October 10

• 19 Tiberius Gemellus, Roman son of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla; adoptive son of the Emperor Caligula (died 38) Wikipedia
• 1684 Jean-Antoine Watteau, French painter (died 1721) Wikipedia
• 1731 Henry Cavendish, French-English chemist, physicist, and philosopher (died 1810) Wikipedia
• 1813 Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer and philanthropist (died 1901) Wikipedia
• 1825 Paul Kruger, South African soldier and politician, 5th President of the South African Republic (died 1904) Wikipedia
• 1830 Isabella II of Spain (died 1904) Wikipedia
• 1834 Aleksis Kivi, Finnish author and playwright (died 1872) Wikipedia
• 1861 Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian explorer, scientist, and humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1930) Wikipedia
• 1900 Helen Hayes, American actress (died 1993) Wikipedia
• 1901 Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor and painter (died 1966) Wikipedia
• 1908 Mercè Rodoreda, Catalan author and poet (died 1983) Wikipedia
• 1913 Claude Simon, Malagasy-French novelist and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2005) Wikipedia
• 1917 Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (died 1982) Wikipedia
• 1930 Harold Pinter, English playwright, screenwriter, director Nobel Prize laureate (died 2008) Wikipedia
• 1930 Yves Chauvin, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2015) Wikipedia
• 1935 Khalil al-Wazir, Palestinian commander, founded Fatah (died 1988) Wikipedia
• 1936 Gerhard Ertl, German physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1946 Naoto Kan, Japanese lawyer and politician, 61st Prime Minister of Japan Wikipedia
• 1946 Charles Dance, English actor, director, and screenwriter Wikipedia
• 1954 Rekha, Indian actress Wikipedia
• 1967 Gavin Newsom, American businessman and politician, 40th and current Governor of California Wikipedia
• 1991 Xherdan Shaqiri, Swiss footballer Wikipedia

Died on October 10

• 19 Germanicus, Roman general (born 15 BC) Wikipedia
• 680 Husayn ibn Ali, third Shia Imam and grandson of Muhammad (born 626) Wikipedia
• 680 Abbas ibn Ali, son of Imam Ali Wikipedia
• 680 Ali al-Akbar ibn Husayn, son of Al-Husayn Wikipedia
• 1149 Al-Hafiz, Fatimid imam-caliph (born 1074/77) Wikipedia
• 1659 Abel Tasman, Dutch merchant and explorer (born 1603) Wikipedia
• 1837 Charles Fourier, French philosopher and academic (born 1772) Wikipedia
• 1936 Abul Kasem, Bengali politician (born 1872) Wikipedia
• 1942 Arnold Majewski, Finnish military hero of Polish descent (killed in action) (born 1892) Wikipedia
• 1963 Édith Piaf, French singer-songwriter and actress (born 1915) Wikipedia
• 1973 Ludwig von Mises, Ukrainian-American economist and sociologist (born 1881) Wikipedia
• 1985 Orson Welles, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1915) Wikipedia
• 2000 Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (born 1916) Wikipedia
• 2004 Christopher Reeve, American actor, producer, and activist (born 1952) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Aleksis Kivi Day, also known as the Finnish Literature Day (Finland) Wikipedia
• Arbor Day (Poland) Wikipedia
• Army Day (Sri Lanka) Wikipedia
• Capital Liberation Day (Vietnam) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Angela Truszkowska Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Cerbonius Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Daniele Comboni Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Edward Detkens Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Eulampius and Eulampia Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Gereon and companions Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed María Catalina Irigoyen Echegaray (Maria Desposorios) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Paulinus of York (in England) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Pinytus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Tanca Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Vida Dutton Scudder (Episcopal Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Viktor of Xanten Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: October 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Constitution Day (Sint Maarten) Wikipedia
• Curaçao Day, anniversary of autonomy Wikipedia
• Double Ten Day (The National Day of Republic of China), celebrates outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising in 1911 that led to founding of the Republic of China in 1912 Wikipedia
• Fiji Day (Fiji) Wikipedia
• Independence Day (Cuba) Wikipedia
• Party Foundation Day (North Korea) Wikipedia
• World Day Against the Death Penalty Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “October 10” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.