10 February

Events

Pre-1600

*1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end.
* 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn, sparking the revolution in the Wars of Scottish Independence.
*1355 – The St Scholastica Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead in two days.
* 1502 – Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on his second voyage to India.
*1567 – Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, is found strangled following an explosion at the Kirk o' Field house in Edinburgh, Scotland, a suspected assassination.

1601–1900

*1712 – Huilliches in Chiloé rebel against Spanish encomenderos.
* 1763 – French and Indian War: The Treaty of Paris ends the war and France cedes Quebec to Great Britain.
* 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Champaubert ends in French victory over the Russians and the Prussians.
*1840 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom marries Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
* 1846 – First Anglo-Sikh War: Battle of Sobraon: British defeat Sikhs in the final battle of the war.
*1861 – Jefferson Davis is notified by telegraph that he has been chosen as provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
*1862 – American Civil War: A Union naval flotilla destroys the bulk of the Confederate Mosquito Fleet in the Battle of Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River in North Carolina.

1901–present

* 1906 – , the first of a revolutionary new breed of battleships, is christened.
*1920 – Józef Haller de Hallenburg performs the symbolic wedding of Poland to the sea, celebrating restitution of Polish access to open sea.
*1920 – About 75% of the population in Zone I votes to join Denmark in the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites.
* 1923 – Texas Tech University is founded as Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas.
*1930 – The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng launches the failed Yên Bái mutiny in hope of overthrowing French protectorate over Vietnam.
*1933 – In round 13 of a boxing match at New York City's Madison Square Garden, Primo Carnera knocks out Ernie Schaaf. Schaaf dies four days later.
*1936 – Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italian troops launch the Battle of Amba Aradam against Ethiopian defenders.
*1939 – Spanish Civil War: The Nationalists conclude their conquest of Catalonia and seal the border with France.
* 1940 – The Soviet Union begins mass deportations of Polish citizens from occupied eastern Poland to Siberia.
*1943 – World War II: Attempting to completely lift the Siege of Leningrad, the Soviet Red Army engages German troops and Spanish volunteers in the Battle of Krasny Bor.
*1947 – The Paris Peace Treaties are signed by Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland and the Allies of World War II.
*1954 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam.
*1962 – Cold War: Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
* 1964 – Melbourne–Voyager collision: The aircraft carrier collides with and sinks the destroyer off the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, killing 82.
*1967 – The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.
* 1972 – Ras Al Khaimah joins the United Arab Emirates, now making up seven emirates.
*1984 – Kenyan soldiers kill an estimated 5000 ethnic Somali Kenyans in the Wagalla massacre.
*1989 – Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first African American to lead a major American political party.
*1996 – IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in chess for the first time.
*2003 – France and Belgium break the NATO procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq.
*2004 – Forty-three people are killed and three are injured when a Fokker 50 crashes near Sharjah International Airport.
*2009 – The communications satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 collide in orbit, destroying both.
*2013 – Thirty-six people are killed and 39 others are injured in a stampede in Allahabad, India, during the Kumbh Mela festival.
*2016 – South Korea decides to stop the operation of the Kaesong joint industrial complex with North Korea in response to the launch of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4.
*2018 – Nineteen people are killed and 66 injured when a Kowloon Motor Bus double decker on route 872 in Hong Kong overturns.
*2021 – The traditional Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is canceled for the first time because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Births

Pre-1600

* 1486 – George of the Palatinate, German bishop (d. 1529)
* 1499 – Thomas Platter, Swiss author and scholar (d. 1582)
* 1514 – Domenico Bollani, Bishop of Milan (d. 1579)

1601–1900

* 1606 – Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1663)
*1609 – John Suckling, English poet and playwright (d. 1642)
* 1627 – Cornelis de Bie, Flemish poet and jurist (d. 1715)
* 1685 – Aaron Hill, English poet and playwright (d. 1750)
*1696 – Johann Melchior Molter, German violinist and composer (d. 1765)
* 1744 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (d. 1819)
*1766 – Benjamin Smith Barton, American botanist and physician (d. 1815)
*1775 – Charles Lamb, English poet and essayist (d. 1834)
* 1785 – Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist and engineer (d. 1836)
* 1795 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter and academic (d. 1858)
*1797 – George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall (d. 1883)
* 1821 – Roberto Bompiani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1908)
*1824 – Samuel Plimsoll, English merchant and politician (d. 1898)
* 1842 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (d. 1907)
*1843 – Adelina Patti, Italian-French opera singer (d. 1919)
* 1846 – Lord Charles Beresford, Irish admiral and politician (d. 1919)
* 1846 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (d. 1927)
* 1847 – Nabinchandra Sen, Bangladeshi poet and author (d. 1909)
* 1859 – Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (d. 1943)
* 1867 – Robert Garran, Australian lawyer and public servant (d. 1957)
* 1868 – Prince Waldemar of Prussia (d. 1879)
* 1868 – William Allen White, American journalist and author (d. 1944)
*1869 – Royal Cortissoz, American art critic (d. 1948)
*1879 – Ernst Põdder, Estonian general (d. 1932)
* 1881 – Pauline Brunius, Swedish actress and director (d. 1954)
*1883 – Edith Clarke, American electrical engineer (d. 1959)
* 1883 – H.V. Hordern, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
* 1889 – Cevdet Sunay, Turkish general and politician, 5th President of Turkey (d. 1982)
*1890 – Fanny Kaplan, Ukrainian-Russian activist (d. 1918)
* 1890 – Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1960)
* 1892 – Alan Hale Sr., American actor and director (d. 1950)
* 1893 – Jimmy Durante, American actor, singer, and pianist (d. 1980)
* 1893 – Bill Tilden, American tennis player and coach (d. 1953)
*1894 – Harold Macmillan, English captain and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1986)
* 1897 – Judith Anderson, Australian actress (d. 1992)
* 1897 – John Franklin Enders, American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
*1898 – Bertolt Brecht, German director, playwright, and poet (d. 1956)
* 1898 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and author (d. 1979)

1901–present

*1901 – Stella Adler, American actress and educator (d. 1992)
*1902 – Walter Houser Brattain, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
*1903 – Waldemar Hoven, German physician (d. 1948)
* 1903 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (d. 1939)
*1904 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1963)
*1905 – Walter A. Brown, American businessman, founded the Boston Celtics (d. 1964)
* 1905 – Chick Webb, American drummer and bandleader (d. 1939)
* 1906 – Lon Chaney Jr., American actor (d. 1973)
*1907 – Anthony Cottrell, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1988)
* 1908 – Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and educator (d. 2000)
*1909 – Min Thu Wun, Burmese poet, scholar, and politician (d. 2004)
*1910 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
*1914 – Larry Adler, American harmonica player, composer, and actor (d. 2001)
*1915 – Vladimir Zeldin, Russian actor (d. 2016)
*1919 – Ioannis Charalambopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2014)
*1920 – Alex Comfort, English physician and author (d. 2000)
* 1920 – Neva Patterson, American actress (d. 2010)
* 1920 – José Manuel Castañón, Spanish lawyer and author (d. 2001)
*1922 – Árpád Göncz, Hungarian author, playwright, and politician, 1st President of Hungary (d. 2015)
* 1922 – José Gabriel da Costa later known as Mestre Gabriel, Brazilian spiritual leader, founder of the União do Vegetal (d. 1971)
* 1923 – Allie Sherman, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
*1924 – Max Ferguson, Canadian radio host and actor (d. 2013)
* 1924 – Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
* 1925 – Pierre Mondy, French actor and director (d. 2012)
* 1926 – Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (d. 2013)
* 1926 – Danny Blanchflower, Northern Irish soldier, footballer and manager (d. 1993)
*1927 – Leontyne Price, American operatic soprano
*1929 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
* 1929 – Jim Whittaker, American mountaineer
* 1929 – Lou Whittaker, American mountaineer
*1930 – E. L. Konigsburg, American author and illustrator (d. 2013)
* 1930 – Robert Wagner, American actor and producer
* 1931 – James West, American inventor and acoustician
*1932 – Barrie Ingham, English-American actor (d. 2015)
*1933 – Richard Schickel, American journalist, author, and critic (d. 2017)
* 1933 – Faramarz Payvar, Iranian santur player and composer (d. 2009)
*1935 – Theodore Antoniou, Greek composer and conductor (d. 2018)
* 1935 – Barbara Maier Gustern, American vocal coach and singer (d. 2022)
*1937 – Anne Anderson, Scottish physiologist and academic (d. 1983)
* 1937 – Roberta Flack, American singer-songwriter and pianist
*1939 – Adrienne Clarkson, Hong Kong-Canadian journalist and politician, 26th Governor General of Canada
* 1939 – Deolinda Rodríguez de Almeida, Angolan nationalist (d. 1967)
* 1940 – Mary Rand, English sprinter and long jumper
* 1940 – Kenny Rankin, American singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
*1941 – Michael Apted, English director and producer (d. 2021)
*1944 – Peter Allen, Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 1992)
* 1944 – Frank Keating, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Oklahoma
* 1944 – Frances Moore Lappé, American author and activist
* 1944 – Rufus Reid, American bassist and composer
* 1945 – Delma S. Arrigoitia, Puerto Rican historian, author, educator and lawyer
*1947 – Louise Arbour, Canadian lawyer and jurist
* 1947 – Butch Morris, American cornet player, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
* 1947 – Nicholas Owen, English journalist
*1949 – Nigel Olsson, English rock drummer and singer-songwriter
* 1950 – Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta, Mexican economist and politician (d. 1994)
* 1950 – Mark Spitz, American swimmer
*1951 – Bob Iger, American media executive
*1952 – Lee Hsien Loong, Singaporean general and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore
*1955 – Jim Cramer, American television personality, pundit, and author
* 1955 – Greg Norman, Australian golfer and sportscaster
*1956 – James Martin Graham, American Roman Catholic priest (d. 1997)
*1956 – Enele Sopoaga, Tuvaluan politician, 12th Prime Minister of Tuvalu
*1957 – Katherine Freese, American astrophysicist and academic
*1959 – John Calipari, American basketball player and coach
*1960 – Jim Kent, American biologist, computer programmer, academic
*1961 – Alexander Payne, American director, producer, and screenwriter
* 1961 – George Stephanopoulos, American television journalist
*1962 – Randy Velischek, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
* 1962 – Cliff Burton, American heavy metal bassist (d. 1986)
* 1962 – Bobby Czyz, American boxer and commentator
*1963 – Lenny Dykstra, American baseball player
* 1964 – Glenn Beck, American journalist, producer, and author
*1966 – Natalie Bennett, Australian-English journalist and politician
* 1966 – Daryl Johnston, American football player and sportscaster
*1967 – Laura Dern, American actress, director, and producer
* 1967 – Jacky Durand, French cyclist and sportscaster
* 1967 – Vince Gilligan, American director, producer, and screenwriter
*1968 – Peter Popovic, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
* 1968 – Garrett Reisman, American engineer and astronaut
*1969 – Joe Mangrum, American painter and sculptor
* 1969 – James Small, South African rugby player (d. 2019)
* 1970 – Melissa Doyle, Australian journalist and author
* 1970 – Noureddine Naybet, Moroccan international footballer and manager
* 1970 – Åsne Seierstad, Norwegian journalist and author
*1971 – Lorena Rojas, Mexican actress and singer (d. 2015)
* 1972 – Michael Kasprowicz, Australian cricketer
* 1973 – Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, English businesswoman and politician
*1974 – Elizabeth Banks, American actress
* 1974 – Ty Law, American football player
* 1974 – Ivri Lider, Israeli singer
* 1974 – Henry Paul, New Zealand rugby player and coach
* 1976 – Lance Berkman, American baseball player and coach
* 1976 – Keeley Hawes, English actress
*1977 – Salif Diao, Senegalese footballer
*1979 – Joey Hand, American race car driver
*1980 – César Izturis, Venezuelan baseball player
* 1980 – Enzo Maresca, Italian footballer
* 1980 – Mike Ribeiro, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1981 – Uzo Aduba, American actress
* 1981 – Stephanie Beatriz, American actress
* 1981 – Andrew Johnson, English international footballer and club ambassador
* 1981 – Holly Willoughby, English model and television host
*1982 – Justin Gatlin, American sprinter
* 1982 – Tarmo Neemelo, Estonian footballer
* 1982 – Hamad Al-Tayyar, Kuwaiti footballer
* 1982 – Iafeta Paleaaesina, New Zealand rugby league player
*1983 – Vic Fuentes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1984 – Greg Bird (rugby league), Greg Bird, Australian rugby league player
* 1984 – Alex Gordon, American baseball player
* 1984 – Kim Hyo-jin, South Korean actress
*1985 – Selçuk İnan, Turkish footballer
* 1985 – Paul Millsap, American basketball player
*1986 – Jeff Adrien, American basketball player
* 1986 – Josh Akognon, American basketball player
* 1986 – Radamel Falcao, Colombian footballer
* 1986 – Roberto Jiménez Gago, Spanish footballer
* 1986 – Viktor Troicki, Serbian tennis player
*1987 – Jakub Kindl, Czech ice hockey player
* 1987 – Justin Braun (ice hockey), Justin Braun, American ice hockey player
* 1987 – Facundo Roncaglia, Argentinian footballer
*1988 – Francesco Acerbi, Italian footballer
*1989 – Liam Hendriks, Australian baseball player
* 1990 – Choi Soo-young, South Korean singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer
*1991 – Rebecca Dempster, Scottish footballer
* 1991 – Emma Roberts, American actress
*1992 – Haruka Nakagawa, Japanese singer and actress
* 1992 – Reinhold Yabo, German footballer
*1993 – Max Kepler, German baseball player
* 1993 – Filip Twardzik, Czech footballer
* 1993 – Luis Madrigal, Mexican footballer
*1994 – Kang Seul-gi, South Korean singer
*1994 – Son Na-eun, South Korean singer and actress
*1995 – Carolane Soucisse, Canadian ice dancer
* 1995 – Lexi Thompson, American professional golfer
*1996 – Emanuel Mammana, Argentinian footballer
*1997 – Lilly King, American swimmer
* 1997 – Chloë Grace Moretz, American actress
* 1997 – Nadia Podoroska, Argentine tennis player
* 2000 – María Carlé, Argentine tennis player
*2000 – Yara Shahidi, American actress and model

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 547 – Scholastica, Christian nun
*1127 – William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 1071)
*1163 – Baldwin III of Jerusalem (b. 1130)
*1242 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (b. 1231)
* 1242 – Saint Verdiana, Italian recluse (b. 1182)
*1280 – Margaret II, Countess of Flanders (b. 1202)
* 1306 – John "the Red" Comyn, Scottish nobleman
*1307 – Temür Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan (b. 1265)
*1346 – Blessed Clare of Rimini (b. 1282)
*1471 – Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg (b. 1413)
*1524 – Catherine of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria (b. 1468)
*1526 – John V, Count of Oldenburg, German noble (b. 1460)
*1567 – Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1545)
*1576 – Wilhelm Xylander, German scholar, translator, and academic (b. 1532)

1601–1900

*1660 – Judith Leyster, Dutch painter (b. 1609)
*1686 – William Dugdale, English genealogist and historian (b. 1605)
*1755 – Montesquieu, French lawyer and philosopher (b. 1689)
*1782 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and author (b. 1702)
*1829 – Pope Leo XII (b. 1760)
*1831 – Peter Heywood, British naval officer (b. 1772)
*1837 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet and author (b. 1799)
* 1846 – Maria Aletta Hulshoff, Dutch feminist and pamphleteer (b. 1781)
*1854 – José Joaquín de Herrera, Mexican politician and general (b. 1792)
*1857 – David Thompson (explorer), David Thompson, English-Canadian surveyor and explorer (b. 1770)
*1865 – Heinrich Lenz, Estonian-Italian physicist and academic (b. 1804)
*1879 – Honoré Daumier, French illustrator and painter (b. 1808)
*1887 – Ellen Wood (author), Ellen Wood, English author (b. 1814)
*1891 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (b. 1850)

1901–present

*1904 – John A. Roche, American lawyer and politician, 30th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1844)
* 1906 – Ezra Butler Eddy, American-Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1827)
*1912 – Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, English surgeon and academic (b. 1827)
*1913 – Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek long jumper (b. 1888)
*1917 – John William Waterhouse, English soldier and painter (b. 1849)
*1918 – Abdul Hamid II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1842)
* 1918 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian soldier and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1833)
*1920 – Henry Strangways, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of South Australia (b. 1832)
* 1923 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
*1928 – José Sánchez del Río, Mexican martyr and saint (b. 1913)
*1932 – Edgar Wallace, English author and screenwriter (b. 1875)
*1939 – Pope Pius XI (b. 1857)
*1944 – E. M. Antoniadi, Greek-French astronomer and chess player (b. 1870)
* 1945 – Anacleto Díaz, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1878)
* 1950 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (b. 1872)
*1956 – Leonora Speyer, American poet and violinist (b. 1872)
* 1956 – Emmanouil Tsouderos, Greek banker and politician, 132nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1882)
*1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (b. 1867)
*1960 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (b. 1898)
*1966 – Billy Rose, American composer and songwriter (b. 1899)
*1967 – Dionysios Kokkinos, Greek historian and author (b. 1884)
*1975 – Nikos Kavvadias, Greek sailor and poet (b. 1910)
*1979 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1910)
*1992 – Alex Haley, American soldier, journalist, and author (b. 1921)
*1993 – Fred Hollows, New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist and academic (b. 1929)
*1995 – Paul Monette, American author, poet, and activist (b. 1945)
*1997 – Brian Connolly, Scottish musician (b. 1945)
*2000 – Jim Varney, American actor, comedian and writer (b. 1949)
*2001 – Abraham Beame, American academic and politician, 104th Mayor of New York City (b. 1906)
* 2001 – Buddy Tate, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1913)
*2002 – Dave Van Ronk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
*2003 – Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer (b. 1910)
* 2003 – Albert J. Ruffo, American lawyer and politician, List of mayors of San Jose, California, Mayor of San Jose (b. 1908)
* 2003 – Ron Ziegler, American politician, 14th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
*2005 – Arthur Miller, American actor, playwright, and author (b. 1915)
*2006 – James Yancey, American record producer and rapper (b. 1974)
*2008 – Roy Scheider, American actor and boxer (b. 1932)
*2010 – Fred Schaus, American basketball player and coach (b. 1925)
* 2010 – Charlie Wilson (Texas politician), Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1933)
*2011 – Trevor Bailey, English cricketer and journalist (b. 1923)
*2012 – Lloyd Morrison, New Zealand banker and businessman, founded H. R. L. Morrison & Co (b. 1957)
* 2012 – Jeffrey Zaslow, American journalist and author (b. 1958)
*2013 – W. Watts Biggers, American author, screenwriter, and animator (b. 1927)
* 2013 – David Hartman (rabbi), David Hartman, American-Israeli rabbi and philosopher, founded the Shalom Hartman Institute (b. 1931)
*2014 – Stuart Hall (cultural theorist), Stuart Hall, Jamaican-English sociologist and theorist (b. 1932)
* 2014 – Shirley Temple, American actress and diplomat (b. 1928)
*2015 – Naseer Aruri, Palestinian scholar and activist (b. 1934)
* 2015 – Karl Josef Becker, German cardinal and theologian (b. 1928)
* 2015 – Deng Liqun, Chinese theorist and politician (b. 1915)
*2016 – Fatima Surayya Bajia, Indian-Pakistani author and playwright (b. 1930)
*2017 – Mike Ilitch, American businessman (b. 1929)
*2019 – Carmen Argenziano, American actor (b. 1943)
* 2019 – Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (b. 1944)
*2021 – Larry Flynt, American publisher (b. 1942)
*2022 – Olsen Filipaina, New Zealand rugby league player (b. 1957)

Holidays and observances

*Christian feast day:
**Austrebertha
**Saint Charalambos, Charalambos
**José Sánchez del Río
**Scholastica
**February 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck (Malta)
*Fenkil Day (Eritrea)
*Public holidays in Iraq, Kurdish Authors Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
*National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe (Italy)

References

External links

BBC: On This Day
*

Historical Events on February 10

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Days of the year
February