December 10 is the 344th day of the year (345th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 21 days remaining until the end of the year. [edit] Events - 1041 – Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adopted son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V.
- 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.
- 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 Edmund Halley.
- 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.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea – Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's Union Army troops reach 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.
- 1898 – Spanish-American War: The Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the conflict.
- 1901 – The first Nobel Prizes are awarded.
- 1902 – Women are given the right to vote in Tasmania.
- 1904 – Pi Kappa Phi founded at the College of Charleston
- 1906 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt wins the Nobel Peace Prize, 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 who have been vivisected.
- 1927 – The Grand Ole Opry premieres on radio.
- 1932 – Thailand adopts a Constitution and becomes a constitutional monarchy.
- 1935 – The Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, later renamed the Heisman Trophy, is awarded to halfback Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago.
- 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 the Philippine mainland.
- 1948 – The UN 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.
- 1955 – The Mighty Mouse Playhouse premieres on television.
- 1968 – Japan's biggest heist, the still-unsolved "300 million yen robbery", is carried out in Tokyo.
- 1978 – Arab-Israeli conflict: Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1981 – The United Nations General Assembly approves Pakistan's proposal for establishing nuclear free-zone in South Asia.
- 1983 – Democracy is restored in Argentina with the assumption of President Raúl Alfonsín.
- 1989 – Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj announces the establishment of Mongolia's democratic movement that changes the second oldest communist country into a democracy.
- 1993 – The last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland. The closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages.
- 1996 – Rwandan Genocide: Military advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations Maurice Baril recommends that the UN multi-national forces in Zaire stand down.
[edit] Births - 1394 – King James I of Scotland (d. 1437)
- 1452 – Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1531)
- 1588 – Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher (d. 1637)
- 1751 – George Shaw, English botanist and zoologist (d. 1813)
- 1787 – Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, American educator (d. 1851)
- 1804 – Carl Gustav Jakob Jacobi, German mathematician (d. 1851)
- 1805 – Josef Skoda, Bohemian physician (d. 1881)
- 1815 – Ada Lovelace, English mathematician (d. 1852)
- 1820 – Princess Elizabeth of Clarence (d. 1821)
- 1821 – Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov, Russian poet (d. 1877)
- 1822 – César Franck, Belgian composer and organist (d. 1890)
- 1824 – George MacDonald, Scottish writer and preacher (d. 1905)
- 1827 – Eugene O'Keefe, Canadian businessman and brewer (d. 1913)
- 1830 – Emily Dickinson, American poet (d. 1886)
- 1851 – Melvil Dewey, American librarian, (d. 1931)
- 1870 – Mary Bonaparte, pretender to the French imperial throne (d. 1947)
- 1870 – Adolf Loos, Austrian architect (d. 1933)
- 1870 – Pierre Louÿs, French author (d. 1925)
- 1878 – Rajaji, India's freedom fighter and the first Governor General of independent India (d. 1972)
- 1880 – Fred Immler, German actor (d. 1965)
- 1882 – Otto Neurath, Austrian philosopher (d. 1945)
- 1884 – Zinaida Serebriakova, Russian-born painter (d. 1967)
- 1885 – Marios Varvoglis, Greek Composer (d. 1967)
- 1891 – Harold Alexander, British Army Field Marshal, first Earl of Tunis (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Nelly Sachs, German-born writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1970)
- 1903 – Una Merkel, American actress (d. 1986)
- 1907 – Rumer Godden, English writer (d. 1998)
- 1907 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer (d. 2005)
- 1908 – Olivier Messiaen, French composer and ornithologist (d. 1992)
- 1909 – Hermes Pan, American choreographer and dancer (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Chet Huntley, American journalist (d. 1974)
- 1912 – Philip A. Hart, U.S. Senator (d. 1976)
- 1913 – Morton Gould, American composer (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Harry Locke, English actor (d. 1987)
- 1914 – Dorothy Lamour, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Sultan Yahya Petra, King of Malaysia (d. 1979)
- 1918 – Anne Gwynne, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1918 – Anatoli Tarasov, Russian ice hockey coach (d. 1995)
- 1919 – Alexander Courage, American composer (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Clarice Lispector, Ukrainian-Brazilian writer (d. 1977)
- 1920 – Reginald Rose, American writer (d. 2002)
- 1922 – Lucía Hiriart, First Lady of Chile (1974-1990), wife of Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet
- 1923 – Harold Gould, American actor
- 1924 – Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 1997)
- 1925 – Jean Byron, American actress (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Carolyn Kizer, American poet
- 1928 – Dan Blocker, American actor (d. 1972)
- 1928 – John Colicos, Canadian actor (d. 2000)
- 1933 – Mako, Japanese-born American actor (d. 2006)
- 1934 – Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (d. 1994)
- 1935 – Terry Allcock, English footballer
- 1938 – Porter Goss, American politician, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- 1938 – Yuri Temirkanov, Russian orchestral conductor
- 1939 – Dick Bavetta, American basketball referee
- 1939 – Barry Cunliffe, English university professor
- 1941 – Fionnula Flanagan, Irish actress
- 1941 – Tommy Kirk, American actor
- 1941 – Tommy Rettig, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1941 – Kyu Sakamoto, Japanese singer and actor (d. 1985)
- 1941 – Chad Stuart, English singer (Chad and Jeremy)
- 1944 – Steve Renko, American baseball player
- 1945 – Mukhtar Altynbayev, former Kazakhstani Minister of Defense and General of the Army of Kazakhstan
- 1946 – Thomas Lux, American poet
- 1947 – Douglas Kenney, American humorist (d. 1980)
- 1947 – Rəsul Quliyev, Azerbaijani politician
- 1947 – Rainer Seifert, German field hockey player
- 1948 – Abu Abbas, founder of the Palestine Liberation Front (d. 2004)
- 1951 – Ellen Nikolaysen, Norwegian singer
- 1952 – Clive Anderson, English television presenter
- 1952 – Susan Dey, American actress
- 1953 – Chris Bury, American journalist
- 1954 – Jack Hues, English musician
- 1955 – Jacquelyn Mitchard, American novelist
- 1956 – Rod Blagojevich, 40th Governor of Illinois
- 1956 – Roberto Cassinelli, Italian politician and lawyer
- 1957 – Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor
- 1957 – Paul Hardcastle, English composer and musician
- 1957 – Prem Rawat, known also as Guru Maharaj Ji and Maharaji, American Indian spiritual leader and speaker
- 1959 – Mark Aguirre, American basketball player
- 1960 – Kenneth Branagh, Northern Irish actor and director
- 1961 – Nia Peeples, American singer/actress
- 1962 – John de Wolf, former Dutch International footballer
- 1964 – Bobby Flay, American celebrity chef and restaurateur
- 1964 – George Newbern, American actor
- 1965 – J Mascis, American musician
- 1965 – Stephanie Morgenstern, Canadian actress
- 1966 – Mel Rojas, Dominican baseball player
- 1969 – Rob Blake, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1970 – Bryant Stith, American basketball player
- 1971 – Brian Nichols, American spree killer
- 1972 – Marcos di Palma, Argentine racing driver
- 1972 – Brian Molko, Belgian-born singer and songwriter (Placebo)
- 1974 – Meg White, American drummer (The White Stripes)
- 1975 – Steve Bradley, American wrestler (d. 2008)
- 1975 – Josip Skoko, Australian footballer
- 1977 – Mr. Águila, Mexican wrestler
- 1977 – Emmanuelle Chriqui, Canadian actress
- 1978 – Marko Jaric, Serbian basketball player
- 1978 – Summer Phoenix, American actress
- 1979 – Matt Bentley, American professional wrestler
- 1980 – Sarah Chang, American violinist
- 1980 – Massari, Lebanese-born Canadian singer
- 1981 – Taufik Batisah, Singaporean singer
- 1981 – Ryan Pini, Papua New Guinea swimmer
- 1981 – Fábio Rochemback, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Shilpa Anand, Indian film and television actress
- 1983 – Patrick Flueger, American actor
- 1983 – Habib Mohamed, Ghanaian footballer
- 1983 – Katrin Siska, Estonian singer
- 1984 – Jayson Paul, American wrestler
- 1985 – Matt Forte, American football player
- 1985 – T. J. Hensick, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – Raven-Symoné, American actress and singer
- 1986 – Matthew Bates, English footballer
- 1986 – Ryoichi Tsukada, Japanese acrobat
- 1987 – Gonzalo Higuaín, French/Argentine footballer
- 1989 – Ng Chee Yang, Singaporean singer
- 1990 – Giulia Boverio, Italian actress
[edit] Deaths - 949 – Herman I, Duke of Swabia
- 1041 – Michael IV the Paphlagonian, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1010)
- 1198 – Averroes, Arab physician and philosopher (b. 1126)
- 1508 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1451)
- 1603 – William Gilbert, English scientist (b. 1544)
- 1618 – Giulio Caccini, Italian composer (b. 1551)
- 1626 – Edmund Gunter, English mathematician (b. 1581)
- 1665 – Tarquinio Merula, Italian composer
- 1736 – António Manoel de Vilhena, Portuguese ruler of Malta (b. 1663)
- 1831 – Thomas Seebeck, Baltic German physicist (b. 1770)
- 1850 – François Sulpice Beudant, French mineralogist and geologist (b. 1787)
- 1850 – Józef Bem, Polish general and a national hero of Poland and Hungary (b. 1794)
- 1865 – King Léopold I of Belgium (b. 1790)
- 1896 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor and founder of the Nobel Prize (b. 1833)
- 1909 – Red Cloud, Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Chief (b. 1822)
- 1911 – Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, English botanist (b. 1817)
- 1917 – Sir Mackenzie Bowell, fifth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1823)
- 1920 – Horace Elgin Dodge, American automobile manufacturing pioneer (b. 1868)
- 1926 – Nikola Pašić, Kingdom of Serbia and Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes prime minister (b. 1845)
- 1928 – Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect, designer, and illustrator (b. 1868)
- 1936 – Bobby Abel, English cricketer (b. 1857)
- 1936 – Luigi Pirandello, Italian writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1867)
- 1941 – Colin Kelly, American pilot (b. 1915)
- 1944 – John Henry Cound Brunt, Victoria Cross holder (b. 1922)
- 1945 – Theodor Dannecker, SS officer (b. 1913)
- 1946 – Walter Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1887)
- 1946 – Damon Runyon, American writer (b. 1884)
- 1951 – Algernon Blackwood, English writer (b. 1869)
- 1953 – Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Indian-born scholar and translator (b. 1872)
- 1956 – David Shimoni, Israeli poet and writer (b. 1891)
- 1958 – Adolfo Camarillo, American horse breeder (b. 1864)
- 1967 – Otis Redding, American soul singer (b. 1941)
- 1967 – Ronnie Caldwell, American soul and R&B musician (b. 1948)
- 1967 – Phalon Jones, American soul and R&B musician (b. 1949)
- 1968 – Karl Barth, Swiss theologian (b. 1886)
- 1968 – George Forrest, Northern Irish MP (b. 1921)
- 1968 – Thomas Merton, American monk and author (b. 1915)
- 1973 – Wolf Vishniac, American microbiologist (b. 1922)
- 1977 – Adolph Rupp, American basketball coach (b. 1901)
- 1978 – Edward D. Wood, Jr., American filmmaker (b. 1924)
- 1979 – Ann Dvorak, American film actress (b. 1912)
- 1982 – Freeman Gosden, American actor (b. 1899)
- 1986 – Susan Cabot, American actress (b. 1927)
- 1986 – Kate Wolf, American folk singer and songwriter (b. 1942)
- 1987 – Jascha Heifetz, Russian-born violinist (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Nikos Stavridis, Greek actor (b. 1910)
- 1988 – Richard S. Castellano, American actor (b. 1933)
- 1988 – Johnny Lawrence, English cricketer (b. 1911)
- 1990 – Armand Hammer, American industrialist and art collector (b. 1898)
- 1991 – Greta Kempton, American artist (b. 1901)
- 1991 – Headman Shabalala, South African singer (Ladysmith Black Mambazo) (b. 1945)
- 1992 – Dan Maskell, English tennis commentator (b. 1908)
- 1994 – Keith Joseph, English politician (b. 1918)
- 1994 – Alexander Wilson, Canadian athlete (b. 1905)
- 1995 – Darren Robinson, American rapper (The Fat Boys) (b. 1967)
- 1996 – Faron Young, American singer (b. 1932)
- 1999 – Rick Danko, Canadian bassist and singer (The Band) (b. 1942)
- 1999 – Shirley Hemphill, American actress (b. 1947)
- 1999 – Franjo Tuđman, President of Croatia (b. 1922)
- 2000 – Marie Windsor, American film actress (b. 1919)
- 2001 – Ashok Kumar, Indian actor (b. 1911)
- 2002 – Andres Küng, Swedish-Estonian politician, journalist (b. 1945)
- 2004 – Gary Webb, American journalist (b. 1955)
- 2005 – Eugene McCarthy, U.S. Senator (b. 1916)
- 2005 – Richard Pryor, American comedian and actor (b. 1940)
- 2006 – Augusto Pinochet, Former Chilean dictator (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Ashleigh Aston Moore, Actress, (b. 1981)
- 2007 – Aqsa Parvez, Canadian victim of an honor crime (b. 1991)
- 2008 – Didith Reyes, Filipino singer (b. 1948)
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