January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 355 days remaining until the end of the year (356 in leap years).

[edit] Events

• 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war.
• 1072 - Robert Guiscard conquers Palermo.
• 1475 - Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
• 1645 - Archbishop William Laud is beheaded at the Tower of London.
• 1776 - Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense.
• 1806 - Dutch settlers in Cape Town surrender to the British.
• 1810 - The marriage of Napoleon and Josephine is annulled.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Florida secedes from the Union.
• 1863 - The London Underground, the world's oldest underground railway, opens between London Paddington station and Farringdon station.
• 1870 - John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil.
• 1901 - The first great Texas oil gusher is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
• 1920 - The League of Nations holds its first meeting and ratifies the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I.
• 1922 - Arthur Griffith is elected President of the Irish Free State.
• 1923 - Lithuania seizes and annexes Memel.
• 1941 - Lend-Lease is introduced into the U.S. Congress.
• 1941 - World War II: The Greek army captures Kleisoura.
• 1946 - The first General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London. Fifty-one nations are represented.
• 1962 - Apollo Project: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket booster. It became better known as the Saturn V moon rocket, which launched every Apollo moon mission.
• 1984 - The United States and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations after 117 years.
• 1989 - Cuban troops begin withdrawing from Angola.
• 1990 - Time Warner is formed from the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc.
• 2001 - A large piece of the chalk cliff at Beachy Head collapses into the sea.
• 2005 - A mudslide occurs in La Conchita, California, killing 10 people, injuring many more and closing the Highway 101, the main coastal corridor between San Francisco and Los Angeles, for 10 days.

[edit] Births

• 1480 - Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands (d. 1530)
• 1538 - Louis of Nassau, Dutch general (d. 1574)
• 1573 - Simon Marius, German astronomer (d. 1624)
• 1607 - Isaac Jogues, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1646)
• 1628 - George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1687)
• 1638 - Nicolas Steno, Danish geologist (d. 1686)
• 1644 - Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French marshal (d. 1711)
• 1654 - Joshua Barnes, English scholar (d. 1712)
• 1702 - Johannes Zick, German fresco painter (d. 1762)
• 1715 - Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
• 1721 - Johann Philipp Baratier, German scholar (d. 1740)
• 1729 - Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist (d. 1799)
• 1738 - Ethan Allen, American Revolution military leader (d. 1789)
• 1750 - Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, British Lord Chancellor (d. 1823)
• 1769 - Michel Ney, French marshal (d. 1815)
• 1797 - Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German writer (d. 1848)
• 1810 - Jeremiah S. Black, American statesman (d. 1883)
• 1812 - Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect (d. 1881)
• 1815 - Sir John Alexander Macdonald, First Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1891)
• 1828 - Herman Koeckemann, German Catholic prelate (d. 1892)
• 1834 - Lord Acton, British historian (d. 1902)
• 1840 - Louis Nazaire Bégin, French Canadian archbishop and cardinal (d. 1925)
• 1843 - Frank James, American outlaw (d. 1915)
• 1849 - Francisco Ferrer Guardia, Spanish free-thinker (d. 1909)
• 1836 - Charles Ingalls, father of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1902)
• 1850 - John Wellborn Root, American architect (d. 1891)
• 1858 - Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
• 1864 - Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia, son of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich (d. 1931)
• 1865 - Mary Ingalls, sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1928)
• 1873 - Jack O'Neill, Irish-born baseball player (d. 1935)
• 1873 - George Orton, Canadian athlete (d. 1958)
• 1880 - Manuel Azaña y Diaz, Spanish republican President (d. 1940)
• 1883 - Francis X. Bushman, American actor (d. 1966)
• 1883 - Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoi, Russian writer (d. 1945)
• 1887 - Robinson Jeffers, American poet (d. 1962)
• 1890 - Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (d. 1957)
• 1893 - Albert Jacka, Australian soldier, first Australian World War I Victoria Cross winner (d. 1932)
• 1898 - Katharine Blodgett, American Scientist and inventor (d. 1979)
• 1903 - Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
• 1903 - Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (d. 1997)
• 1903 - Violet Wilkey, American actress (d. 1976)
• 1904 - Ray Bolger, American actor/dancer (d. 1987)
• 1908 - Paul Henreid, Austrian actor (d. 1993)
• 1908 - Bernard Lee, English actor (d. 1981)
• 1910 - Jean Martinon, French conductor, composer (d. 1976)
• 1912 - Maria Mandel, Camp leader at Auschwitz (d. 1948)
• 1913 - Gustáv Husák, President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
• 1913 - Mehmet Shehu, Albanian politician (d. 1981)
• 1914 - Yu Kuo-hwa, former Premier of Taiwan (d. 2000)
• 1915 - Dean Dixon, U.S. conductor (d. 1976)
• 1916 - Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2004)
• 1916 - Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
• 1917 - Jerry Wexler, American record producer (d. 2008)
• 1918 - Arthur Chung, President of Guyana (d. 2008)
• 1920 - Georges Marchal, French actor (d. 1997)
• 1920 - Max Patkin, American baseball player (d. 1999)
• 1921 - Rodger Ward, American race car driver (d. 2004)
• 1924 - Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Canadian ballet dancer, choreographer and director (Les Grands Ballets Canadiens) (d. 1996)
• 1924 - Max Roach, American percussionist, drummer, and composer (d. 2007)
• 1926 - Musallam Bseiso, Palestinian journalist, thinker, and politician
• 1927 - Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian singer (d. 2003)
• 1927 - Johnnie Ray, American singer (d. 1990)
• 1927 - Otto Stich, Swiss politician
• 1928 - Philip Levine, American poet
• 1929 - Derek Hammond-Stroud, English operatic baritone
• 1930 - Roy Edward Disney, American film executive
• 1931 - Peter Barnes, English writer (d. 2004)
• 1932 - Elaine Devry, American actress
• 1933 - Anton Rodgers, English actor (d. 2007)
• 1934 - Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician
• 1935 - Ronnie Hawkins, American musician
• 1935 - Sherrill Milnes, American baritone
• 1936 - Burnum Burnum, Australian Aboriginal activist, actor, author and dreamer (d. 1997)
• 1936 - Stephen Ambrose, American historian (d. 2002)
• 1936 - Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist and radio astronomer, Nobel laureate
• 1936 - Al Goldstein, American publisher and pornographer
• 1937 - Thomas Penfield Jackson, American judge
• 1938 - Donald Knuth, American mathematician and computer scientist
• 1938 - Frank Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player and Canadian Senator
• 1938 - Willie McCovey, American baseball player
• 1939 - Jared Carter, American poet
• 1939 - David Horowitz, American author and political commentator
• 1939 - William Levy, Dutch writer
• 1939 - Scott McKenzie, American singer
• 1939 - Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
• 1939 - Bill Toomey, American athlete
• 1940 - Guy Chevrette, Quebec politician
• 1940 - Ntare VI of Ankole, Omugabe of Nkole
• 1940 - Yesudas, Indian playback singer and classical musician
• 1942 - Walter Hill, American film director
• 1943 - Jim Croce, American singer (d. 1973)
• 1944 - Rory Byrne, South African racing car designer
• 1944 - Bernard Derome, Canadian news presenter (Le Téléjournal)
• 1944 - William Sanderson, American actor
• 1944 - Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer
• 1945 - Jennifer Moss, English Actress (d. 2006)
• 1945 - John Fahey, Australian politician
• 1945 - Rod Stewart, Scottish singer
• 1945 - Edward Wiskoski, American professional wrestler
• 1946 - Aynsley Dunbar, English musician
• 1947 - Afeni Shakur, mother of Tupac Shakur
• 1948 - Donald Fagen, American keyboardist, singer and songwriter (Steely Dan)
• 1948 - Teresa Graves, American actress and singer (d. 2002)
• 1948 - Mischa Maisky, Latvian cellist
• 1948 - Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist
• 1949 - George Foreman, American boxer
• 1949 - James Lapine, American stage director
• 1949 - Linda Lovelace, American pornographic actress (d. 2002)
• 1951 - Paul DiMaggio, American educator
• 1952 - Scott Thurston, American musician
• 1953 - Pat Benatar, American singer
• 1953 - Dennis Cooper, American author
• 1953 - Bobby Rahal, American race car driver and team owner
• 1955 - Michael Schenker, German guitarist (UFO)
• 1956 - Shawn Colvin, American singer
• 1956 - Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish writer
• 1957 - Greg Walden, American politician
• 1958 - Anatoly Pisarenko, Soviet weightlifter
• 1959 - Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter
• 1960 - Benoît Pelletier, Canadian politician
• 1960 - Samira Said, Moroccan singer
• 1961 - Evan Handler, American actor
• 1961 - Janet Jones, American actress; wife of Wayne Gretzky
• 1961 - Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian-American violinist
• 1962 - Michael Fortier, Canadian politician
• 1963 - Mark Pryor, American politician
• 1964 - Brad Roberts, Canadian singer (Crash Test Dummies)
• 1965 - Butch Hartman, American animator
• 1966 - Steve Kramer, American politician
• 1967 - Johan Laats, Belgian judoka
• 1970 - Marcus Bagwell, American professional wrestler
• 1970 - Alisa Maric, Serbian-born American chess grandmaster
• 1972 - Thomas Alsgaard, Norwegian cross-country skier
• 1972 - Brian Lawler, American professional wrestler
• 1973 - Ryan Drummond, American voice actor
• 1973 - Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
• 1974 - Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor
• 1974 - Davide Dionigi, Italian footballer
• 1974 - Akari Kaida, Japanese composer
• 1974 - Steve Marlet, French footballer
• 1974 - Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
• 1975 - Jake Delhomme, American football player
• 1976 - Adam Kennedy, American baseball player
• 1978 - Brent Smith, American singer (Shinedown)
• 1980 - Matt Roney, American baseball player
• 1980 - Sarah Shahi, American actress and model
• 1981 - Brian Joo, Korean-American singer
• 1982 - Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1983 - Danilo Dirani, Brazilian racing driver
• 1983 - Li Nina, Chinese aerial free-style skier
• 1986 - Saleisha Stowers, American model
• 1986 - Abigail Clancy, English model
• 1990 - Tao Li, Singaporean swimmer

[edit] Deaths

• 681 - Pope Agatho
• 976 - John I Tzimiskes, Greek Byzantine Emperor (b. 925)
• 1094 - Caliph Al-Mustansir of Cairo (b. 1029)
• 1276 - Pope Gregory X (bc. 1210)
• 1645 - William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1573)
• 1654 - Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer (b. 1616)
• 1662 - Prince Honoré II of Monaco (b. 1597)
• 1698 - Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, French historian (b. 1637)
• 1707 - Philibert, comte de Gramont, French writer (b. 1621)
• 1754 - Edward Cave, English editor and publisher (b. 1691)
• 1761 - Edward Boscawen, British admiral (b. 1711)
• 1777 - Spranger Barry, Irish actor (b. 1719)
• 1778 - Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist (b. 1707)
• 1794 - Georg Forster, German scientist and revolutionary (d. 1754)
• 1811 - Marie-Joseph Chénier, French poet (b. 1764)
• 1824 - King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (b. 1759)
• 1828 - François de Neufchâteau, French statesman and intellectual figure (b. 1750)
• 1833 - Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician (b. 1752)
• 1851 - Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775)
• 1862 - Samuel Colt, American inventor (b. 1814)
• 1863 - Lyman Beecher, US Presbyterian clergyman, temperance movement leader (b. 1775)
• 1866 - Pyotr Pletnyov, Russian poet (b. 1792)
• 1883 - Dr Samuel A. Mudd, American medical doctor (b. 1833)
• 1895 - Benjamin Godard, French composer (b. 1849)
• 1901 - Sir James Dickson, Premier of Queensland, Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1832)
• 1904 - Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
• 1905 - Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (b. 1835)
• 1917 - William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, American frontiersman (b. 1846)
• 1922 - Frank Tudor, Australian Labor Opposition leader (b. 1866)
• 1934 - Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch communist accused of setting the Reichstag fire (b. 1909)
• 1935 - Edwin Flack, Australian athlete, first Olympic champion (b. 1873)
• 1941 - Frank Bridge, English composer (b. 1879)
• 1941 - Sir John Lavery, Northern Irish artist (b. 1856)
• 1941 - Joe Penner, Hungarian-born comedian and actor (b. 1904)
• 1949 - Erich von Drygalski, German geographer, geophysicist, and polar scientist (b. 1865)
• 1951 - Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
• 1951 - Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (b. 1890)
• 1957 - Gabriela Mistral, Chilean writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1889)
• 1960 - Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1879)
• 1961 - Dashiell Hammett, American writer (b. 1894)
• 1968 - Basil Sydney, English actor (b. 1894)
• 1969 - John Brownlee, Australian tenor (b. 1900)
• 1970 - Pavel Belyayev, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1925)
• 1971 - Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, French fashion designer (b. 1883)
• 1972 - Aksel Larsen, Danish politician (b. 1897)
• 1976 - Howlin' Wolf, American musician (b. 1910)
• 1978 - Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist (b. 1924)
• 1978 - Don Gillis, American composer (b. 1912)
• 1980 - Hughie Critz, American baseball player (b. 1900)
• 1980 - George Meany, American labor leader (b. 1894)
• 1980 - Bo Rein, American college football coach (b. 1945)
• 1981 - Katherine Alexander, American actress (b. 1898)
• 1981 - Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
• 1981 - Fawn M. Brodie, American historian (b. 1915)
• 1982 - Paul Lynde, American comedian (b. 1926)
• 1984 - Souvanna Phouma, Prince and Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
• 1985 - Anton Karas, Austrian zither player and composer (b. 1906)
• 1986 - Jaroslav Seifert, Czech writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1901)
• 1987 - Marion Hutton, American singer and actress (b. 1919)
• 1987 - Sir David Robinson, English philanthropist and entrepreneur (b. 1904)
• 1989 - Herbert Morrison, American radio reporter (b. 1905)
• 1989 - Colin Winchester, Australian Assistant Police Commissioner, murdered (b. 1933)
• 1992 - Roberto Bonomi, Argentine racing driver (b. 1919)
• 1995 - Kathleen Tynan, Canadian-British journalist, author and screenwriter (b. 1937)
• 1997 - Elspeth Huxley, British journalist and writer (b. 1907)
• 1997 - Sheldon Leonard, American film producer, actor, and director (b. 1907)
• 1997 - Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1907)
• 1999 - Sir Edward Williams, Australian judge (b. 1921)
• 2000 - Sam Jaffe, American producer (b. 1901)
• 2002 - W.A. Criswell, American (Baptist) preacher (b. 1909)
• 2004 - Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1941)
• 2004 - Alexandra Ripley, American author (b. 1934)
• 2005 - Gene Baylos, American comedian (b. 1906)
• 2005 - Margherita Carosio, Italian soprano (b. 1908)
• 2005 - James Forman, American civil rights leader (b. 1928)
• 2005 - Kalevi Hämäläinen, Finnish cross country skier (b. 1932)
• 2005 - Erwin Hillier, British cinematographer (b. 1911)
• 2005 - Jack Horner, American sports journalist (b. 1912)
• 2005 - Joséphine-Charlotte, Grandduchess of Luxembourg (b. 1927)
• 2005 - Metropolitan Wasyly Fedak, primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (b. 1909)
• 2007 - Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (b. 1912)
• 2007 - Bradford Washburn, American explorer (b. 1910)
• 2008 - Christopher Bowman, American figure skater (b. 1967)
• 2008 - Maila Nurmi, aka Vampira, Finnish-born American actress (b. 1921)
• 2008 - Mikhail Minin, Russian Soviet soldier (b. 1922)

[edit] Holidays and observances

• Roman Catholic Church
  • Peter Orseolo, Doge of Venice and saint
• Coptic Church:
  • Obadiah
• January 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

[edit] External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada