October 10

October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 82 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 19 AD – Roman general Germanicus suddenly dies in Antioch under mysterious circumstances. Roman historian Tactius records that Germanicus was poisoned by Syrian Governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso under orders from Roman emperor Tiberius.
• 680 – Battle of Karbala: Hussain bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Muslims as Aashurah.
• 732 – Battle of Tours: Near Poitiers, France, the leader of the Franks, Charles Martel and his men, defeat a large army of Moors, stopping the Muslims from spreading into Western Europe. The governor of Cordoba, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, is killed during the battle.
• 1471 – Battle of Brunkeberg in Stockholm: Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the help of farmers and miners, repels an attack by Christian I, King of Denmark.
• 1575 – Battle of Dormans: Roman Catholic forces under Duke Henry of Guise defeat the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others.
• 1580 – After a three-day siege, the English Army beheads over 600 Papal soldiers and civilians at Dún an Óir, Ireland.
• 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
• 1631 – An Electorate of Saxony army takes over Prague.
• 1760 – In a treaty with the Dutch colonial authorities, the Ndyuka people of Suriname - descended from escaped slaves - gain territorial autonomy.
• 1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000–30,000 in the Caribbean.
• 1845 – In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 midshipman students and seven professors.
• 1860 – The original cornerstone of the University of the South is laid in Sewanee, Tennessee.
• 1868 – Carlos Céspedes issues the Grito de Yara from his plantation, La Demajagua, proclaiming Cuba's independence
• 1871 – The Great Chicago Fire: Chicago burns after a barn accident. The fire lasts from October 8 to October 10.
• 1911 – The Wuchang Uprising leads to the demise of Qing Dynasty, the last Imperial court in China, and the founding of the Republic of China.
• 1913 – President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike thus ending construction on the Panama Canal.
• 1920 – The Carinthian Plebiscite determines that the larger part of Carinthia should remain part of Austria.
• 1928 – Chiang Kai-Shek becomes Chairman of the Republic of China.
• 1933 – United Airlines Chesterton Crash: A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by sabotage, the first such proven case in the history of commercial aviation.
• 1935 – A coup d'état by the royalist leadership of the Greek Armed Forces takes place in Athens. It overthrows the government of Panagis Tsaldaris and establishes a regency under Georgios Kondylis, effectively ending the Second Hellenic Republic.
• 1938 – The Munich Agreement cedes the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany.
• 1942 – The Soviet Union establishes diplomatic relations with Australia.
• 1943 – Double Tenth Incident in Japanese-controlled Singapore
• 1944 – Holocaust: 800 Gypsy children are murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp.
• 1945 – The Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang signed a principle agreement in Chongqing about the future of post-war China. Later, the pact is commonly referred to as the Double-Ten Agreement.
• 1953 – Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea is concluded in Washington D.C.
• 1957 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he is refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant.
• 1957 – The Windscale fire in Cumbria, U.K. is the world's first major nuclear accident.
• 1963 – France cedes control of the Bizerte naval base to Tunisia.
• 1964 – The opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite.
• 1967 – The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force.
• 1970 – Fiji becomes independent.
• 1970 – In Montreal, Quebec, a national crisis hits Canada when Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
• 1971 – Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
• 1973 – Vice President of the United States Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with federal income tax evasion.
• 1975 – Papua New Guinea joins the United Nations.
• 1980 – A magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurs in the Algerian town of El Asnam. 3,500 die and 300,000 are left homeless.
• 1985 – United States Navy F-14 fighter jets intercept an Egyptian plane carrying the hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise ship, and force it to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily where they are arrested.
• 1986 – An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale strikes San Salvador, El Salvador, killing an estimated 1,500 people.
• 1997 – An Austral Airlines DC-9-32 crashes and explodes near Nuevo Berlin, Uruguay, killing 74.
• 1998 – A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 is shot down by rebels in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 41 people.
• 2005 – John Banville is awarded the Booker Prize for his novel The Sea.
• 2006 – The Greek city of Volos floods in one of the prefecture's worst recorded floods.
• 2008 – The 10 October 2008 Orakzai bombing kills 110 and injures 200 more.
• 2009 – Armenia and Turkey sign protocols in Zurich, Switzerland to open their borders.
• 2010 – The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved as a country.

Births

• 1344 – Mary of Waltham (d. 1362)
• 1567 – Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain (d. 1597)
• 1599 – Étienne Moulinié, French composer (d. 1676)
• 1669 – Johann Nicolaus Bach, German composer (d. 1753)
• 1678 – John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Scottish soldier (d. 1743)
• 1684 – Antoine Watteau, French painter (d. 1721)
• 1700 – Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, French sculptor (d. 1759)
• 1731 – Henry Cavendish, French-English scientist and philosopher (d. 1810)
• 1780 – John Abercrombie, Scottish physician (d. 1844)
• 1794 – William Whiting Boardman, American politician (d. 1871)
• 1813 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (d. 1901)
• 1819 – Heinrich Joseph Dominicus Denzinger, German theologian and author (d. 1883)
• 1825 – Paul Kruger, South African politician, 5th President of the South African Republic (d. 1904)
• 1828 – Samuel J. Randall, American soldier, lawyer and politician (d. 1890)
• 1830 – Isabella II of Spain (d. 1904)
• 1834 – Aleksis Kivi, Finnish author (d. 1872)
• 1837 – Robert Gould Shaw, American army officer (d. 1863)
• 1861 – Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1930)
• 1863 – Louis Cyr, Canadian strongman (d. 1912)
• 1863 – Helen Dunbar, American actress (d. 1933)
• 1864 – T. Frank Appleby, American politician (d. 1924)
• 1870 – Ivan Bunin, Russian author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1953)
• 1870 – Louise Mack, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1935)
• 1884 – Ida Wüst, German actress (d. 1958)
• 1885 – Walter Anderson, German ethnologist (d. 1962)
• 1889 – Han van Meegeren, Dutch painter (d. 1947)
• 1895 – Fridolf Rhudin Swedish actor and comedian (d. 1935)
• 1895 – Wolfram von Richthofen, German field marshal (d. 1945)
• 1898 – Lilly Daché, French-American fashion designer (d. 1989)
• 1900 – Helen Hayes, American actress (d. 1993)
• 1901 – Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor and painter (d. 1966)
• 1903 – Prince Charles, Count of Flanders (d. 1983)
• 1903 – Vernon Duke, Russian-American composer (d. 1969)
• 1903 – Bei Shizhang, Chinese biologist and educator (d. 2009)
• 1906 – Paul Creston, American composer (d. 1985)
• 1906 – R. K. Narayan, Indian author (d. 2001)
• 1908 – Johnny Green, American conductor and composer (d. 1989)
• 1908 – Mercè Rodoreda, Catalan author (d. 1983)
• 1909 – Robert F. Boyle, American production designer and art director (d. 2010)
• 1910 – Julius Shulman, American photographer (d. 2009)
• 1911 – Clare Hollingworth, English journalist and author
• 1912 – Ram Vilas Sharma, Indian poet and critic (d. 2000)
• 1913 – Claude Simon, Malagasy-French author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
• 1914 – Tommy Fine, American baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1914 – Ivory Joe Hunter, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1974)
• 1915 – Sweets Edison, American trumpet player (Count Basie Orchestra) (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (d. 1982)
• 1919 – Willard Estey, Canadian jurist (d. 2002)
• 1922 – Merv Pregulman, American football player (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Louis Gottlieb, American bass player (The Limeliters) (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Nicholas Parsons, English actor
• 1923 – Murray Walker, English sportscaster
• 1924 – James Clavell, Australian author (d. 1994)
• 1924 – Ludmilla Tchérina, French actress and dancer (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Ed Wood, American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1978)
• 1925 – Great Antonio, Croatian-Canadian strongman (d. 2001)
• 1925 – Johnny Stompanato, American bodyguard (d. 1958)
• 1926 – Oscar Brown, American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor (d. 2005)
• 1926 – Richard Jaeckel, American actor (d. 1997)
• 1927 – Dana Elcar, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Thomas Wilson, Scottish composer (d. 2001)
• 1928 – Sheila F. Walsh, English author (d. 2009)
• 1929 – Herb Levinson, American actor
• 1930 – Eugenio Castellotti, Italian race car driver (d. 1957)
• 1930 – Yves Chauvin, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1930 – Harold Pinter, English playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
• 1930 – Al Ulbrickson, American rower (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Konstantin Vyrupayev, Soviet wrestler (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Mustafa Zaidi, Pakistani poet (d. 1970)
• 1932 – Harry Smith, English footballer
• 1933 – Jay Sebring, American hair stylist, founded Sebring International (d. 1969)
• 1933 – Jim Temp, American football player (d. 2012)
• 1935 – Khalil al-Wazir, Palestinian military leader, founder of Fatah (d. 1988)
• 1935 – André Bureau, Canadian lawyer and businessman
• 1936 – Gerhard Ertl, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1938 – Gloria Coates, American composer
• 1938 – Moriyama Daido, Japanese photographer
• 1939 – Joseph R. Pitts, American politician
• 1939 – Goli Taraqqi, Iranian author
• 1940 – Winston Churchill, English politician (d. 2010)
• 1940 – Pouri Banai, Iranian actress
• 1941 – Peter Coyote, American actor
• 1942 – Radu Vasile, Romanian politician, historian, and poet, Prime Minister of Romania
• 1943 – Frederick Barthelme, American author
• 1946 – Charles Dance, English actor
• 1946 – Naoto Kan, Japanese politician, 61st Prime Minister of Japan
• 1946 – Peter Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1946 – Anne Mather, English author
• 1946 – John Prine, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1946 – Martin Ruane, English wrestler (d. 1998)
• 1946 – Chris Tarrant, English television host
• 1946 – Ben Vereen, American actor, singer, and dancer
• 1947 – Gary Beach, American actor
• 1948 – Séverine, French singer
• 1948 – Ed Volker, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (The Radiators)
• 1949 – Ioannis Gklavakis, Greek politician
• 1949 – Wang Wanxing, Chinese activist
• 1950 – Nora Roberts, American author
• 1951 – Epeli Ganilau, Fijian soldier and politician
• 1953 – Midge Ure, Scottish singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Slik, Rich Kids, Thin Lizzy, Visage, and Ultravox)
• 1953 – Gus Williams, American basketball player
• 1954 – Rekha, Indian actress
• 1954 – Mohamed Mounir, Egyptian singer and actor
• 1954 – David Lee Roth, American singer-songwriter, and producer (Van Halen)
• 1954 – Patric Zimmerman, American voice actor
• 1956 – Amanda Burton, Irish actress
• 1956 – Mark Gordon, American television and film producer
• 1957 – Rumiko Takahashi, Japanese writer and illustrator
• 1958 – J. Eddie Peck, American actor
• 1958 – Tanya Tucker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1959 – Michael Cobley, English-Scottish author
• 1959 – Kirsty MacColl, English singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
• 1959 – Julia Sweeney, American actress, comedian, and author
• 1959 – Bradley Whitford, American actor
• 1960 – Ron Flockhart, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1960 – Eric Martin, American singer-songwriter (Mr. Big and Tak Matsumoto Group)
• 1960 – Simon Townshend, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Casbah Club)
• 1961 – Jodi Benson, American actress and singer
• 1961 – Henrik Jørgensen, Danish runner
• 1961 – Martin Kemp, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor (Spandau Ballet)
• 1963 – Jolanda de Rover, Dutch swimmer
• 1963 – Anita Mui, Hong Kong singer and actress (d. 2003)
• 1963 – Vegard Ulvang, Norwegian skier
• 1964 – Quinton Flynn, American voice actor
• 1964 – Sarah Lancashire, English actress
• 1964 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist (d. 2002)
• 1964 – Crystal Waters, American singer-songwriter
• 1965 – Toshi, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (X Japan)
• 1965 – Chris Penn, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1965 – Rebecca Pidgeon, American actress
• 1966 – Tony Adams, English footballer
• 1966 – Mohamed Elmoutaoikil, Moroccan activist
• 1966 – Bai Ling, Chinese-American actress
• 1966 – Derrick McKey, American basketball player
• 1967 – Jonathan Littell, American-French author
• 1967 – Mike Malinin, American drummer (Goo Goo Dolls)
• 1967 – Gavin Newsom, American politician, 49th Lieutenant Governor of California
• 1968 – Bart Brentjens, Dutch cyclist
• 1968 – Marinos Ouzounidis, Greek footballer and manager
• 1968 – DJ Skribble, American DJ, producer, and actor (Young Black Teenagers)
• 1969 – Francis Escudero, Filipino politician
• 1969 – Brett Favre, American football player
• 1969 – Shawn Jamison, American basketball player and coach
• 1969 – Wendi McLendon-Covey, American actress
• 1969 – Dilsa Demirbag Sten, Swedish author and journalist
• 1970 – Dean Kiely, Irish footballer
• 1970 – Silke Kraushaar-Pielach, German luger
• 1970 – Corinna May, German singer
• 1970 – Mohammed Mourhit, Belgian runner
• 1970 – Matthew Pinsent, English rower
• 1971 – Ian Bennett, English footballer
• 1971 – Evgeny Kissin, Russian pianist
• 1972 – Jun Lana, Filipino playwright and screenwriter
• 1972 – Dean Roland, American guitarist (Collective Soul and Magnets and Ghosts)
• 1972 – Alexei Zhitnik, Russian ice hockey player
• 1973 – Mario Lopez, American actor
• 1973 – Scott Morriss, English bass player and songwriter (The Bluetones)
• 1973 – Semmy Schilt, Dutch kick-boxer
• 1973 – Zach Thornton, American soccer player
• 1974 – Assi Cohen, Israeli comedian and actor
• 1974 – Julio Ricardo Cruz, Argentinian footballer
• 1974 – Lucy Powell, English politician
• 1974 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr., American race car driver
• 1974 – Chris Pronger, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Ihsahn, Norwegian singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Emperor band, Thou Shalt Suffer, and Peccatum)
• 1975 – Ramón Morales, Mexican footballer
• 1975 – Plácido Polanco, Dominican baseball player
• 1976 – Bob Burnquist, Brazilian-American skateboarder
• 1976 – Pat Burrell, American baseball player
• 1976 – Shane Doan, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1978 – Scott Dobie, Scottish footballer
• 1978 – Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, American actress
• 1979 – Mýa, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actress
• 1979 – Wu Chun, Brunei-Taiwanese actor and singer (Fahrenheit)
• 1979 – Nicolás Massú, Chilean tennis player
• 1979 – Joel Przybilla, American basketball player
• 1979 – Kangta, South Korean singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (H.O.T., S, and Kangta & Vanness)
• 1980 – Sherine, Egyptian singer and actress
• 1980 – Blaž Emeršič, Slovenian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Casey FitzSimmons, American football player
• 1980 – Elvis Hammond, Ghanaian footballer
• 1980 – Tim Maurer, American singer-songwriter (Suburban Legends)
• 1981 – Una Healy, Irish singer-songwriter and dancer (The Saturdays)
• 1981 – Michael Oliver, American actor
• 1981 – Francisco Javier Rodríguez, Mexican footballer
• 1982 – Yasser Al-Qahtani, Saudi Arabian footballer
• 1982 – Amon Buchanan, Australian footballer
• 1982 – Hideki Mutoh, Japanese race car driver
• 1983 – Vusimuzi Sibanda, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1983 – Nikos Spyropoulos, Greek footballer
• 1983 – Sherab Zam, Bhutanese archer
• 1983 – Tolga Zengin, Turkish footballer
• 1984 – Stephanie Cheng, Hong Kong singer
• 1984 – Chiaki Kuriyama, Japanese actress
• 1984 – Paul Posluszny, American football player
• 1984 – Troy Tulowitzki, American baseball player
• 1985 – Yoenis Céspedes, Cuban baseball player
• 1985 – Dominique Cornu, Belgian cyclist
• 1985 – Marina Diamandis, Welsh singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1985 – Sandra Záhlavová, Czech tennis player
• 1986 – Ezequiel Garay, Argentine footballer
• 1986 – Nathan Jawai, Australian basketball player
• 1987 – Ryan Mathews, American football player
• 1987 – Colin Slade, New Zealand rugby player
• 1988 – Brown Ideye, Nigerian footballer
• 1989 – Aimee Teegarden, American actress
• 1990 – Modi (singer), Taiwanese singer and actor (JPM and Choc7)
• 1990 – Geno Smith, New York Jets Quarterback
• 1991 – Gabriella Cilmi, Australian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1991 – Kim Seul-gie, South Korean actress
• 1991 – Mariana Espósito, Argentine actress and singer (Teen Angels)
• 1991 – Manuel Giandonato, Italian footballer
• 1991 – Xherdan Shaqiri, Swiss footballer
• 1993 – Jayden Stockley, English footballer
• 1994 – Bae Suzy, South Korean singer and actress (Miss A)

Deaths

• 19 – Germanicus, Roman general (b. 15 BC)
• 680 – Hussein ibn Ali, Islamic Shi'a Imam (b. 626)
• 732 – Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Yemeni general
• 1359 – Hugh IV of Cyprus (b. 1295)
• 1459 – Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini, Italian scholar (b. 1380)
• 1659 – Abel Tasman, Dutch explorer (b. 1603)
• 1691 – Isaac de Benserade, French poet (b. 1613)
• 1708 – David Gregory, Scottish mathematician (b. 1659)
• 1714 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (b. 1646)
• 1720 – Antoine Coysevox, French sculptor (b. 1640)
• 1723 – William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper, English politician (b. 1665)
• 1725 – Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil, French politician, Governor of New France (b. 1643)
• 1747 – John Potter, English archbishop (b. 1674)
• 1759 – Granville Elliott, English military officer (b. 1713)
• 1765 – Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, English politician (b. 1688)
• 1795 – Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, Italian theologian and historian (b. 1714)
• 1806 – Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (b. 1772)
• 1827 – Ugo Foscolo, Italian author and poet (b. 1778)
• 1837 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher (b. 1772)
• 1857 – George Washington Parke Custis, American orator and playwright (b. 1781)
• 1872 – William H. Seward, American politician, 24th United States Secretary of State (b. 1801)
• 1875 – Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Russian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1817)
• 1876 – Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville, French geologist (b. 1814)
• 1893 – Lip Pike, American baseball player (b. 1845)
• 1901 – Lorenzo Snow, American religious leader, 5th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1814)
• 1911 – Jack Daniel, American businessman, founded Jack Daniel's (b. 1849)
• 1913 – Adolphus Busch, German-American brewer and businessman, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (b. 1839)
• 1913 – Katsura Tarō, Japanese politician, 6th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1848)
• 1914 – Carol I of Romania (b. 1839)
• 1922 – Andreas Karkavitsas, Greek author (b. 1866)
• 1927 – Gustave Whitehead, German-American aviator (b. 1874)
• 1930 – Adolf Engler, German botanist (b. 1844)
• 1940 – Berton Churchill, Canadian actor (b. 1876)
• 1948 – Ted Horn, American race car driver (b. 1910)
• 1953 – Erima Harvey Northcroft, New Zealand judge (b. 1884)
• 1957 – Karl Genzken, German nazi physician (b. 1885)
• 1962 – Stancho Belkovski, Bulgarian architect (b. 1891)
• 1963 – Roy Cazaly, Australian footballer (b. 1893)
• 1964 – Eddie Cantor, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1892)
• 1964 – Heinrich Neuhaus, Soviet pianist (b. 1888)
• 1966 – Charlotte Cooper, English tennis player (b. 1870)
• 1970 – Édouard Daladier, French politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1884)
• 1971 – John Cawte Beaglehole, New Zealand historian (b. 1901)
• 1973 – Ludwig von Mises, Austrian economist (b.1881)
• 1976 – Silvana Armenulić, Bosnian singer and actress (b. 1939)
• 1976 – Mirsada Mirjana Bajraktarević, Bosnian singer (b. 1951)
• 1977 – Angelo Muscat, Maltese actor (b. 1930)
• 1978 – Ralph Marterie, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1914)
• 1978 – Ralph Metcalfe, American runner and politician (b. 1910)
• 1979 – Christopher Evans, English psychologist, computer scientist, and author (b. 1931)
• 1979 – Paul Paray, French conductor, organist, and composer (b. 1886)
• 1982 – Jean Effel, French painter and journalist (b. 1908)
• 1983 – Ralph Richardson, English actor (b. 1902)
• 1985 – Yul Brynner, Russian-American actor (b. 1920)
• 1985 – Orson Welles, American actor, director, scriptwriter, and producer (b. 1915)
• 1986 – Gleb Wataghin, Ukrainian-Italian physicist (b. 1899)
• 1990 – Tom Murton, American penologist (b. 1928)
• 1990 – Nikolaos Pavlopoulos, Greek sculptor (b. 1909)
• 1991 – Nickolaus Hirschl, Austrian wrestler (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Clark Clifford, American lawyer, 9th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Tommy Quaid, Irish hurler (b. 1957)
• 2000 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan politician, 6th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Eddie Futch, American boxing trainer (b. 1911)
• 2001 – Vasily Mishin, Soviet engineer (b. 1917)
• 2002 – Teresa Graves, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
• 2003 – Eugene Istomin, American pianist (b. 1925)
• 2004 – Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (b. 1963)
• 2004 – Christopher Reeve, American actor, director, producer, and author (b. 1952)
• 2004 – Arthur H. Robinson, American geographer (b. 1915)
• 2004 – Maurice Shadbolt, New Zealand author and playwright (b. 1932)
• 2005 – Wayne C. Booth, American critic (b. 1921)
• 2005 – Milton Obote, Ugandan politician, President of Uganda (b. 1925)
• 2006 – Michael John Rogers, English ornithologist (b. 1932)
• 2006 – Ian Scott, Canadian politician (b. 1934)
• 2007 – Mehmed Uzun, Turkish author (b. 1953)
• 2008 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese businessman (b. 1947)
• 2009 – Stephen Gately, Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (Boyzone) (b. 1976)
• 2010 – Solomon Burke, American singer-songwriter and preacher (b. 1940)
• 2010 – Joan Sutherland, Australian soprano (b. 1926)
• 2011 – Jagjit Singh, Indian singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Beano Cook, American sportscaster (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Kevin Curran, Zimbabwean cricketer (b. 1959)
• 2012 – Sam Gibbons, American politician (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Marina Golub, Russian actress (b. 1957)
• 2012 – Jos Huysmans, Belgian cyclist (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Alex Karras, American football player, wrestler, and actor (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Piotr Lenartowicz, Polish philosopher (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Carla Porta Musa, Italian poet (b. 1902)
• 2012 – Leo O'Brien, American actor (b. 1970)
• 2012 – Basil L. Plumley, American soldier (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Mark Poster, American philosopher (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Malcolm Sampson, English rugby player (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Amanda Todd, Canadian suicide victim (b. 1996)
• 2012 – Kyaw Zaw, Burmese military officer and politician (b. 1919)

Holidays and observances

• Arbor Day (Poland)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Cerbonius
  • Paulinus of York (in England)
  • Viktor of Xanten
  • October 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Double Ten Day (The National Day of Taiwan), celebrates outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising in 1911 that led to founding of the Republic of China in 1912
• Fiji Day, celebrates the independence of Fiji from United Kingdom in 1970
• Finnish Literature Day (Finland)
• Independence Day, commemorates the proclamation of Cuba's independence from Spain and the beginning of the Ten Years' War in 1868.
• Party Foundation Day (North Korea)
• World Day Against Death Penalty (International)
• World Mental Health Day (International)

External links

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

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