May 10 is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 235 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Wednesday (56).
Events
28 BCE – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han , one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.
70 – Siege of Jerusalem : Titus , son of emperor Vespasian , opens a full-scale assault on Jerusalem and attacks the city's Third Wall to the northwest.
1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king.
1497 – Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World .
1503 – Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.
1534 – Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland .
1655 – England, with troops under the command of Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables , annexes Jamaica from Spain.
1768 – John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticizing King George III . This action provokes rioting in London.
1773 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act , designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
1774 – Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette become King and Queen of France.
1775 – American Revolutionary War : A small Colonial militia led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold captures Fort Ticonderoga .
1775 – American Revolutionary War: Representatives from the Thirteen Colonies begin the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia .
1796 – War of the First Coalition : Napoleon I of France wins a victory against Austrian forces at Lodi bridge over the Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
1801 – First Barbary War : The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.
1824 – The National Gallery in London opens to the public.
1833 – The desecration of the grave of the viceroy of southern Vietnam Lê Văn Duyệt by Emperor Minh Mạng provokes his adopted son to start a revolt .
1837 – Panic of 1837 : New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels.
1849 – Astor Place Riot : A riot breaks out at the Astor Opera House in Manhattan , New York City over a dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Charles Macready , killing at least 25 and injuring over 120.
1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857 : In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut .
1864 – American Civil War: Colonel Emory Upton leads a 10-regiment "Attack-in-depth" assault against the Confederate works at The Battle of Spotsylvania , which, though ultimately unsuccessful, would provide the idea for the massive assault against the Bloody Angle on May 12 . Upton is slightly wounded but is immediately promoted to brigadier general.
1865 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is captured by U.S. troops near Irwinville, Georgia .
1865 – American Civil War: In Kentucky , Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill , who lingers until his death on June 6 .
1866 – Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is crowned the Ruling Prince of the United Principalities of Romania .
1869 – The First Transcontinental Railroad , linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit , Utah with the golden spike .
1872 – Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States .
1876 – The Centennial Exposition is opened in Philadelphia by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II .
1877 – Romania declares itself independent from the Ottoman Empire following the Senate adoption of Mihail Kogălniceanu 's Declaration of Independence.
1893 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato is a vegetable , not a fruit , under the Tariff Act of 1883 .
1904 – The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded. It would eventually become the Audi company.
1908 – Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia .
1916 – Sailing in the lifeboat James Caird , Ernest Shackleton arrives at South Georgia after a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island .
1922 – The United States annexes the Kingman Reef .
1924 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and remains so until his death in 1972 .
1933 – Censorship : In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings .
1940 – World War II : German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg .
1940 – World War II: German raids on British shipping convoys and military airfields begin.
1940 – World War II: Germany invades Belgium , the Netherlands and Luxembourg .
1940 – World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain .
1940 – World War II: Invasion of Iceland by the United Kingdom.
1941 – World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid .
1941 – World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany .
1942 – World War II: The Thai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign .
1946 – First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground .
1948 – The Republic of China implements "temporary provisions " granting President Chiang Kai-shek extended powers to deal with the Communist uprising ; they will remain in effect until 1991.
1954 – Bill Haley & His Comets release "Rock Around the Clock ", the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts.
1960 – The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes Operation Sandblast , the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth .
1962 – Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk .
1969 – Vietnam War : The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill .
1970 – Bobby Orr scores "The Goal" to win the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals , for the Boston Bruins ' fourth NHL championship in their history.
1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder in Japan.
1979 – The Federated States of Micronesia become self-governing.
1981 – François Mitterrand wins the presidential election and becomes the first Socialist President of France in the French Fifth Republic .
1993 – In Thailand , a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills 156 workers.
1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president .
1997 – A 7.3 Mw earthquake strikes Iran 's Khorasan Province , killing 1,567, injuring over 2,300, leaving 50,000 homeless, and damaging or destroying over 15,000 homes.
1997 – The Maeslantkering , a storm surge barrier in the Netherlands that is one of the world's largest moving structures, is opened by Queen Beatrix .
2002 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds .
2005 – A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 65 feet (20 meters) from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi , Georgia , but it malfunctions and does not detonate.
2012 – The Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside of a military intelligence complex in Damascus , Syria , killing 55 people and injuring 400 others
2013 – One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere .
Births
213 – Claudius Gothicus , Roman emperor (d. 270)
874 – Meng Zhixiang , Chinese general and emperor (d. 934)
1002 – Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi , Iraqi historian and scholar (d. 1071)
1265 – Emperor Fushimi of Japan (d. 1317)
1604 – Jean Mairet , French author and playwright (d. 1686)
1640 – Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (d. 1701)
1697 – Jean-Marie Leclair , French violinist and composer (d. 1764)
1714 – Sophie Charlotte Ackermann , German actress (d. 1792)
1727 – Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune , French economist and politician, French Controller-General of Finances (d. 1781)
1755 – Robert Gray , American captain and explorer (d. 1806)
1760 – Johann Peter Hebel , German author and poet (d. 1826)
1760 – Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle , French captain, engineer, and composer (d. 1836)
1770 – Louis-Nicolas Davout , French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1823)
1775 – Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle , French general (d. 1809)
1788 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel , French physicist and engineer (d. 1827)
1788 – Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1819)
1810 – E. Cobham Brewer , English lexicographer and author (d. 1897)
1812 – William Henry Barlow , English engineer (d. 1902)
1813 – Montgomery Blair , American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (d. 1883)
1838 – John Wilkes Booth , American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865)
1840 – Hadzhi Dimitar , Bulgarian warlord (d. 1868)
1841 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr. , American publisher and broadcaster, co-founded Commercial Cable Company (d. 1918)
1843 – Benito Pérez Galdós , Spanish author and playwright (d. 1920)
1847 – Wilhelm Killing , German mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
1855 – Yukteswar Giri , Indian guru and educator (d. 1936)
1863 – Kaarle Krohn , Finnish historian and academic (d. 1933)
1866 – Léon Bakst , Russian painter and costume designer (d. 1924)
1872 – Marcel Mauss , French sociologist and anthropologist (d. 1950)
1874 – Moses Schorr , Polish rabbi, historian, and orientalist (d. 1941)
1876 – Ivan Cankar , Slovenian poet and playwright (d. 1918)
1878 – Konstantinos Parthenis , Greek painter (d. 1967)
1878 – Gustav Stresemann , German journalist and politician, Chancellor of Germany , Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
1879 – Symon Petliura , Ukrainian journalist and politician (d. 1926)
1886 – Karl Barth , Swiss theologian and author (d. 1968)
1886 – Felix Manalo , Filipino religious leader, founded Iglesia ni Cristo (d. 1963)
1888 – Max Steiner , Austrian-American composer and conductor (d. 1971)
1889 – Mae Murray , American actress, dancer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1965)
1890 – Alfred Jodl , German general (d. 1946)
1891 – Mahmoud Mokhtar , Egyptian sculptor and academic (d. 1934)
1893 – Tonita Peña , San Ildefonso Pueblo (Native American) artist (d. 1949)
1894 – Elvira Popescu , Romanian-French actress and director (d. 1993)
1894 – Dimitri Tiomkin , Ukrainian-American composer and conductor (d. 1979)
1896 – Alberts Ozoliņš , Latvian weightlifter (d. 1985)
1897 – Einar Gerhardsen , Norwegian politician, 15th Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1987)
1898 – Ariel Durant , American historian and author (d. 1981)
1899 – Fred Astaire , American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
1900 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin , English-American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1979)
1901 – John Desmond Bernal , Irish-English crystallographer and physicist (d. 1971)
1902 – Anatole Litvak , Ukrainian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1974)
1902 – David O. Selznick , American director and producer (d. 1965)
1903 – Otto Bradfisch , German economist, jurist, and SS officer (d. 1994)
1904 – David Brown , English businessman (d. 1993)
1905 – Markos Vamvakaris , Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1972)
1908 – Carl Albert , American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2000)
1909 – Maybelle Carter , American autoharp player (d. 1978)
1911 – Bel Kaufman , American author and educator (d. 2014)
1915 – Denis Thatcher , English soldier and businessman, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2003)
1916 – Milton Babbitt , American composer and educator (d. 2011)
1918 – T. Berry Brazelton , American pediatrician and author
1918 – Desmond MacNamara , Irish painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2008)
1920 – Basil Kelly , Northern Irish barrister, judge and politician (d. 2008)
1920 – Bert Weedon , English guitarist (d. 2012)
1922 – David Azrieli , Polish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)
1922 – Nancy Walker , American actress, singer, and director (d. 1992)
1923 – Heydar Aliyev , Azerbaijan general and politician, 3rd President of Azerbaijan (d. 2003)
1923 – Otar Korkia , Georgian basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
1926 – Hugo Banzer , Bolivian general and politician, 62nd President of Bolivia (d. 2002)
1927 – Nayantara Sahgal , Indian author
1928 – Arnold Rüütel , Estonian agronomist and politician, 3rd President of Estonia
1928 – Lothar Schmid , German chess player (d. 2013)
1929 – Audun Boysen , Norwegian runner (d. 2000)
1929 – George Coe , American actor and producer (d. 2015)
1929 – Antonine Maillet , Canadian author and playwright
1930 – George E. Smith , American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
1930 – Pat Summerall , American football player and sportscaster (d. 2013)
1931 – Ichirō Nagai , Japanese voice actor (d. 2014)
1931 – Ettore Scola , Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1932 – Karthigesu Sivathamby , Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 2011)
1933 – Barbara Taylor Bradford , English-American author
1933 – Françoise Fabian , Algerian-French actress
1934 – Kenneth D. Taylor , Canadian diplomat (d. 2015)
1935 – Larry Williams , American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1980)
1937 – Tamara Press , Ukrainian shot putter and discus thrower
1938 – Jean Becker , French actor, director, and screenwriter
1938 – Manuel Santana , Spanish tennis player
1940 – Wayne Dyer , American author and educator (d. 2015)
1941 – Aydın Güven Gürkan , Turkish academician and politician (d. 2006)
1942 – Jim Calhoun , American basketball player and coach
1942 – Carl Douglas , Jamaican singer-songwriter
1942 – Youssouf Sambo Bâ , Nigerien-Burkinabe educator and politician
1943 – David Clennon , American actor
1944 – Jim Abrahams , American director, producer, and screenwriter
1944 – Marie-France Pisier , French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
1946 – Donovan , Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
1946 – Graham Gouldman , English guitarist and songwriter
1946 – Dave Mason , English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1946 – Diderik Wagenaar , Dutch composer and theorist
1947 – Caroline B. Cooney , American author
1948 – Meg Foster , American actress
1949 – Miuccia Prada , Italian fashion designer
1950 – Natalya Bondarchuk , Russian actress and director
1952 – Kikki Danielsson , Swedish singer
1952 – Sly Dunbar , Jamaican drummer
1952 – Vanderlei Luxemburgo , Brazilian footballer and manager
1953 – Tito Santana , American wrestler and coach
1955 – Mark David Chapman , American murderer
1956 – Yves Jacques , Canadian actor
1956 – Vladislav Listyev , Russian journalist (d. 1995)
1957 – Sid Vicious , English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
1958 – Tauseef Ahmed , Pakistani cricketer
1958 – Gaétan Boucher , Canadian speed skater
1958 – Rick Santorum , American lawyer and politician
1959 – Victoria Rowell , American actress
1959 – Danny Schayes , American basketball player
1960 – Bono , Irish singer-songwriter, humanitarian, and activist
1960 – Dean Heller , American lawyer and politician, 15th Secretary of State of Nevada
1960 – Merlene Ottey , Jamaican-Slovenian runner
1963 – Lisa Nowak , American commander and astronaut
1963 – Debbie Wiseman , English composer and conductor
1965 – Linda Evangelista , Canadian model
1965 – Rony Seikaly , Lebanese-American basketball player and radio host
1966 – Ilian Djevelekov , Bulgarian film director and producer
1966 – Jonathan Edwards , English triple jumper
1967 – Nobuhiro Takeda , Japanese footballer and sportscaster
1967 – Young MC , English-American rapper, producer, and actor
1968 – Al Murray , English comedian and television host
1968 – Tatyana Shikolenko , Russian javelin thrower
1969 – Dennis Bergkamp , Dutch footballer and manager
1969 – John Scalzi , American author and blogger
1970 – Gabriela Montero , Venezuelan-American pianist
1970 – David Weir , Scottish footballer and manager
1971 – Monisha Kaltenborn , Indian-Swiss lawyer and businesswoman
1971 – Craig Mack , American rapper and producer
1971 – Ådne Søndrål , Norwegian speed skater
1972 – Radosław Majdan , Polish footballer
1973 – Aviv Geffen , Israeli singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1973 – Ollie le Roux , South African rugby player
1973 – Rüştü Reçber , Turkish footballer
1974 – Sylvain Wiltord , French footballer
1975 – Torbjørn Brundtland , Norwegian singer-songwriter and producer
1975 – Hélio Castroneves , Brazilian race car driver
1975 – Adam Deadmarsh , Canadian-American ice hockey player
1977 – Henri Camara , Senegalese footballer
1977 – Sergei Nakariakov , Russian trumpet player
1978 – Bruno Cheyrou , French footballer
1978 – Kenan Thompson , American actor
1979 – Lee Hyori , South Korean singer, dancer, and actress
1981 – Samuel Dalembert , Haitian-Canadian basketball player
1981 – Humberto Suazo , Chilean footballer
1983 – Gustav Fridolin , Swedish journalist and politician, Swedish Minister of Education
1984 – Edward Mujica , Venezuelan baseball player
1985 – Odette Annable , American actress
1985 – Ryan Getzlaf , Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Jon Schofield , English canoe racer
1986 – Emilio Izaguirre , Honduran footballer
1987 – Wilson Chandler , American basketball player
1989 – Lindsey Shaw , American actress, singer, and producer
1990 – Ivana Španović , Serbian long jumper
1992 – Charice Pempengco , Filipino singer-songwriter and actress
1993 – Tímea Babos , Hungarian tennis player
1993 – Mirai Shida , Japanese actress
1995 – Missy Franklin , American swimmer
1996 – Tyus Jones , American basketball player
1996 – Kateřina Siniaková , Czech tennis player
Deaths
689 – Prince Kusakabe of Japan (b. 662)
884 – Ahmad ibn Tulun , ruler of Egypt and Syria (b. 835)
1290 – Rudolf II, Duke of Austria (b. 1271)
1424 – Emperor Go-Kameyama of Japan (b. 1347)
1482 – Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli , Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1397)
1493 – Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll , Scottish politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1433)
1521 – Sebastian Brant , German author (b. 1457)
1566 – Leonhart Fuchs , German physician and botanist (b. 1501)
1641 – Johan Banér , Swedish field marshal (b. 1596)
1657 – Gustav Horn, Count of Pori (b. 1592)
1691 – John Birch , English soldier and politician (b. 1615)
1692 – Sarah Osborne , Salem witch trials victim (b. 1643)
1717 – John Hathorne , American merchant and politician (b. 1641)
1721 – Christian William I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (b. 1647)
1726 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans , English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (b. 1670)
1737 – Emperor Nakamikado of Japan (b. 1702)
1774 – Louis XV of France (b. 1710)
1775 – Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (b. 1751)
1787 – William Watson , English physician, physicist, and botanist (b. 1715)
1798 – George Vancouver , English navigator and explorer (b. 1757)
1807 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau , French general (b. 1725)
1818 – Paul Revere , American engraver and soldier (b. 1735)
1829 – Thomas Young , English physician and linguist (b. 1773)
1849 – Hokusai , Japanese painter and illustrator (b. 1760)
1863 – Stonewall Jackson , American general (b. 1824)
1868 – Henry Bennett , American lawyer and politician (b. 1808)
1889 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin , Russian journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1826)
1897 – Andrés Bonifacio , Filipino soldier and politician, President of the Philippines (b. 1863)
1904 – Andrei Ryabushkin , Russian painter (b. 1861)
1910 – Stanislao Cannizzaro , Italian chemist and academic (b. 1826)
1945 – Richard Glücks , German SS officer (b. 1889)
1945 – Konrad Henlein , Czech soldier and politician (b. 1898)
1960 – Yury Olesha , Russian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1899)
1962 – Shunroku Hata , Japanese field marshal and politician, 48th Japanese Minister of War (b. 1879)
1964 – Mikhail Larionov , Russian painter, illustrator, and set designer (b. 1881)
1965 – Hubertus van Mook , Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1894)
1967 – Lorenzo Bandini , Italian race car driver (b. 1935)
1968 – Scotty Beckett , American actor and singer (b. 1929)
1974 – Hal Mohr , American director and cinematographer (b. 1894)
1976 – Elias Aslaksen , Norwegian religious leader (b. 1888)
1977 – Joan Crawford , American actress (year of birth disputed)
1982 – Peter Weiss , German playwright and painter (b. 1916)
1988 – Shen Congwen , Chinese author and academic (b. 1902)
1989 – Dimitar Ilievski-Murato , Macedonian mountaineer (b. 1953)
1989 – Woody Shaw , American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1944)
1990 – Walker Percy , American novelist and essayist (b. 1916)
1994 – John Wayne Gacy , American criminal (b. 1942)
1999 – Shel Silverstein , American poet, author, and illustrator (b. 1930)
2000 – Jules Deschênes , Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1923)
2000 – Kaneto Shiozawa , Japanese voice actor (b. 1954)
2000 – Dick Sprang , American illustrator (b. 1915)
2001 – Sudhakarrao Naik , Indian politician, 16th Governor of Himachal Pradesh (b. 1934)
2002 – Kaifi Azmi , Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1919)
2002 – Yves Robert , French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2003 – Milan Vukcevich , Serbian-American chemist and chess player (b. 1937)
2005 – David Wayne , American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)
2006 – Soraya , Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1969)
2006 – Raizo Matsuno , Japanese politician (b. 1917)
2006 – A. M. Rosenthal , Canadian-American journalist (b. 1922)
2008 – Leyla Gencer , Turkish soprano (b. 1928)
2010 – Frank Frazetta , American illustrator and painter (b. 1928)
2012 – Horst Faas , German photographer and journalist (b. 1933)
2012 – Günther Kaufmann , German actor and singer (b. 1947)
2012 – Carroll Shelby , American race car driver and designer (b. 1923)
2012 – Gunnar Sønsteby , Norwegian captain and author (b. 1918)
2014 – Carmen Argibay , Argentinian lawyer and judge (b. 1939)
2014 – Patrick Lucey , American soldier and politician, 38th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1918)
2015 – Ninad Bedekar , Indian historian, author, and academic (b. 1949)
2015 – Chris Burden , American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (b. 1946)
2016 – Carlos García y García , Peruvian politician, Second Vice President (b. ?)
Holidays and observances
External links
Months and days of the year
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December