March 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day
- 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.
- 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a triumphal entry into Carthage.
- 947 – The Later Han is founded by Liu Zhiyuan. He declares himself emperor.
- 1607 – Susenyos I defeats the combined armies of Yaqob and Abuna Petros II at the Battle of Gol in Gojjam, making him Emperor of Ethiopia.
- 1629 – Charles I dissolves the Parliament of England, beginning the eleven-year period known as the Personal Rule.
- 1735 – An agreement between Nader Shah and Russia is signed near Ganja, Azerbaijan and Russian troops are withdrawn from occupied territories.
- 1762 – French Huguenot Jean Calas, who had been wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform.
- 1814 – Emperor Napoleon I is defeated at the Battle of Laon in France.
- 1830 – The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army is created.
- 1848 – The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States Senate, ending the Mexican–American War.
- 1861 – El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Ségou, destroying the Bamana Empire of Mali.
- 1873 – The first Azerbaijani play “The Adventures of the Vizier of the Khan of Lenkaran” prepared by Akhundov was performed by Hassan-bey Zardabi and dramatist and Najaf-bey Vezirov.
- 1876 – The first successful test of a telephone is made by Alexander Graham Bell.
- 1891 – Almon Strowger patents the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching.
- 1906 – The Courrières mine disaster, Europe’s worst ever, kills 1099 miners in northern France.
- 1909 – By signing the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, Thailand relinquishes its sovereignty over the Malay states of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu, which become British protectorates.
- 1922 – Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in prison, only to be released after nearly two years for an appendicitis operation.
- 1933 – The Long Beach earthquake affects the Greater Los Angeles Area leaving around 108 people dead.
- 1944 – Greek Civil War: The Political Committee of National Liberation is established in Greece by the National Liberation Front.
- 1945 – World War II: The U.S. Army Air Force firebombs Tokyo, and the resulting conflagration kills more than 100,000 people, mostly civilians.
- 1949 – Mildred Gillars (“Axis Sally”) is convicted of treason.
- 1952 – Fulgencio Batista leads a successful coup in Cuba.
- 1959 – Tibetan uprising: Fearing an abduction attempt by China, thousands of Tibetans surround the Dalai Lama’s palace to prevent his removal.
- 1966 – Military Prime Minister of South Vietnam Nguyễn Cao Kỳ sacked rival General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation.
- 1969 – In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King, Jr. He later unsuccessfully attempts to recant.
- 1970 – Vietnam War: Captain Ernest Medina is charged by the U.S. military with My Lai war crimes.
- 1975 – Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh Campaign: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Mê Thuột in the South on their way to capturing Saigon in the final push for victory over South Vietnam.
- 1977 – Astronomers discover the rings of Uranus.
- 1990 – In Haiti, Prosper Avril is ousted 18 months after seizing power in a coup.
- 2006 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars.
- 2017 – The impeachment of President Park Geun-hye of South Korea in response to a major political scandal is unanimously upheld by the country’s Constitutional Court, ending her presidency.
- 2019 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX, crashes, leading to all 737 MAX aircraft being grounded worldwide.
Births on March 10
- 1452 – Ferdinand II, king of Castile and León (d. 1516)
- 1503 – Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1564)
- 1536 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (d. 1572)
- 1604 – Johann Rudolf Glauber, German-Dutch alchemist and chemist (d. 1670)
- 1628 – François Girardon, French sculptor (d. 1715)
- 1628 – Marcello Malpighi, Italian physician and biologist (d. 1694)
- 1656 – Giacomo Serpotta, Italian Rococo sculptor (d. 1732)
- 1653 – John Benbow, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1702)
- 1709 – Georg Wilhelm Steller, German botanist, zoologist, physician, and explorer (d. 1746)
- 1749 – Lorenzo Da Ponte, Italian-American priest and poet (d. 1838)
- 1769 – Joseph Williamson, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1840)
- 1772 – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, German poet and critic (d. 1829)
- 1777 – Louis Hersent, French painter (d. 1860)
- 1787 – Francisco de Paula Martínez de la Rosa y Berdejo, Spanish playwright and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1862)
- 1787 – William Etty, English painter and academic (d. 1849)
- 1788 – Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, German author, poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1857)
- 1788 – Edward Hodges Baily, English sculptor (d. 1867)
- 1789 – Manuel de la Peña y Peña, Mexican lawyer and 20th President (1847) (d. 1850)
- 1795 – Joseph Légaré, Canadian painter and glazier, artist, seigneur and political figure (d. 1855)
- 1810 – Samuel Ferguson, Irish poet and lawyer (d. 1886)
- 1844 – Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (d. 1908)
- 1844 – Marie Euphrosyne Spartali, British Pre-Raphaelite painter (d. 1927)
- 1845 – Alexander III of Russia (d. 1894)
- 1846 – Edward Baker Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1850)
- 1849 – Hallie Quinn Brown, African-American educator, writer and activist (d. 1949)
- 1850 – Spencer Gore, English tennis player and cricketer (d. 1906)
- 1853 – Thomas Mackenzie, Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
- 1867 – Hector Guimard, French-American architect (d. 1942)
- 1867 – Lillian Wald, American nurse, humanitarian, and author, founded the Henry Street Settlement (d. 1940)
- 1870 – David Riazanov, Russian theorist and politician (d. 1938)
- 1873 – Jakob Wassermann, German-Austrian soldier and author (d. 1934)
- 1876 – Anna Hyatt Huntington, American sculptor (d. 1973)
- 1877 – Pascual Ortiz Rubio, Mexican diplomat and president (1930-1932) (d. 1963)
- 1881 – Jessie Boswell, English painter (d. 1956)
- 1888 – Barry Fitzgerald, Irish actor (d. 1961)
- 1890 – Albert Ogilvie, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1939)
- 1892 – Arthur Honegger, French composer and educator (d. 1955)
- 1892 – Gregory La Cava, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1952)
- 1896 – Frederick Coulton Waugh, British cartoonist, painter, teacher and author (d. 1973)
- 1900 – Violet Brown, Jamaican supercentenarian, oldest Jamaican ever (d. 2017)
- 1900 – Pandelis Pouliopoulos, Greek lawyer and politician (d. 1943)
- 1901 – Michel Seuphor, Belgian painter (d. 1999)
- 1903 – Bix Beiderbecke, American cornet player, pianist, and composer (d. 1931)
- 1903 – Clare Boothe Luce, American playwright, journalist, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (d. 1987)
- 1903 – Edward Bawden, British artist and illustrator (d. 1989)
- 1914 – Chandler Harper, American golfer (d. 2004)
- 1914 – K. P. Ratnam, Sri Lankan academic and politician (d. 2010)
- 1915 – Harry Bertoia, Italian-American sculptor and furniture designer (d. 1978)
- 1915 – Joža Horvat, Croatian writer (d. 2012)
- 1916 – Davie Fulton, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 2000)
- 1917 – David Hare, American Surrealist artist, sculptor, photographer and painter (d. 1992)
- 1918 – Günther Rall, German general and pilot (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Marion Hutton, American singer and actress (d. 1987)
- 1920 – Alfred Peet, Dutch-American businessman, founded Peet’s Coffee & Tea (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Boris Vian, French author and playwright (d. 1959)
- 1922 – Kiyoshi Yamashita, Japanese painter (d. 1971)
- 1923 – Val Logsdon Fitch, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Judith Jones, American literary and cookbook editor (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Bob Lanier, American lawyer, banker, and politician, 58th Mayor of Houston (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Marques Haynes, American basketball player (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Claude Laydu, Belgian-French actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Paul Wunderlich, German painter, sculptor and graphic artist (d. 2010)
- 1928 – Sara Montiel, Spanish actress (d. 2013)
- 1928 – James Earl Ray, American criminal; assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (d. 1998)
- 1929 – Sam Steiger, American journalist and politician (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Sándor Iharos, Hungarian runner (d. 1996)
- 1931 – Georges Dor, Canadian author, playwright, and composer (d. 2001)
- 1932 – Marcia Falkender, Baroness Falkender, English politician (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Udupi Ramachandra Rao, Indian physicist and engineer (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Perunchithiranar, Tamil poet (d. 1995)
- 1933 – Elizabeth Azcona Cranwell, Argentinian poet and translator (d. 2004)
- 1934 – Gergely Kulcsár, Hungarian javelin thrower and coach
- 1935 – Graham Farmer, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2019)
- 1936 – Sepp Blatter, Swiss businessman
- 1936 – Alfredo Zitarrosa, Uruguayan singer-songwriter and journalist (d. 1989)
- 1938 – Norman Blake, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1938 – Ieronymos II of Athens, Greek archbishop
- 1939 – Asghar Ali Engineer, Indian activist and author (d. 2013)
- 1939 – Hugh Johnson, English author and critic
- 1939 – Irina Press, Ukrainian-Russian hurdler and pentathlete (d. 2004)
- 1940 – Chuck Norris, American actor, producer, and martial artist
- 1940 – David Rabe, American playwright and screenwriter
- 1943 – Peter Berresford Ellis, English historian and author
- 1944 – Gail North-Saunders, Bahamian historian, archivist, and author who established the Bahamian National Archives
- 1945 – Katharine Houghton, American actress and playwright
- 1945 – Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician, Indian Minister of Railways (d. 2001)
- 1946 – Gérard Garouste, French contemporary artist
- 1946 – Mike Hollands, Australian animator and director, founded Act3animation
- 1946 – Jim Valvano, American basketball player and coach (d. 1993)
- 1947 – Kim Campbell, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Canada
- 1947 – Tom Scholz, American rock musician (Boston), songwriter, inventor, and engineer
- 1948 – Austin Carr, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1949 – Bill Buxton, Canadian computer scientist and academic
- 1949 – Barbara Corcoran, American businesswoman and television personality
- 1950 – Catherine Pugh, American politician, 50th mayor of Baltimore
- 1952 – Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (d. 2018)
- 1953 – Paul Haggis, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1954 – Didier Barbelivien, French singer-songwriter
- 1955 – Toshio Suzuki, Japanese race car driver
- 1956 – Robert Llewellyn, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1956 – Larry Myricks, American long jumper and sprinter
- 1957 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founded al-Qaeda (d. 2011)
- 1958 – Garth Crooks, English footballer forward and sportscaster
- 1958 – Steve Howe, American baseball player (d. 2006)
- 1958 – Sharon Stone, American actress and producer
- 1961 – Laurel Clark, American captain, physician, and astronaut (d. 2003)
- 1961 – Bobby Petrino, American football player and coach
- 1962 – Jasmine Guy, American actress, singer, and director
- 1962 – Seiko Matsuda, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
- 1963 – Jeff Ament, American bass player and songwriter
- 1963 – Felipe Ramos, Mexican footballer and referee
- 1963 – Rick Rubin, American record producer, founded Def Jam Recordings
- 1964 – Neneh Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1964 – Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
- 1964 – Jojo Lastimosa, Filipino basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Nikola Mladenov, Macedonian journalist (d. 2013)
- 1964 – Toni Polster, Austrian footballer and manager
- 1965 – Jillian Richardson, Canadian sprinter
- 1965 – Rod Woodson, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1966 – Edie Brickell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1966 – Mike Timlin, American baseball player
- 1968 – Thio Li-ann, Singaporean lawyer and academic
- 1968 – Pavel Srníček, Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
- 1971 – Jon Hamm, American actor and director
- 1972 – Timbaland, American rapper and producer
- 1973 – Jason Croker, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1973 – Chris Sutton, English footballer
- 1973 – Mauricio Taricco, Argentinian footballer, full back and assistant manager
- 1976 – Barbara Schett, Austrian tennis player
- 1978 – Camille, French singer-songwriter and actress
- 1978 – Benjamin Burnley, American musician
- 1981 – Samuel Eto’o, Cameroonian footballer
- 1981 – Steven Reid, English-Irish footballer
- 1982 – Kwame Brown, American basketball player
- 1983 – Étienne Boulay, Canadian football player
- 1983 – Rafe Spall, English actor
- 1983 – Janet Mock, American journalist, author, and activist
- 1983 – Carrie Underwood, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1984 – Ben May, English footballer
- 1987 – Martellus Bennett, American football player
- 1987 – Greg Eastwood, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1987 – Māris Štrombergs, Latvian BMX racer
- 1988 – Josh Hoffman, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
- 1988 – Ivan Rakitić, Croatian football player
- 1992 – Neeskens Kebano, French-born Congolese international footballer
- 1993 – Jack Butland, English footballer
- 1995 – DaeSean Hamilton, American football player
- 1995 – Zach LaVine, American basketball player
- 1995 – Sergey Mozgov, Russian ice dancer
- 1997 – Belinda Bencic, Swiss tennis player
Deaths on March 10
- 483 – Pope Simplicius
- 933 – Li Renfu, Chinese warlord and governor
- 948 – Liu Zhiyuan, Shatuo founder of the Later Han dynasty (b. 895)
- 1039 – Eudes, Duke of Gascony
- 1222 – Johan Sverkersson, king of Sweden since 1216 (b. 1201)
- 1289 – Maud de Lacy, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester, English noble (b. 1223)
- 1291 – Arghun, Mongol ruler in Persia
- 1315 – Agnes Blannbekin, Austrian mystic (b. c.1244)
- 1391 – Tvrtko I of Bosnia (b. 1338)
- 1476 – Richard West, 7th Baron De La Warr (b. 1430)
- 1510 – Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss priest and theologian (b. 1445)
- 1513 – John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, English commander and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1443)
- 1527 – Nam Gon, Korean writer and prime minister (b. 1471)
- 1528 – Balthasar Hübmaier, influential German/Moravian Anabaptist leader (b. 1480)
- 1572 – William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester (b. c. 1483)
- 1585 – Rembert Dodoens, Flemish physician and botanist (b. 1517)
- 1588 – Theodor Zwinger, Swiss physician and scholar (b. 1533)
- 1670 – Johann Rudolf Glauber, German-Dutch chemist and engineer (b. 1604)
- 1682 – Jacob van Ruisdael, Dutch painter and etcher (b. 1628)
- 1724 – Urban Hjärne, Swedish chemist, geologist, and physician (b. 1641)
- 1776 – Élie Catherine Fréron, French author and critic (b. 1719)
- 1792 – John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1713)
- 1823 – George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1746)
- 1826 – John Pinkerton, Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist and historian (b. 1758)
- 1832 – Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1752)
- 1861 – Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet, playwright, and ethnographer (b. 1814)
- 1872 – Giuseppe Mazzini, Italian journalist and politician (b. 1805)
- 1898 – Marie-Eugénie de Jésus, French nun and saint, founded the Religious of the Assumption (b. 1817)
- 1895 – Charles Frederick Worth, English-French fashion designer, founded the House of Worth (b. 1826)
- 1897 – Savitribai Phule, Indian poet and activist (b. 1831)
- 1910 – Karl Lueger, Austrian lawyer and politician Mayor of Vienna (b. 1844)
- 1910 – Carl Reinecke, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1824)
- 1913 – Harriet Tubman, American nurse and activist (b. c.1820)
- 1925 – Myer Prinstein, Polish-American jumper and lawyer (b. 1878)
- 1930 – Misuzu Kaneko, Japanese poet and songwriter (b. 1903)
- 1937 – Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian journalist and author (b. 1884)
- 1940 – Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian novelist and playwright (b. 1891)
- 1942 – Wilbur Scoville, American pharmacist and chemist (b. 1865)
- 1948 – Zelda Fitzgerald, American author, poet, and dancer (b. 1900)
- 1948 – Jan Masaryk, Czech soldier and politician (b. 1886)
- 1951 – Kijūrō Shidehara, Japanese lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1872)
- 1965 – Archibald Frazer-Nash, English engineer, founded Frazer Nash (b. 1889)
- 1966 – Frits Zernike, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
- 1966 – Frank O’Connor, Irish short story writer, novelist, and poet (b. 1903)
- 1977 – E. Power Biggs, English-American organist and composer (b. 1906)
- 1982 – Minoru Shirota, Japanese physician and microbiologist, invented Yakult (b. 1899)
- 1985 – Konstantin Chernenko, Russian soldier and politician, 8th Head of State of The Soviet Union (b. 1911)
- 1985 – Bob Nieman, American baseball player and scout (b. 1927)
- 1986 – Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (b. 1905)
- 1988 – Andy Gibb, Manx-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1958)
- 1989 – Kermit Beahan, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918)
- 1990 – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (b. 1921)
- 1992 – Giorgos Zampetas, Greek bouzouki player and composer (b. 1925)
- 1995 – Agepê, Brazilian singer/composer (b. 1942)
- 1996 – Ross Hunter, American film producer (b. 1926)
- 1997 – LaVern Baker, American singer and actress (b. 1929)
- 1998 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor and director (b. 1913)
- 1999 – Oswaldo Guayasamín, Ecuadorian painter and sculptor (b. 1919)
- 2001 – Massimo Morsello, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1958)
- 2004 – Renos Apostolidis, Greek philologist, author, and critic (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Dave Allen, Irish-English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
- 2006 – Anna Moffo, American soprano (b. 1932)
- 2007 – Ernie Ladd, American football player and wrestler (b. 1938)
- 2010 – Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, Egyptian scholar and academic (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Corey Haim, Canadian actor (b. 1971)
- 2011 – Bill Blackbeard, American author and illustrator (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Bert R. Bulkin, American engineer (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Jean Giraud, French author and illustrator (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Mykola Plaviuk, Ukrainian politician, President Ukrainian People’s Republic in Exile (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Frank Sherwood Rowland, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Tan Boon Teik, Malaysian-Singaporean lawyer and politician, Attorney-General of Singapore (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Richard Glatzer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
- 2016 – Ken Adam, German-English production designer and art director (b. 1921)
- 2016 – Roberto Perfumo, Argentinian footballer and sportscaster (b. 1942)
- 2016 – Jovito Salonga, Filipino lawyer and politician, 14th President of the Senate of the Philippines (b. 1920)
- 2016 – Anita Brookner, English novelist and art historian (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on March 10
- Christian feast day
- Attala
- Harriet Tubman (Lutheran)
- John Ogilvie
- Macarius of Jerusalem
- Marie-Eugénie de Jésus
- Pope Simplicius
- Sojourner Truth (Lutheran)
- March 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Harriet Tubman Day (United States of America)
- Holocaust Remembrance Day (Bulgaria)
- National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
- Tibetan Uprising Day (Tibetan independence movement)
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