History Events on May 10

The United States annexes the Kingman Reef.

#Kingman_Reef

American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6.

#Kentucky

The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah with the golden spike.

#First_Transcontinental_Railroad

The Northrop M2-F2 crashes on landing, becoming the inspiration for the novel Cyborg and TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.

#Northrop_M2-F2

Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland.

#Jacques_Cartier

American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is captured by U.S. troops near Irwinville, Georgia.

#Jefferson_Davis

Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.

#Vietnam_War

Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.

#Victoria_Woodhull

World War II: German raids on British shipping convoys and military airfields begin.

#Nazi_Germany

American Revolutionary War: Representatives from the Thirteen Colonies begin the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

#Thirteen_Colonies

Carol I is crowned the King of the Romanian Kingdom.

#Carol_I_of_Romania

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.

#Astor_Place_Riot

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.

#Sunspot

World War II: Invasion of Iceland by the United Kingdom.

#Invasion_of_Iceland

King Narai nominates Phetracha as regent, leading to the revolution of 1688 in which Phetracha becomes king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.

#Narai

Panic of 1837: New York City banks suspend the payment of specie, triggering a national banking crisis and an economic depression whose severity was not surpassed until the Great Depression.

#Panic_of_1837

In the Vietnam War, the US had two fighter ace crews. The USAF's Ritchie and DeBellevue scored their first kill while the USN's Cunningham and Driscoll scored their third, fourth and fifth kills.

#Vietnam_War

Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World.

#Amerigo_Vespucci

First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.

#V-2_rocket

The National Gallery in London opens to the public.

#National_Gallery

The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded. It would eventually become the Audi company.

#Horch

Bill Haley & His Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts.

#Bill_Haley_&_His_Comets

J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and remains so until his death in 1972.

#J._Edgar_Hoover

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.

#Robert_Hanssen

World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.

#World_War_II

The Centennial Exposition is opened in Philadelphia by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II.

#Centennial_Exposition

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.

#American_Civil_War

Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.

#Nelson_Mandela

Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.

#Christopher_Columbus

François Mitterrand wins the presidential election and becomes the first Socialist President of France in the French Fifth Republic.

#François_Mitterrand

Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder in Japan.

#Sony

England, with troops under the command of Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables, annexes Jamaica from Spain.

#William_Penn_(Royal_Navy_officer)

The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by reducing taxes on its tea and granting it the right to sell tea directly to North America. The legislation leads to the Boston Tea Party.

#Parliament_of_Great_Britain

The lower chamber of the Romanian Parliament sanctions the Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, proclaimed the previous day in the Senate by Mihail Kog?lniceanu.

#Parliament_of_Romania

World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.

#Rudolf_Hess

World War II: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

#Battle_of_Belgium

In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills 156 workers.

#Thailand

World War II: The Thai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign.

#Phayap_Army

The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes Operation Sandblast, the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.

#USS_Triton_(SSRN-586)

Bobby Orr scores "The Goal" to win the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals, for the Boston Bruins' fourth NHL championship in their history.

#Bobby_Orr

Sailing in the lifeboat James Caird, Ernest Shackleton arrives at South Georgia after a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island.

#Voyage_of_the_James_Caird

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.

#War_of_the_First_Coalition

Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.

#Marvel_Comics

First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.

#First_Barbary_War

American Revolutionary War: A small Colonial militia led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold captures Fort Ticonderoga.

#American_Revolutionary_War

Indian Rebellion of 1857: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut.

#Indian_Rebellion_of_1857

Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.

#Censorship

John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticizing King George III. This action provokes rioting in London.

#John_Wilkes

World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain.

#Winston_Churchill

One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

#One_World_Trade_Center

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.

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.

The 7.3 Mw Qayen 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.

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.

World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.

Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.

The desecration of the grave of the viceroy of southern Vietnam Lê V?n Duy?t by Emperor Minh M?ng provokes his adopted son to start a revolt.

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette become King and Queen of France.

Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king.

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.