December 10 facts for kids

December 10th is a day filled with many important events throughout history, from the founding of military groups to major scientific discoveries and significant political changes around the world. It's also a day when many famous people were born or passed away, leaving their mark on history.

Historical Events on December 10th

Early History and Discoveries

• 1317 – The "Nyköping Banquet" took place in Sweden. King Birger of Sweden captured his two brothers, Valdemar, Duke of Finland and Eric, Duke of Södermanland, who later died in prison.
• 1508 – The League of Cambrai was formed. This was an alliance created by Pope Julius II, Louis XII of France, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Ferdinand II of Aragon against Venice.
• 1520 – Martin Luther publicly burned his copy of the official church document Exsurge Domine outside Wittenberg's Elster Gate. This was a symbolic act during the Protestant Reformation.

From the 17th to 19th Century

• 1652 – After a defeat at the Battle of Dungeness, the Commonwealth of England decided to make big changes to its navy.
• 1665 – The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps, a special military force, was officially started by Michiel de Ruyter.
• 1684 – Isaac Newton's important paper, De motu corporum in gyrum, was read to the Royal Society by Edmond Halley. This paper explained Kepler's laws using Newton's theory of gravity.
• 1768 – The very first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, a huge collection of knowledge, was published.
• 1799 – France officially adopted the metre as its standard unit of length.
• 1817 – Mississippi became the 20th U.S. state.
• 1861 – During the American Civil War, the Confederate States of America recognized Kentucky as their 13th state.
• 1861 – In southern Vietnam, forces led by Nguyễn Trung Trực sank a French boat called L'Esperance.
• 1864 – In another event of the American Civil War, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's Union Army troops reached the outer defenses of Savannah, Georgia, during Sherman's March to the Sea.
• 1877 – The Russo-Turkish War saw the Russian Army capture Plevna after a five-month siege. This victory was very important for the war's outcome and the Liberation of Bulgaria.
• 1896 – Alfred Jarry's play Ubu Roi premiered in Paris, causing a big commotion at the end of the show.
• 1898 – The Spanish–American War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Spain gave control of Cuba to the United States, and the U.S. paid Spain $20 million for the Philippines.

The 20th and 21st Centuries

• 1901 – The first ever Nobel Prize ceremony was held in Stockholm, Sweden, five years after the death of its founder, Alfred Nobel.
• 1902 – The Aswan Dam in Egypt was opened, creating a large reservoir.
• 1906 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end the Russo-Japanese War. He was the first American to win a Nobel Prize.
• 1907 – The worst night of the Brown Dog riots happened in London. About 1,000 medical students protested against a memorial for animals used in experiments, clashing with 400 police officers.
• 1909 – Selma Lagerlöf became the first woman writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1932 – Thailand changed its government to become a constitutional monarchy, meaning the king's power is limited by a constitution.
• 1936 – The Abdication Crisis occurred when Edward VIII signed the Instrument of Abdication, giving up his throne as King of the United Kingdom.
• 1941 – During World War II, two large Royal Navy ships, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, were sunk by Japanese torpedo planes near British Malaya.
• 1941 – Also in World War II, Japanese forces landed on Luzon in the Philippines.
• 1942 – The Government of Poland in exile sent the Raczyński's Note, the first official report about the Holocaust, to 26 countries.
• 1948 – The Human Rights Convention was signed by the United Nations, a big step for human rights worldwide.
• 1949 – The Chinese Civil War saw the People's Liberation Army begin its attack on Chengdu, the last major city held by the Kuomintang in mainland China. This forced President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek and his government to move to Taiwan.
• 1953 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1963 – Zanzibar gained its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming a constitutional monarchy under Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah.
• 1968 – Japan's largest unsolved robbery, known as the "300 million yen robbery", took place in Tokyo.
• 1978 – In the Arab–Israeli conflict, Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1979 – The Kaohsiung Incident occurred in Taiwan, where pro-democracy protests were stopped by the government, and organizers were arrested.
• 1983 – Democracy returned to Argentina with the inauguration of President Raúl Alfonsín.
• 1984 – The United Nations General Assembly officially recognized the Convention against Torture.
• 1989 – The Mongolian Revolution began with the country's first open pro-democracy protest. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj announced the creation of the Mongolian Democratic Union.
• 1991 – Nursultan Nazarbayev became the first President of Kazakhstan.
• 1991 – The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic was renamed the Republic of Kazakhstan.
• 1993 – The last shift left Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland, marking the end of the old County Durham coalfield which had been active for centuries.
• 1994 – During the Rwandan genocide, a military advisor to the U.N. Secretary-General recommended that the UNAMIR peacekeeping mission should end.
• 1995 – The Israeli army pulled out of Nablus as part of the Oslo Accord peace agreement.
• 1996 – The new Constitution of South Africa was officially put into effect by Nelson Mandela.
• 1999 – Helen Clark became the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the second woman to hold this position and the first elected to it.
• 2005 – Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crashed at Port Harcourt International Airport in Nigeria, sadly killing 108 people.
• 2014 – Palestinian minister Ziad Abu Ein died after a demonstration was stopped by Israeli forces in the village of Turmus'ayya in Ramallah.
• 2015 – In the Rojava conflict, the Syrian Democratic Council was formed in Dêrik, becoming the political group for the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria.
• 2016 – Two explosions happened outside a football stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 38 people and injuring many others.
• 2017 – The group ISIL was defeated in Iraq.
• 2019 – The Ostrava hospital attack in the Czech Republic resulted in eight deaths, including the person who carried out the attack.
• 2021 – A very powerful and deadly tornado outbreak hit the Central, Midwestern, and Southern parts of the United States. Eighty-nine people were killed, with most deaths in Kentucky from a single tornado.

Famous Births on December 10th

• 1805 – William Lloyd Garrison, an American journalist and activist who started the newspaper The Liberator.
• 1815 – Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician and computer scientist. She is known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical computer, the Analytical Engine.
• 1830 – Emily Dickinson, a famous American poet.
• 1851 – Melvil Dewey, an American librarian who created the Dewey Decimal System for organizing books.
• 1891 – Nelly Sachs, a German-Swedish poet and playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1908 – Olivier Messiaen, a French composer and ornithologist (someone who studies birds).
• 1914 – Dorothy Lamour, a well-known American actress and singer.
• 1920 – Clarice Lispector, a Ukrainian-Brazilian journalist and author.
• 1934 – Howard Martin Temin, an American geneticist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• 1957 – Michael Clarke Duncan, an American actor known for his roles in movies.
• 1958 – Cornelia Funke, a German-American author, famous for her children's fantasy books.
• 1960 – Kenneth Branagh, a British actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.
• 1963 – Jahangir Khan, a Pakistani squash player considered one of the greatest of all time.
• 1974 – Meg White, an American drummer, famous for being part of the band The White Stripes.
• 1982 – Sultan Kösen, a Turkish farmer who is known as the tallest living person in the world.
• 1985 – Raven-Symoné, an American actress, singer, and dancer.
• 1987 – Gonzalo Higuaín, a French-Argentinian footballer.
• 1996 – Joe Burrow, an American football player.
• 1996 – Kang Daniel, a South Korean singer and entrepreneur.

Notable Deaths on December 10th

• 1865 – Leopold I of Belgium, the first King of the Belgians.
• 1896 – Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist and engineer who invented Dynamite and used his fortune to create the Nobel Prize.
• 1909 – Red Cloud, an important chief of the Oglala nation (a Native American tribe).
• 1917 – Mackenzie Bowell, a Canadian journalist and politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Canada.
• 1920 – Horace Elgin Dodge, an American businessman who co-founded the Dodge automobile company.
• 1936 – Luigi Pirandello, an Italian writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1946 – Walter Johnson, a legendary American baseball player and manager.
• 1967 – Otis Redding, a famous American soul singer-songwriter and producer.
• 1968 – Thomas Merton, an American monk and author.
• 1978 – Ed Wood, an American director, producer, and screenwriter.
• 1987 – Jascha Heifetz, a Lithuanian-American violinist considered one of the greatest violinists of all time.
• 1990 – Armand Hammer, a well-known American businessman who founded Occidental Petroleum.
• 1999 – Franjo Tuđman, a Croatian general and politician who was the first President of Croatia.
• 2005 – Richard Pryor, a highly influential American comedian, actor, and screenwriter.
• 2006 – Augusto Pinochet, a Chilean general and leader of Chile.
• 2010 – John Fenn, an American chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• 2021 – Michael Nesmith, an American musician (from The Monkees), songwriter, actor, and producer.

Holidays and Observances

• Alfred Nobel Day or Nobeldagen (Sweden)
• Christian feast day:
  • Eulalia of Mérida
  • Karl Barth (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Thomas Merton (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Translation of the Holy House of Loreto
  • December 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day (Thailand)
• Human Rights Day (International)

See also

In Spanish: 10 de diciembre para niños