January 10 facts for kids

January 10th is a special day in history, filled with many interesting events, birthdays of famous people, and important moments. From ancient times to modern days, this date has seen big changes, new discoveries, and the birth and passing of influential figures around the world. Let's explore some of the most notable happenings on this day!

Events in History

Early Times (Before 1900)

• 49 BC – The Roman general Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river. This was a huge step that started a civil war in ancient Rome.
• 9 – The Xin dynasty began in China, marking a new period in Chinese history.
• 69 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus was chosen by Emperor Galba to be his deputy in the Roman Empire.
• 236 – Pope Fabian became the leader of the Catholic Church.
• 1072 – Robert Guiscard, a Norman adventurer, successfully took control of Palermo in Sicily.
• 1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia led his forces to victory against the powerful Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
• 1776 – Thomas Paine published his famous pamphlet, Common Sense. This writing strongly encouraged the American colonies to seek independence from Britain.
• 1806 – The Dutch forces in Cape Town surrendered to the British, who then took control of the area.
• 1810 – The marriage between Napoleon Bonaparte and Joséphine de Beauharnais was officially ended.
• 1821 – Explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen discovered an island near Antarctica and named it Tsar Peter I Island.
• 1840 – Isaac Pitman started a new way of learning called long-distance learning. His students could send their schoolwork to him by post.
• 1861 – Florida decided to leave the United States, which was a step towards the American Civil War.
• 1863 – The very first part of the London Underground Railway opened. It connected Paddington to Farringdon Street, making travel much easier in London.
• 1870 – John D. Rockefeller officially started Standard Oil, which became a very large and important oil company.

The 20th Century (1901-2000)

• 1901 – A huge amount of oil was discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas. This event, known as the first great Texas gusher, changed the oil industry forever.
• 1910 – The British passenger ship Loodiana disappeared near Mauritius. Its disappearance remains a mystery.
• 1916 – During World War I, Russia defeated the Ottoman Empire in the Erzurum Offensive.
• 1920 – The League of Nations held its first meeting. They also officially approved the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I.
• 1922 – Arthur Griffith was chosen as the President of the Irish Free State.
• 1923 – Lithuania took control of and added the region of Memel to its territory.
• 1927 – The classic science fiction movie Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang, had its first showing.
• 1929 – Tintin, a famous comic book character created by Hergé, appeared for the first time. His adventures became popular worldwide.
• 1941 – The Lend-Lease program was introduced to the U.S. Congress. This program allowed the United States to provide military aid to its allies during World War II.
• 1946 – The first United Nations General Assembly meeting took place in London. Representatives from 51 nations were there.
• 1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully completed Project Diana. They bounced radio waves off the Moon and received the signals back on Earth.
• 1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a Comet 1 aircraft, exploded and crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea near Italy, sadly killing 35 people.
• 1957 – Harold Macmillan became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1962 – NASA announced its plans to build the powerful Saturn V rocket, which would later take astronauts to the Moon.
• 1964 – Panama temporarily ended its diplomatic relations with the United States. They were restored a few months later.
• 1969 – After 147 years, the last issue of The Saturday Evening Post magazine was published.
• 1971 – The popular TV show Masterpiece Theatre began airing on PBS.
• 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the President of Bangladesh.
• 1984 – The United States and the Vatican City officially established full diplomatic relations.
• 1985 – Daniel Ortega became the President of Nicaragua.
• 1989 – Cuban troops started leaving Angola.
• 1990 – Time Warner was created when Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc. merged.
• 2000 – America Online (AOL) announced it would buy Time Warner for $162 billion. This was the largest company merger in history at the time.

The 21st Century (From 2001)

• 2001 – Wikipedia started as a part of Nupedia. It quickly became its own separate website just five days later.
• 2005 – A ban on smoking in public places began in Italy.
• 2005 – A mudslide happened in La Conchita, California, and sadly 10 people lost their lives.
• 2011 – Severe flooding occurred in the Lockyer Valley around Toowoomba, Queensland, as part of the 2010–2011 Queensland floods.
• 2013 – Over 100 people were killed in bomb attacks in Pakistan.
• 2015 – A mass poisoning happened at a funeral in Mozambique. It was caused by beer that was contaminated, leading to 56 deaths and 200 hospitalizations.
• 2015 – A traffic accident near Karachi, Pakistan, between an oil tanker truck and a passenger coach killed 62 people.
• 2016 – The famous singer, musician, and actor David Bowie passed away from cancer, just two days after his 69th birthday.

Famous Birthdays

Born Before 1900

• 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy, who was a Regent of the Netherlands.
• 1573 – Simon Marius, a German astronomer.
• 1628 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, an English statesman.
• 1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, an Italian biologist known for his studies on bodily functions and animal reproduction.
• 1738 – Ethan Allen, an American military leader during the American Revolutionary War.
• 1797 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, a German writer and composer.
• 1843 – Frank James, an American outlaw, brother of Jesse James.
• 1858 – Heinrich Zille, a German illustrator and photographer.
• 1865 – Mary Ingalls, sister of the famous author Laura Ingalls Wilder.
• 1875 – Issai Schur, an important German mathematician.
• 1883 – Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, a Russian writer.
• 1887 – Robinson Jeffers, an American poet and dramatist.
• 1898 – Katharine Burr Blodgett, an American scientist and inventor.

Born in the 20th Century (1901-1975)

• 1903 – Barbara Hepworth, a famous English sculptor.
• 1908 – Bernard Lee, a British actor known for playing M in the early James Bond films.
• 1913 – Gustáv Husák, who became President of Czechoslovakia.
• 1916 – Sune Bergström, a Swedish biochemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1917 – Jerry Wexler, an American record producer and journalist who worked with many music legends.
• 1918 – Arthur Chung, the first President of Guyana.
• 1924 – Eduardo Chillida, a Basque sculptor.
• 1924 – Max Roach, an American jazz musician and composer.
• 1930 – Roy E. Disney, an American businessman and nephew of Walt Disney.
• 1934 – Leonid Kravchuk, the first former President of Ukraine.
• 1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, an American physicist and radio astronomer who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1938 – Donald Knuth, an American mathematician and computer scientist who is a pioneer in computer programming.
• 1939 – Scott McKenzie, an American singer known for his song "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)".
• 1945 – Rod Stewart, a very popular British singer.
• 1949 – George Foreman, a famous American boxer and successful entrepreneur (known for the George Foreman Grill).
• 1960 – Brian Cowen, a former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland.
• 1965 – Butch Hartman, an American animator and creator of popular cartoons.
• 1974 – Jermaine Clement, a New Zealand actor, singer, and guitarist, famous for "Flight of the Conchords".

Born From 1976 Onwards

• 1976 – Ian Poulter, an English golfer.
• 1980 – Sarah Shahi, an American actress.
• 1982 – Ana Layevska, a Russian-Mexican actress.
• 1986 – Abbey Clancy, an English model.
• 1987 – César Cielo, a Brazilian swimmer and Olympic medalist.
• 1994 – Mohammed Aman, an Ethiopian middle-distance runner.
• 2004 – Kaitlyn Maher, an American actress and singer.

Notable Deaths

Passed Away Before 1900

• 314 – Pope Miltiades, a leader of the Catholic Church.
• 681 – Pope Agatho, another early Pope.
• 976 – John I Tzimiskes, a Greek Byzantine Emperor.
• 1276 – Pope Gregory X, a Pope known for trying to reunite the Eastern and Western Christian churches.
• 1645 – William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
• 1778 – Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist who created the system for naming living things.
• 1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, a French mathematician.
• 1862 – Samuel Colt, an American inventor known for his firearms.

Passed Away in the 20th Century (1901-2000)

• 1917 – William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, a famous American frontiersman and showman.
• 1926 – Eino Leino, a Finnish writer.
• 1934 – Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist accused of the Reichstag fire.
• 1941 – Frank Bridge, an English composer.
• 1951 – Sinclair Lewis, an American writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1957 – Gabriela Mistral, a Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1961 – Dashiell Hammett, an American writer of detective stories.
• 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, a Soviet cosmonaut.
• 1971 – Coco Chanel, a famous French fashion designer.
• 1976 – Howlin' Wolf, an influential American blues musician.
• 1980 – George Meany, a major American labor leader.
• 1982 – Paul Lynde, an American comedian and actor.
• 1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, a Czech writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1997 – Sheldon Leonard, an American producer, actor, and director.

Passed Away From 2003 Onwards

• 2004 – Spalding Gray, an American actor and writer.
• 2005 – James Forman, an American Civil Rights leader.
• 2007 – Carlo Ponti, a famous Italian movie producer.
• 2009 – Bill Stone, a British veteran of World War I.
• 2011 – John Dye, an American actor.
• 2014 – Zbigniew Messner, a former Prime Minister of Poland.
• 2015 – Francesco Rosi, an Italian movie director.
• 2015 – Junior Malanda, a Belgian footballer.
• 2016 – David Bowie, the iconic English singer, musician, and actor.

See also

In Spanish: 10 de enero para niños