Today in History: Oct. 10

Posted
680 – Battle of Karbala: Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, is decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Muslims as Aashurah. 732 – Battle of Tours: A force commanded by Charles Martel defeats an army of the Umayyad Caliphate between Poitiers and Tours in western France. 1471 – Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the help of farmers and miners, repels an attack by King Christian I of Denmark. 1575 – Roman Catholic forces under Henry I, Duke of Guise defeat the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others. 1580 – Over 600 Papal troops land at Dún an Óir, Ireland to support the Second Desmond Rebellion. 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain. 1631 – An Electorate of Saxony army takes over Prague. 1760 – In a treaty with the Dutch colonial authorities, the Ndyuka people of Suriname – descended from escaped slaves – gain territorial autonomy. 1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000–30,000 in the Caribbean. 1845 – In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 midshipman students and seven professors. 1846 – Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune, is discovered by English astronomer William Lassell. 1868 – Carlos Céspedes issues the Grito de Yara from his plantation, La Demajagua, proclaiming Cuba's independence 1871 – Chicago burns after a barn accident. The fire lasts from October 8 to October 10. 1897 – German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovers an improved way of synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). 1903 – The Women's Social and Political Union was founded by Emmeline Pankhurst 1911 – The Wuchang Uprising leads to the demise of the Qing dynasty, the last Imperial court in China, and the founding of the Republic of China. 1913 – United States President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike, ending construction on the Panama Canal. 1920 – The Carinthian plebiscite determines that the larger part of the Duchy of Carinthia should remain part of Austria. 1928 – Chiang Kai-shek becomes Chairman of the Republic of China. 1933 – United Airlines Boeing 247 mid-air explosion: A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by sabotage, the first such proven case in the history of commercial aviation. 1935 – A coup d'état by the royalist leadership of the Greek Armed Forces takes place in Athens. It overthrows the government of Panagis Tsaldaris and establishes a regency under Georgios Kondylis, effectively ending the Second Hellenic Republic. 1938 – The Munich Agreement cedes the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. 1945 – The Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang signed a principle agreement in Chongqing about the future of post-war China. Later, the pact is commonly referred to as the Double Tenth Agreement. 1953 – A Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea is concluded in Washington, D.C. 1957 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, after he is refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant. 1957 – The Windscale fire in Cumbria, U.K. is the world's first major nuclear accident. 1963 – France cedes control of the Bizerte naval base to Tunisia. 1963 – The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty comes into effect. 1964 – The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary satellite. 1967 – The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force. 1970 – Fiji becomes independent. 1970 – In Montreal, a national crisis hits Canada when Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group. 1971 – Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. 1973 – Vice President of the United States Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with evasion of federal income tax. 1975 – Papua New Guinea joins the United Nations. 1980 – The 7.1 Mw El Asnam earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme); at least 2,633 people were killed and 8,369 were injured. 1980 – FMLN is founded in El Salvador. 1985 – United States Navy F-14 fighter jets intercept an Egyptian plane carrying the hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise ship, and force it to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily where they are arrested. 1986 – The 5.7 Mw San Salvador earthquake shook San Salvador, El Salvador with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to 1,500 people were killed. 1997 – An Austral Airlines DC-9-32 crashes and explodes near Nuevo Berlin, Uruguay, killing 74. 1998 – A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 is shot down by rebels in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 41 people. 2009 – Armenia and Turkey sign protocols in Zurich, Switzerland to open their borders. 2010 – The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved as a country. 2015 – Twin bomb blasts in the Turkish capital Ankara near the main train station leave at least 102 people dead and over 400 wounded.