Events on October 10 44
Year 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.
Year 732
Battle of Tours: A force commanded by Charles Martel defeats an army of the Umayyad Caliphate between Poitiers and Tours in western France.
Year 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.
Year 1575
Roman Catholic forces under Henry I, Duke of Guise defeat the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others.
Year 1580
Over 600 Papal troops land at Dún an Óir, Ireland to support the Second Desmond Rebellion.
Year 1582
Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
Year 1760
In a treaty with the Dutch colonial authorities, the Ndyuka people of Suriname - descended from escaped slaves - gain territorial autonomy.
Year 1845
In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 midshipman students and seven professors.
Year 1846
Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune, is discovered by English astronomer William Lassell.
Year 1868
Carlos Céspedes issues the Grito de Yara from his plantation, La Demajagua, proclaiming Cuba's independence
Year 1897
German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovers an improved way of synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).
Year 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.
Year 1913
United States President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike, ending construction on the Panama Canal.
Year 1920
The Carinthian plebiscite determines that the larger part of the Duchy of Carinthia should remain part of Austria.
Year 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.
Year 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.
Year 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.
Year 1953
A Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea is concluded in Washington, D.C.
Year 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.
Year 1957
The Windscale fire in Cumbria, U.K. is the world's first major nuclear accident.
Year 1964
The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary satellite.
Year 1967
The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force.
Year 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.
Year 1971
Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Year 1973
Vice President of the United States Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with evasion of federal income tax.
Year 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.
Year 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.
Year 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.
Year 1997
An Austral Airlines DC-9-32 crashes and explodes near Nuevo Berlin, Uruguay, killing 74.
Year 1998
A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 is shot down by rebels in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 41 people.
Year 2015
Twin bomb blasts in the Turkish capital Ankara near the main train station leave at least 102 people dead and over 400 wounded.