1400s / 15th century history on the 10th of May

1497 : Amerigo Vespucci allegedly departed Cádiz in Spain for his first voyage to the New World aka Earth’s Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas. The name of America was derived from Amerigo Vespucci’s name.

1500s / 16th century history on the 10th of May

1503 : Christopher Columbus visited the Cayman Islands and named them Las Tortugas, which was inspired by the many turtles seen there.

1534 : Jacques Cartier visited Newfoundland.

1800s / 19th century history on the 10th of May

1824 : The National Gallery in London opened to the public.

1837 : Panic of 1837 started in New York City when the banks suspended the payment of specie, which triggered a national banking crisis and an economic depression, that was not surpassed until the Great Depression in the 1930s.

1849 : Hokusai the Japanese painter and illustrator died aged 88 (born in 1760). He is best known for his internationally iconic woodblock print The Great Wave off Kanagawa, which was part of the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji woodblock print series.

1869 : The First Transcontinental Railroad that linked the eastern and western United States, was completed with the golden spike at Promontory Summit. The presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met in Promontory, Utah, and drove the ceremonial last spike into a rail line on the 10th May 1869, connecting their railroads. This made transcontinental railroad travel possible for the first time in U.S. history. No longer did western-bound travelers need to take the long and dangerous journey by wagon train.

1872 : Victoria Woodhull became the 1st woman nominated for President of the United States.

1876 : The Centennial Exposition was opened in Philadelphia. It was the first official World’s Fair to be held in the United States.

1899 : Fred Astaire the American actor, dancer and singer was born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska, USA (died in 1987 aged 88).

1900s / 20th century history on the 10th of May

1907 : MOTHER’S DAY was celebrated for the first time in the modern era, at a Mother’s Day service of worship at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia, USA, also known as the International Mother’s Day Shrine. The modern day celebration was started by Anna Jarvis, who organized the first Mother’s Day service of worship and celebration, which was inspired by her deceased mother, who often expressed a desire for the establishment of such a holiday. In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrase “Second Sunday in May, Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis, Founder”, and she also created the Mother’s Day International Association. As the years passed, Anna Jarvis grew disenchanted with the growing commercialization of Mother’s Day.  

1916 : Ernest Shackleton and James Caird arrived at South Georgia in a lifeboat after sailing a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island.

1922 : Kingman Reef was annexed by the United States. It is a large submerged, uninhabited reef in the North Pacific Ocean, approximately halfway between the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa.

1924 : J. Edgar Hoover was appointed the first director of the FBi – United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation, and remained in the position of director for 48 years, until his death in 1972.

1930 : George E. Smith the American scientist and physicist was born in White Plains, New York, USA. He is best known as the co-inventor of the charge-coupled device (CCD) which are digital imaging sensors known as the electronic eye in most areas of photography. George E. Smith became a Nobel Prize laureate when he was awarded a part share in the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD sensor.

1933 : Nazis conducted massive public book burnings during censorship in Germany.

1940 : German fighters accidentally bombed the city of Freiburg in Germany, during World War II.

1940 : Winston Churchill was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after the resignation of Neville Chamberlain, during World War II.

1946 : Donovan the Scottish singer-songwriter was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland. Official website : Donovan.ie

1946 : Graham Gouldman the English musician from the 10cc rock band was born in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire, England.

1946 : Dave Mason the English musician was born in Worcester, England, United Kingdom. He first became known with Traffic, during the rock band’s earliest years, between 1967 and 1971. Dave Mason Mason has performed and recorded with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Fleetwood Mac, Steve Winwood, Michael Jackson, and other notable musicians. Official website : DaveMasonMusic.com

1960 : Bono the Irish singer-songwriter from the rock band U2 was born Paul David Hewson in Dublin, Ireland. U2’s official website : U2.com

1962 : The Incredible Hulk first issue was published by Marvel Comics. Now worth up to $36,000 approximately, as seen on Pawn Stars (video)…

1965 : Linda Evangelista the Canadian model was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

1967 : The Northrop M2-F2 crashed on landing, and later became the inspiration for the Cyborg novel and also The Six Million Dollar Man television series.

1975 : Sony introduced the Betamax videocassette recorder.

1994 : Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first black president of South Africa.

1994 : John Wayne Gacy the American serial killer was executed by lethal injection, for assaulting and murdering at least 33 young males (born in 1942).

1996 : Mount Everest killer blizzard began.

1997 : Qayen earthquake hit Iran and killed 1,567 people.

2000s / 21st century history on the 10th of May

2002 : FBI agent Robert Hanssen was sentenced to a life in prison without any possibility of parole, for selling United States secrets to Russia, for a fee of $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.

2005 : A hand grenade was thrown at U.S. President George W. Bush by Vladimir Arutyunian. It landed about 18 metres (60 feet) from him, while he was giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, in Eastern Europe, but it malfunctioned and did not detonate.

2013 : One World Trade Center become the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

see more interesting events on all the other days of MAY (History On This Day @ Azoosh)

This page was last updated on the 10th May 2021

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