Unix Timestamp: 1071014400
Wednesday, December 10. 2003, 12:00:00 AM UTC


« Previous dayNext day »

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Channel Island of Sark, a BritishCrown Dependency, holds its first fully democratic elections under a new constitutional arrangement, becoming the last European territory to abolish feudalism.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Russian President Vladimir Putin announces at a party meeting that he will support Dmitry Medvedev as his successor in the March 2008 presidential election. //news.smh.com.au/russias-putin-anoints-deputy-premier-as-presidential-frontrunner/20071210-1g8m.html ("The Sydney Morning Herald")
The United Nations deadline for a negotiated settlement on the future of Kosovo passes without an international agreement.

Friday, December 10, 2004

New Zealand bans smoking in all public places, including bars.

Tuesday, December 10, 2002

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, located in New York, reversed a lower court ruling that found the federal death penalty unconstitutional because it amounted to the state-sponsored murder of innocent people.
The High Court of Australia hands down its judgement in the Internetdefamation dispute in the case of Gutnick v Dow Jones.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools revoked the accreditation of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, for financial irregularities.

Wednesday, December 10, 1997

The capital of Kazakhstan is moved from Almaty to Astana.

Friday, December 10, 1993

A variety of Soviet space program paraphernalia are put to auction in Sotheby's New York, and sell for a total of US$6.8M. One of the items is Lunokhod 1 and its spacecraft Luna 17 they sell for $68,500.
id Software releases "Doom", a seminal first-person shooter that uses advanced 3D graphics for computer games.
A variety of Soviet space program paraphernalia are put to auction in Sotheby\\'s New York, and sell for a total of US$6.8M. One of the items is Lunokhod 1 and its spacecraft Luna 17 they sell for $68,500.

Saturday, December 10, 1983

Military rule ends and democracy is restored in Argentina, with the beginning of Raúl Alfonsín's first term as President of Argentina

Thursday, December 10, 1981

El Mozote massacre: In El Salvador, army units kill 900 civilians.
Boxing: Muhammad Ali loses to Trevor Berbick this proved to be Ali's last-ever fight.
During the Ministerial Session of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels, Spain signs the Protocol of Accession to NATO.

Friday, December 10, 1976

Samoa joins the United Nations.
Denis Healey announces to the British Parliament that he has successfully negotiated a £2.3bn loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Tuesday, December 10, 1968

Japan's biggest heist, the still-unsolved 300 million yen robbery, occurs in Tokyo.

Thursday, December 10, 1964

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

Tuesday, December 10, 1963

In the United States, the X-20 Dyna-Soarspaceplane program is cancelled. Also on this date: Chuck Yeager while testing an NF-104A rocket-augmented aerospace trainer, he narrowly escaped death when his aircraft went out of control at 108,700 feet (nearly 21 miles up) and crashed. He parachuted to safety at 8,500 feet after vainly battling to gain control of the powerless, rapidly falling craft. In this incident he became the first pilot to make an emergency ejection in the full pressure suit needed for high altitude flights.”

Monday, December 10, 1962

David Lean's epic film "Lawrence of Arabia", featuring Peter O\\\' Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, and Anthony Quinn premieres in London. Six days later, it opens in the U.S.
The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci "Mona Lisa" was assessed for insurance purposes at US$100 million, before the painting toured the United States for several months. It is the highest insurance value for a painting in history. However, the Louvre chose to spend the money that would have been spent on the insurance premium on security instead.
The last execution by hanging in Canada takes place.
U.S. spacecraft Mariner 2 flies by Venus, becoming the first probe to successfully transmit data from another planet.
David Lean's epic film "Lawrence of Arabia", featuring Peter O' Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, and Anthony Quinn premieres in London. Six days later, it opens in the U.S.
In West Germany, a coalition government of Christian Democrats, Christian Socialists, and Free Democrats is formed.

Sunday, December 10, 1961

Adolf Eichmann is pronounced guilty of crimes against humanity by a panel of 3 Israeli judges.
The Vietnam War officially begins, as the first American helicopters arrive in Saigon along with 400 U.S. personnel.

Tuesday, December 10, 1957

Canadian diplomat Lester B. Pearson receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his peackeeping efforts in the United Nations.

Thursday, December 10, 1953

Albert Schweitzer is given the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize.

Saturday, December 10, 1949

Robert Menzies elected prime minister of Australia.

Friday, December 10, 1948

The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Sunday, December 10, 1944

Legendary Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini leads a concert performance of the first half of Beethoven's "Fidelio" (minus its spoken dialogue) on NBC Radio, starring Rose Bton. He chooses this opera for its political message ndash a statement against tyranny and dictatorship. Conducting it in German, Toscanini intends it as a tribute to the German people who are being oppressed by Hitler. The second half is broadcast a week later. The performance is later released on LP and CD, the first of 7 operas that Toscanini conducts on radio.

Wednesday, December 10, 1941

WWII: The British battleship HMS \\'\\'Prince of Wales\\'\\' and battlecruiser HMS \'\'Repulse\'\' are sunk by Japanese aircraft in the South China Sea north of Singapore.
WWII: The British battleship HMS "Prince of Wales" and battlecruiser HMS "Repulse" are sunk by Japanese aircraft in the South China Sea north of Singapore.

Thursday, December 10, 1936

December 11 ndash King Edward VIII signs an instrument of abdication at Fort Belvedere in the presence of his three brothers, The Duke of York, The Duke of Gloucester and The Duke of Kent.
The Irish Free State passes the External Relations Act to legislate for Edward VIII's abdication in that realm.
The British Parliament passes His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 on behalf of the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Xi'an Incident: Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China is kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang.
Prince Albert, Duke of York, becomes King, reigning as King George VI.
The abdicated King Edward VIII, now HRH Prince Edward, makes a broadcast to the nation explaining his decision to abdicate. He leaves the country for Austria.
The King performs his last act as sovereign by giving royal assent to the Act.

Saturday, December 10, 1904

The Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity is founded at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC.

Wednesday, December 10, 1902

The first Aswan Dam on The Nile is completed.

Saturday, December 10, 1898

The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Spanish-American War.

Thursday, December 10, 1896

The premiere of Alfred Jarry's absurdist play "Ubu Roi" in Paris causes a near-riot.

Sunday, December 10, 1871

German chancellor Otto von Bismarck tries to ban Catholics from the political stage by introducing harsh laws concerning the separation of church and state.

Friday, December 10, 1869

The first American chapter of Kappa Sigma is founded at the University of Virginia.
The Wyoming territorial legislature gives women the right to vote, the first such law in the world.

Sunday, December 10, 1865

Léopold II becomes King of the Belgians.

Tuesday, December 10, 1861

The British Empire establishes bases in Lagos to stop the slave trade.
American Civil War: Kentucky is accepted into the Confederate States of America.
News of Henri Mouhot's discovery of Angkor Wat is published.
In Britain, the death penalty is limited to murder, high treason, espionage, piracy with violence and acts of arson perpetrated upon docks or ammunition depots.
First industrial meat packing plant in Uruguay established at Fray Bentos.

Saturday, December 10, 1859

The Ateneo Municipal de Manila is founded.
Mary Institute is founded.
Brisbane is declared the capital of newly separated colony Queensland, Australia.
The Rancho Rincon de Los Esteros Land Grant is confirmed to Rafael Alvisa, (part of the present Santa Clara County, California).
District nursing begins in Liverpool, England, when philanthropist William Rathbone employs Mary Robinson to nurse the sick poor in their own homes.
The island of Timor is divided between Portugal and the Netherlands.
Bernhard Riemann formulates the Riemann hypothesis, one of the most important open problems of contemporary mathematics.

Sunday, December 10, 1848

Prince Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte is elected first president of the French Second Republic.

Wednesday, December 10, 1834

Sir Robert Peel succeeds Lord Melbourne as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Wednesday, December 10, 1817

Mississippi is admitted as the 20th U.S. state, formerly the Mississippi Territory.ref name=TNAn 1820 Claim to Congress: Alabama Territory : 1817, "The Intruders", TNGenNet Inc., 2001, quick webpage: //www.tngenweb.org/tnland/intruders/claim-537 TN-537.
A typhus epidemic occurs in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The Pernambucan Revolt breaks out in Brazil.
Elgin Marbles are displayed in the British Museum.
John Kidd extracts naphthalene from coal tar.
King Ferdinand VII of Spain, by royal decree, makes the production and sale of tobacco a legal endeavor in Cuba, thus sparking the birth of the Cuban cigar industry.

Friday, December 10, 1790

The Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars begins in New South Wales, Australia as a result of deterioration in relations and increasing colonization.

Saturday, December 10, 1768

Royal Academy founded in London, with Joshua Reynolds as its first President.ref name=Pocket On This Day

Saturday, December 10, 1718

Stede Bonnet is hanged at Charleston after being recaptured.

Sunday, December 10, 1684

The Chipperfield's Circus dynasty begins when James Chipperfield introduces performing animals to England at the River Thames frost fairs on the Thames in London.
The Chipperfield\\'s Circus dynasty begins when James Chipperfield introduces performing animals to England at the River Thames frost fairs on the Thames in London.
Pope Innocent XI forms a Holy League with the Habsburg Empire, Venice and Poland to end the Ottoman Turkish rule in Europe.
Japanese poet Saikaku composes 23,500 verses in 24 hours at the Sumiyoshi Shrine at Osaka the scribes cannot keep pace with his dictation and just "count" the verses.
Smuggled tea is drunk much more than legally imported tea.
Isaac Newton's derivation of Kepler\\'s laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper "De motu corporum in gyrum", is read to the Royal Society by Edmund Halley.
The British East India Company receives Chinese permission to build a trading station at Canton. Tea sells in Europe for less than a shilling a pound, but the import duty of 5 shillings makes it too expensive for most English people to afford.
Tokyo University, formally registered as a university in 1877, had its predecessor established.
Isaac Newton's derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper "De motu corporum in gyrum", is read to the Royal Society by Edmund Halley.

Saturday, December 10, 1616

An ordinance establishes parish schools in Scotland. The same act of the Privy Council commends the abolition of Gaelic.

Friday, November 30, 1520 (Julianian calendar)

Martin Luther writes "To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation".
Martin Luther burns a copy of "The Book of Canon Law" (see Canon Law) and his copy of the Papal bull "Exsurge Domine".
Aleksandra Lisowska (Roxelana) is given as a gift to Suleiman I on the occasion of his accession to the throne.
Duarte Barbosa returns to Cananor.
The Franciscan friar Matteo Bassi is inspired to return to the primitive life of solitude and penance as practiced by St. Francis, giving rise to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.

Thursday, November 30, 1508 (Julianian calendar)

The League of Cambrai is formed as an alliance against Venice between Pope Julius II, Louis XII of France, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Ferdinand II of Aragon.

Thursday, December 1, 1446 (Julianian calendar)

After hesitating for several weeks, Murad II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, destroys the Hexamilion wall in an assault that includes cannons. Murad and the Ottoman governor of Thessaly, Turakhan Beg ravage the Peloponnese peninsula at will, with the Sultan devastating the northern shore until Glarentza and Turakhan raiding in the interior. The Despotate of the Morea is turned into an Ottoman vassal state.
In Italy, the siege of Cremona by the condottieri troops of Francesco Piccinino and Luigi dal Verme is raised after the arrival of Scaramuccia da Forlì.
Nuno Tristão is killed by natives in the coast of Senegal.
The Precious Belt Bridge in China is fully reconstructed.
Portuguese navigator Álvaro Fernandes reaches the mouth of the Casamance River in Senegal.
The Blarney Stone is set into a tower of Blarney Castle in Blarney, County Cork in Ireland.

Friday, December 2, 1317 (Julianian calendar)

December 11 ndash King Birger of Sweden has his brothers, Dukes Eric and Valdemar, captured and thrown into a dungeon during the Nyköping Banquet, as a revenge for their imprisonment of him in the Håtuna games in 1306. As the dukes soon starve to death in the dungeon, their followers rebel against the king, throwing Sweden into civil war, in which the king is deposed in 1318.
The Great Famine of 1315-1317 comes to an end.
Pope John XXII erects the dioceses of Luçon, Maillezais, and Tulle.

Friday, December 4, 1041 (Julianian calendar)

Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V.
Worcester rebels against the naval taxes of Harthacanute.
The number of enlisted soldiers in the Song Dynasty Chinese military reaches well over 1,250,000 troops, an increase since 1022 when there were a million soldiers.
Edward the Confessor returns from exile to become the heir of Harthacanute.

Wednesday, December 6, 741 (Julianian calendar)

Pope Zachary succeeds Pope Gregory III as the 91st pope.

Saturday, December 10, 208

King Vologases VI succeeds his father Vologases V to the throne. His brother Artabanus IV of Media begins a rebellion against him in the Parthian Empire.
Britain is divided in the north, Lower Britain (Britannia Inferior) administered from the fortress at Eburacum (modern York), and in the south, Upper Britain (Britannia Superior) controlled by the legions at Deva Victrix and Isca Augusta, with its capital at Londinium (London).
Liu Bei escapes from Cao Cao at the Battle of Changban.
Ardashir I, ruler of Istakhr (Persia), revolts against his brother and founds the Sassanid dynasty.
Emperor Septimius Severus leads an expedition (20,000 men) in Britannia, crosses Hadrian\\\\\'s Wall and moves through eastern Scotland. The Roman army pushes the Caledonians back to the River Tay and Severus signs a peace treaty. He repairs the Antonine Wall (his repairs are sometimes called the Severan Wall).
Cao Cao writes "Duǎn Ge Xíng".
Zhou Yu and Liu Bei defeat Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs along with the Battle of Yamen and Battle of Lake Poyang, this is one of the largest naval battles in China's history.
Cao Cao marches south with his army and captures the enemy fleet at Jiangling.
Source: Wikipedia