On This Day: 10 December

10 December in world history

• 2021A widespread, deadly, and violent tornado outbreak slams the Central, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States. Eighty-nine people are killed by the tornadoes, with most of the fatalities occurring in Kentucky, where a single tornado kills 57 peop
• 1994Rwandan genocide: Maurice Baril, military advisor to the U.N. Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, recommends that UNAMIR stand down.
• 1993The video game Doom, later considered the "father" of the first-person shooter genre, is released.
• 1993The last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland. The closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages.
• 1989Mongolian Revolution: At the country's first open pro-democracy public demonstration, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj announces the establishment of the Mongolian Democratic Union.
• 1983Raúl Alfonsín became the first democratically elected president of Argentina to take office after more than seven years of military dictatorship.
• 1978Arab–Israeli conflict: Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1967Soul and blues singer, Otis Redding, along with members of his back-up group, The Bar-Kays, are killed when their helicopter crashes in Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin.
• 1953British Prime Minister Winston Churchill receives the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1949Chinese Civil War: The People's Liberation Army begins its siege of Chengdu, the last Kuomintang-held city in mainland China, forcing President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek and his government to retreat to Taiwan.
• 1941Second World War: The Royal Navy capital ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo bombers east of Malaya.
• 1907During the Brown Dog affair, protesters marched through London and clashed with police officers in Trafalgar Square over the existence of a memorial for animals that had been vivisected.
• 1902The opening of the reservoir of the Aswan Dam in Egypt.
• 1898Spanish–American War: The Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the conflict. Spain cedes administration of Cuba to the United States, and the United States agrees to pay Spain $20 million for the Philippines.
• 1864American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea: Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's Union Army troops reach the outer Confederate defenses of Savannah, Georgia.
• 1848Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte won France's first presidential election, and was elected as the first and only president of the French Second Republic.
• 1684Edmond Halley presented the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, containing Isaac Newton's derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, to the Royal Society.
• 1508The Papal States, France, Aragon and the Holy Roman Empire formed the League of Cambrai, an alliance against the Republic of Venice.

Born on 10 December

• 1969Rob Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and executive
• 1957Prem Rawat, Indian-American guru and educatorIndia
• 1957Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor (died 2012)
• 1948Jasuben Shilpi, Indian sculptor (died 2013)India
• 1891Nelly Sachs, German-Swedish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970)
• 1878C. Rajagopalachari, Indian lawyer and politician, 45th Governor-General of India (died 1972)India

Died on 10 December

• 2024S. M. Krishna, Indian politician and statesman, Minister of External Affairs, 10th Chief Minister of Karnataka, 19th Governor of Maharashtra (born 1932)India
• 2001Ashok Kumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer (born 1911)India
• 1922Clement Lindley Wragge, English meteorologist and author (born 1852)
• 1081Nikephoros III Botaneiates, deposed Byzantine Emperor (born c.1002)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 10 December in history?

2021: A widespread, deadly, and violent tornado outbreak slams the Central, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States. Eighty-nine people are killed by the tornadoes, with most of the fatalities occurring in Kentucky, where a single tornado kills 57 peop. 1994: Rwandan genocide: Maurice Baril, military advisor to the U.N. Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, recommends that UNAMIR stand down. 1993: The video game Doom, later considered the "father" of the first-person shooter genre, is released. 1993: The last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland. The closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages.

Which famous people were born on 10 December?

Rob Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and executive (1969); Prem Rawat, Indian-American guru and educator (1957); Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor (died 2012) (1957); Jasuben Shilpi, Indian sculptor (died 2013) (1948).

Which day is observed on 10 December?

Human Rights Day; Alfred Nobel Day or Nobeldagen (Sweden); Constitution Day (Thailand); Human Rights Day (International).