January 10

49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of the Roman civil war

1072 – Robert Guiscard capture Palermo in Sicily

1429 – Order of Golden Fleece, a new order of chivalry founded to celebrate Philip III, Duke of Burgundy’s marriage to Infanta Isabella of Portugal, is established in Austria-Hungary and Spain

1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui

1645 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, is beheaded after being accused of acting as an enemy to British Parliament

1724 – King Philip V abdicates the throne for his son, Louis

1776 – Exiled, North Carolina’s Royal Governor Josiah Martin, calls on Loyalists to take up arms against the rebels

1778 – Swedish physician, zoologist, and botanist, Carl Linnaeus dies

1811 – Over 400 slaves stage an uprising in New Orleans, which ends when 66 are killed and their heads strung up along the roads throughout the city

1834 – English historian, Lord Acton is born

1839 – The first Indian tea arrives in the UK

1843 – Outlaw Frank James, the older brother of Jesse James, is born

1847 – General Stephen Kearny and Commodore Robert Stockton recapture Los Angeles in the last Californian battle of the Mexican War

1861 – Florida secedes from the Union

1861 – William Seward is named Secretary of State under President-elect Abraham Lincoln

1862 – American industrialist, inventor and founder of the Colt Manufacturing Company, Samuel Colt dies

1863 – London’s Underground Railway begins operations

1864 – Chemist and agronomist, George Washington Carver is born

1870 – The Standard Oil Company of Ohio is founded by John Rockefeller and his brother, William

1899 – Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo renounces the Treaty of Paris, which annexed the Philippines to the US

1901 – The Automobile Club of America installs signs on major highways

1901 – An enormous gusher in Beaumont, Texas, flowing at an initial rate of 100,000 barrels a day, signals the start of the US oil industry

1903 – Argentina bans the importation of American beef due to sanitation issues

1911 – Two German cruisers, the Emden and the Nurnberg, suppress a native revolt on the island of Ponape in the Caroline Islands by firing on the island

1912 – The world’s first flying-boat airplane, designed by Glenn Curtiss, makes its first flight at Hammondsport

1918 – The House of Representatives passes legislation for women’s suffrage

1920 – The Treaty of Versailles officially ending World War I goes into effect and the League of Nations is instituted

1922 – Sinn Fein founder, Arthur Griffith, is elected President of the newly established Irish Free State

1923 – The US withdraws the last of its troops from Germany

1929 – The first Adventures of Tintin comic book is published and will go on to become wildly popular, particularly in Europe

1940 – German planes attack a series of ships off of the British coast, sinking three and killing 35 people

1941 – President Franklin Roosevelt introduces the lend-lease program to Congress. The program was designed to provide military aid to any country whose defense was necessary for the security of the US, and intended to help Britain combat Germany without the US having to be directly involved in World War II

1941 – The Soviets and Germany agree on the East European borders and the exchange of industrial equipment

1945 – Singer and songwriter Rod Stewart is born

1946 – Fighting between Chiang Kai-shek and the Yenan Communist forces is halted in China

1946 – The first General Assembly of the UN convenes for the first time at Westminster Central Hall in London, England

1949 – World Heavyweight Champion boxer, George Foreman is born

1953 – Grammy-winning singer, Pat Benatar is born

1960 – 12th Taoiseach of Ireland, Brian Cowen, is born

1961 – American author, Dashiell Hammett dies

1962 – Over 4,000 are killed during an avalanche occurring on the slopes of an extinct volcano in Peru

1964 – Panama breaks ties with the US and demands a revision of the canal treaty

1967 – President Lyndon Johnson requests Congress for additional funds to support the Vietnam War in the form of a surcharge on personal and corporate income taxes

1967 – The first black senator ever elected by popular vote, Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, takes his seat

1971 – French fashion designer and founder of the Chanel Company, Coco Chanel dies

1972 – Former Vice President Hubert Humphrey criticizes President Richard Nixon about the lengthy time involved in withdrawal of troops from Vietnam

1976 – American singer, songwriter, and musician, Howlin’ Wolf dies

1982 – San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark makes a superb catch in the end zone with 51 seconds left in the NFC championship game against the Dallas Cowboys. After a successful extra point kick, the 49ers beat the Cowboys 28-27 and went on to Super Bowl XVI

1984 – The Vatican and the US re-establish full diplomatic relations

1985 – Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes President of Nicaragua

1987 – Brazilian swimmer, Cesar Cielo is born

1989 – Cuban troops begin withdrawal from Angola

1994 – Green Beret Richard Crafts is indicted for the murder of his wife, Helle, after his evasive answers about her disappearance. A search along the Housatonic River in Connecticut turned up hair, fingernails, a toe, and teeth, and a witness claimed to have seen a wood chipper near the river. Crafts was convicted of murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison

2000 – One of the largest media mergers in history takes place when America Online Inc. announces its plan to acquire Time Warner Inc, to form AOL Time Warner

2003 – North Korea announces that it is withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

2007 – A strike begins in Guinea that will see to the resignation of President Lansana Conte

2008 – The world’s most inexpensive car, the Nano manufactured by Tata Motors, anticipated at just $2,500, debuts at the New Delhi Auto Expo in India

2016 – English singer, songwriter, producer, and actor, David Bowie dies