June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining.
Events
- 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Saleph River while leading an army to Jerusalem.
- 1692 - Salem witch trials: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts for "certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft & Sorceries".
- 1793 - The Jardin des Plantes museum opened in Paris (a year later it would become the first public zoo).
- 1829 - First boat race between Oxford and Cambridge.
- 1846 - Mexican-American War: The California Republic declares independence from Mexico.
- 1854 - The first class of United States Naval Academy students graduate.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Brice's Crossroads - Confederate troops under Nathan Bedford Forrest defeat a much larger Union force led by General Samuel D. Sturgis in Mississippi.
- 1886 - Eruption of Mount Tarawera in New Zealand, killing 153 people and destroying the famous Pink and White Terraces.
- 1898 - US Marines land on the island of Cuba during the Spanish-American War
- 1924 - Fascists kidnap and kill Italian socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti in Rome.
- 1935 - Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in New York City by William G. Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith.
- 1940 - World War II: Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
- 1940 - World War II: German forces, under General Erwin Rommel, reach the English Channel.
- 1940 - World War II: Canada declares war on Italy.
- 1940 - World War II: Norway Surrenders to German forces.
- 1942 - World War II: Nazis burn the Czech village of Lidice as reprisal for the killing of Reinhard Heydrich.
- 1944 - World War II: 642 men, women and children are killed in the Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre in France.
- 1944 - 15-year old Joe Nuxhall becomes the youngest baseballer to pitch a game in major league history.
- 1947 - Saab produces its first automobile.
- 1956 - 1956 Summer Olympics: Equestrian events open in Stockholm, Sweden.
- 1965 - Vietnam War: Battle of Dong Xoai begins - About 1,500 Vietcong mount a mortar attack on Dong Xoai and then overrun its military headquarters and adjoining militia compound.
- 1967 - Six-Day War ends: Israel and Syria agree to a cease-fire.
- 1973 - Paul Getty III, grandson of billionaire J. Paul Getty, is kidnapped in Rome, Italy.
- 1977 - James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee (he was recaptured on June 13).
- 1977 - Apple Computer ships its first Apple II personal computer.
- 1980 - Apartheid: The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a statement by their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela which says in part 'UNITE! MOBILISE! FIGHT ON! BETWEEN THE ANVIL OF UNITED MASS ACTION AND THE HAMMER OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE WE SHALL CRUSH APARTHEID!' [1]
- 1980 - Percy Wood, president of United Airlines, is injured by an exploding package sent by the Unabomber.
- 1991 - In what has been deemed "The Mother of All Parades," New York hosts a parade welcoming back troops from Operation Desert Storm.
- 1996 - Peace talks begin in Northern Ireland without Sinn Féin.
- 1997 - Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot orders the killing of his defense chief Son Sen and 11 of Sen's family members before Pol Pot flees his northern stronghold (the news did not reach outside Cambodia for three days).
- 1999 - Kosovo War: NATO suspends its air strikes after Slobodan Milošević agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo.
Births
- 1657 - James Cragg the Elder, English politician (d. 1721)
- 1688 - James Francis Edward Stuart, "The Old Pretender" (d. 1766)
- 1803 - Henry Darcy, French scientist (d. 1858)
- 1819 - Gustave Courbet, painter (d. 1877)
- 1835 - Rebecca Latimer Felton, first woman US Senator (d. 1930)
- 1844 - Carl Hagenbeck, animal trainer
- 1861 - Pierre Duhem, French physicist and philosopher of science (d. 1916)
- 1880 - André Derain, French painter and illustrator (d. 1954)
- 1895 - Hattie McDaniel, actress, and the first African American to win an Academy Award (d. 1952)
- 1897 - Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1901 - Frederick Loewe, composer (d. 1988)
- 1903 - Theo Lingen actor (d. 1978)
- 1903 - Clyde Beatty, hunter, circus impresario (d. 1965)
- 1907 - Fairfield Porter, American painter (d. 1975)
- 1910 - Howlin' Wolf, blues musician born as "Chester Burnett" (d. 1976)
- 1911 - Terence Rattigan, playwright (d. 1977)
- 1913 - Tikhon Khrennikov, composer
- 1915 - Saul Bellow, author, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1976
- 1921 - Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- 1922 - Judy Garland, actress, singer (d. 1969)
- 1923 - Robert Maxwell, owner of Mirror Group Newspapers (d. 1991)
- 1927 - Lin Yang-kang, politician in the Republic of China on Taiwan
- 1928 - Maurice Sendak, writer, producer, illustrator
- 1929 - Ian McCahon Sinclair, Australian politician
- 1930 - Theo Sommer, journalist
- 1933 - F. Lee Bailey, celebrity attorney
- 1940 - John Stevens, British drummer (d. 1994)
- 1941 - Jürgen Prochnow, actor
- 1942 - Preston Manning, Canadian politician
- 1949 - Ronald James Padavona, (a.k.a. Ronnie James Dio) Heavy metal singer
- 1951 - Dan Fouts, American football star
- 1953 - John Edwards, senator
- 1957 - Lindsay Hoyle, British politician
- 1962 - Gina Gershon, American actress
- 1964 - Jimmy Chamberlin, musician
- 1965 - Elizabeth Hurley, actress
- 1965 - Linda Evangelista, supermodel
- 1968 - Jimmy Shea, American skeleton racer
- 1973 - Faith Evans, R&B singer
- 1976 - Freddy Garcia, baseball pitcher
- 1981 - Miranda Gard, Singer
- 1982 - Princess Madeleine of Sweden
- 1982 - Tara Lipinski, figure skater
Deaths
- 323 BC - Alexander the Great (b. 356 BC)
- 373 - Ephraim the Syrian a Christian deacon and hymn writer (b. c. 306)
- 1190 - Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, drowned in Cilicia (b. 1122)
- 1580 - Luis de Camões, Portuguese poet (b. 1524)
- 1654 - Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (b. 1598)
- 1692 - Bridget Bishop, accused witch
- 1831 - Hans Karl Friedrich Anton, count von Diebitsch, Russian field marshal (b. 1785)
- 1836 - André-Marie Ampère, physicist (b. 1775)
- 1901 - Robert Williams Buchanan, British poet, novelist and dramatist (b. 1841)
- 1902 - Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan poet (b. 1845)
- 1909 - Edward Everett Hale, author
- 1912 - Anton Aškerc, Slovenian poet (b. 1856)
- 1918 - Arrigo Boito, poet and composer (b. 1842)
- 1923 - Pierre Loti, French sailor and writer (b. 1850)
- 1926 - Antoni Gaudí, Catalan architect (b. 1852)
- 1930 - Adolf Harnack, German theologian (b. 1851)
- 1934 - Frederick Delius, English composer (b. 1862)
- 1937 - Robert Borden, eighth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1854)
- 1940 - Marcus Garvey, civil rights activist (b. 1887)
- 1946 - Jack Johnson, boxer (b. 1878)
- 1947 - Alexander Bethune, twelfth Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia (b. 1852)
- 1949 - Sigrid Undset, author, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1928 (b. 1882)
- 1949 - Ronald James Padavona (Ronnie James Dio), heavy metal singer.
- 1958 - Angelina Weld Grimke, journalist and poet (b. 1880)
- 1967 - Spencer Tracy, actor (b. 1900)
- 1971 - Michael Rennie, actor (b. 1909)
- 1973 - William Inge, playwright (b. 1913)
- 1974 - Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1900)
- 1976 - Adolph Zukor, producer (b. 1873)
- 1982 - Rainer Werner Fassbinder, author, movie director (b. 1945)
- 1988 - Louis L'Amour, author (b. 1908)
- 1993 - Les Dawson, British comedian (b. 1933 or 34)
- 1996 - George Hees, Canadian politician (b. 1910)
- 1998 - Hammond Innes, English adventure author (b. 1914)
- 2000 - Hafez al-Assad, president of Syria (b. 1930)
- 2000 - Arambam Somorendra, playwright (b. 1936)
- 2001 - Princess Leila of Iran (b. 1970)
- 2001 - Mike Mentzer philosopher, bodybuilder, author (b. 1951)
- 2002 - John Gotti, Mafia boss (b. 1940)
- 2003 - Donald Regan, Chief of Staff and U.S. Treasury Secretary (b. 1918)
- 2003 - Dr Phil Williams, Welsh politician and scientist (b. 1939)
- 2004 - Ray Charles, singer, musician (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances
- Roman Empire - fourth day of the Vestalia in honor of Vesta
- Portugal - National day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities
June 9 - June 11 - May 10 - July 10 -- listing of all days