# What happened on April 10 in history?

**Date:** April 10  
**Events recorded:** 52  
**Years spanned:** 238 – 2023  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/april/10/

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## Featured Event

**2016** — The Paravur temple accident, in which a devastating fire caused by the explosion of firecrackers stored for Vishu kills more than one hundred people out of the thousands gathered for the seventh day of Bhadrakali worship.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puttingal_temple_fire)

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## Events on this date

- **238** — During the year of Six Emperors, forces of Gordian I and Gordian II are defeated by those of Maximinus Thrax in the battle of Carthage. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Six_Emperors))
- **428** — Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestorius))
- **837** — Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley's_Comet))
- **847** — Election of Pope Leo IV following the death of Pope Sergius II. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_IV))
- **1407** — Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing and is awarded the title "Great Treasure Prince of Dharma". ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_Karmapa%2C_Deshin_Shekpa))
- **1500** — Ludovico Sforza is captured by Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludovico_Sforza))
- **1545** — The settlement of Villa Imperial de Carlos V (now the city of Potosí) in Bolivia is founded after the discovery of huge silver deposits in the area. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potos%C3%AD))
- **1606** — The Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Company_of_London))
- **1710** — The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, comes into force in Great Britain. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Anne))
- **1717** — Robert Walpole resigns from the British government, commencing the Whig Split which lasts until 1720. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Walpole))
- **1724** — Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, his first cantata composed for Easter in Leipzig. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach))
- **1741** — War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia gains control of Silesia at the Battle of Mollwitz. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Austrian_Succession))
- **1796** — War of the First Coalition: A surprise Austrian attack at the Battle of Voltri marks the beginning of the Italian Campaign, the decisive campaign under Napoleon Bonaparte that will end the war a year later. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_First_Coalition))
- **1809** — Napoleonic Wars: The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars))
- **1814** — Allied forces under the Duke of Wellington attack Toulouse held by Marshall Soult, driving out the French after fierce fighting. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Wellesley%2C_1st_Duke_of_Wellington))
- **1815** — The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth's climate for the next two years. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tambora))
- **1816** — The Federal government of the United States approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_government_of_the_United_States))
- **1821** — Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Ottoman government from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_V_of_Constantinople))
- **1821** — Greek War of Independence: the island of Psara joins the Greek struggle for independence. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence))
- **1826** — The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town of Missolonghi begin leaving the town after a year's siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missolonghi))
- **1858** — After the original Big Ben, a 14.5 tonnes (32,000 lb) bell for the Palace of Westminster, had cracked during testing, it is recast into the current 13.76 tonnes (30,300 lb) bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben))
- **1864** — Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I_of_Mexico))
- **1865** — American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War))
- **1866** — The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_for_the_Prevention_of_Cruelty_to_Animals))
- **1868** — At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two British/Indian troops die. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia))
- **1872** — The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbor_Day))
- **1887** — On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of the Catholic University of America. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter))
- **1896** — Summer Olympics: The Olympic marathon is run ending with the victory of Greek athlete Spyridon Louis. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Summer_Olympics))
- **1900** — British suffer a sharp defeat by the Boers south of Brandfort. Six hundred British troops are killed and wounded and 800 taken prisoner. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandfort))
- **1912** — RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, UK, on her maiden and only voyage. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic))
- **1919** — Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Revolution))
- **1919** — The Third Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Huliaipole. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Congress_of_Peasants%2C_Workers_and_Insurgents))
- **1925** — The Russian city of Tsaritsyn is renamed Stalingrad to honor the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Soviet Communist Party General Secretary, who had guided the defense of Tsaritsyn during the Russian Civil War in 1920. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volgograd))
- **1941** — World War II: The Axis powers establish the Independent State of Croatia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1944** — Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Vrba))
- **1963** — One hundred twenty-nine American sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine))
- **1968** — The TEV Wahine, a New Zealand ferry, sinks in Wellington harbour due to a fierce storm – the strongest winds ever in Wellington. Out of the 734 people on board, fifty-three died. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TEV_Wahine))
- **1970** — Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_McCartney))
- **1972** — Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu's Art of War and Sun Bin's lost military treatise, are discovered by construction workers in Shandong. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yinqueshan_Han_Tombs_Bamboo_Slips_Museum))
- **1972** — Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War))
- **1973** — Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 crashes in a snowstorm on approach to Basel, Switzerland, killing 108 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invicta_International_Airlines_Flight_435))
- **1979** — Red River Valley tornado outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas, killing 42 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Red_River_Valley_tornado_outbreak))
- **1981** — Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands is elected to Westminster as the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He died twenty-six days later. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army))
- **1988** — The Ojhri Camp explosion kills or injures more than 1,000 people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojhri_Camp_disaster))
- **1991** — Italian ferry MS Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, killing 140. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby_Prince_disaster))
- **1991** — A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola, the first to be documented by satellites. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Atlantic_tropical_cyclone))
- **1998** — The Good Friday Agreement is signed in Northern Ireland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement))
- **2009** — President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces the abrogation of the constitution and assumes all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Fiji))
- **2010** — Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and dozens of other senior officials and dignitaries. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Air_Force))
- **2016** — The Paravur temple accident, in which a devastating fire caused by the explosion of firecrackers stored for Vishu kills more than one hundred people out of the thousands gathered for the seventh day of Bhadrakali worship. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puttingal_temple_fire))
- **2016** — An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, impacting India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Afghanistan_earthquake))
- **2023** — A mass shooting occurs at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, that leaves five victims dead and eight wounded. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Louisville_bank_shooting))

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## Notable births on April 10

- **2004** — **Ismaël Gharbi** — French-Spanish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isma%C3%ABl_Gharbi))
- **2004** — **Savinho** — Brazilian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savinho))
- **2000** — **Fidias Panayiotou** — Cypriot internet celebrity and politician ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidias_Panayiotou))
- **1997** — **Claire Wineland** — American activist and author (died 2018) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_Wineland))
- **1996** — **Andreas Christensen** — Danish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Christensen))
- **1994** — **Siobhan Hunter** — Scottish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siobhan_Hunter))
- **1992** — **Jack Buchanan** — Australian rugby league player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Buchanan_(rugby_league)))
- **1992** — **Chaz Mostert** — Australian racing driver ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaz_Mostert))
- **1992** — **Daisy Ridley** — English actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Ridley))
- **1990** — **Ben Amos** — English footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Amos))

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## Notable deaths on April 10

- **2026** — **Eliot Engel** — American politician (born 1947) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Engel))
- **2026** — **Anja Hatakka** — Finnish actress and beauty pageant competitor (born 1938) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anja_Hatakka))
- **2026** — **Sid Krofft** — Canadian-American puppeteer and producer (born 1929) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_and_Marty_Krofft))
- **2026** — **Browning Nagle** — American football player (born 1968) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browning_Nagle))
- **2025** — **Leo Beenhakker** — Dutch football manager (born 1942) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Beenhakker))
- **2025** — **Ted Kotcheff** — Canadian film and television director (born 1931) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kotcheff))
- **2025** — **Peter Lovesey** — British writer (born 1936) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lovesey))
- **2024** — **O. J. Simpson** — American football player, actor, and broadcaster (born 1947) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson))
- **2023** — **Al Jaffee** — American cartoonist (born 1921) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jaffee))
- **2016** — **Howard Marks** — Welsh cannabis smuggler, writer, and legalisation campaigner (born 1945) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Marks))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/april/10/](https://thisday.info/events/april/10/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.