February 10

February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, the 42nd in leap years, leaving 324 days until year-end.^[1] This date has witnessed several consequential events, including the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763, which formally ended the Seven Years' War—a global conflict involving major European powers—and resulted in France ceding significant North American territories east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain, while Spain acquired Louisiana.^[2][3] Another landmark occurrence was the February 10, 1962, prisoner swap at Berlin's Glienicke Bridge, where the United States released Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel in exchange for American U-2 reconnaissance pilot Francis Gary Powers, who had been shot down over Soviet airspace in 1960 and convicted of espionage, easing Cold War tensions through back-channel diplomacy.^[4][5][6] During World War II, on February 10, 1943, munitions factory worker Vesta Stoudt proposed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt the development of a stronger adhesive tape to replace fragile paper seals on ammunition boxes, leading to the creation and mass production of what became known as duct tape for military use.^[7] February 10 also marks the birth of pioneering American opera soprano Leontyne Price in 1927, who broke racial barriers by becoming one of the first Black artists to achieve international stardom in grand opera, headlining roles at the Metropolitan Opera.^[7]

Events

Pre-1600

On February 10, 1163, Baldwin III, king of Jerusalem since 1143, died in Beirut at age 33, reportedly from illness contracted during a campaign; his death prompted the immediate succession of his brother Amalric, who was crowned later that year, altering the balance of power in the Crusader states amid ongoing threats from Muslim forces.^[8] The Mongol siege of Baghdad, which began on January 29, 1258, ended on February 10 when Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim surrendered to Hulagu Khan's forces after breaches in the city's defenses and internal collapse; this capitulation led to the caliph's execution days later and the systematic destruction of the city, resulting in an estimated 200,000 to 1,000,000 deaths and the effective termination of the Abbasid Caliphate after over 500 years, shifting Islamic political power eastward.^[9][10] On February 10, 1306, Robert the Bruce fatally stabbed rival Scottish noble John Comyn (known as the Red Comyn) before the altar of Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries during a dispute over allegiance to Edward I of England and claims to the Scottish throne; this assassination, whether premeditated or spontaneous, eliminated Bruce's primary competitor, prompted his excommunication by the Pope, and catalyzed Bruce's rebellion, culminating in his coronation as king six weeks later and renewed Scottish resistance in the Wars of Independence.^[11][12] The St Scholastica Day riot erupted in Oxford on February 10, 1355, when a verbal altercation between university scholars complaining about diluted wine at the Swindlestock Tavern and the innkeeper escalated into town-gown violence; over the next two days, townsfolk mobilized up to 10,000 militia against approximately 3,000 scholars and clerics, resulting in at least 63 scholarly deaths and significant property damage, after which King Edward III fined the town £250 annually—paid to the university until 1825—to affirm clerical privileges over local authorities.^[13][14]

1601–1900

• '''1676''': During King Philip's War, an alliance of Wampanoag, Nipmuc, and Narragansett Native Americans under sachem Metacomet (King Philip) attacked the frontier settlement of Lancaster, Massachusetts, killing over 30 colonists and destroying buildings, in one of the conflict's notable raids that contributed to the displacement and decline of Native populations in New England.^[15]
• '''1720''': Edmond Halley, the English astronomer known for predicting the periodicity of Halley's Comet, was appointed as the second Astronomer Royal at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, succeeding John Flamsteed and advancing systematic astronomical observations.^[15]
• '''1763''': The Treaty of Paris was signed, formally ending the Seven Years' War—including its North American theater, the French and Indian War—with France ceding Canada and territories east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain, while Spain received Louisiana west of the Mississippi, reshaping colonial possessions and setting the stage for future tensions leading to the American Revolution.^[1]
• '''1778''': Philosopher and writer Voltaire, after 28 years of exile, returned triumphantly to Paris, where he was greeted by crowds of 300,000 and later honored at the Académie Française, marking a symbolic reconciliation with the French establishment shortly before his death.^[15]
• '''1798''': French forces under General Louis-Alexandre Berthier entered Rome unopposed, arresting Pope Pius VI and proclaiming the Roman Republic, as part of Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign to weaken papal influence and expand revolutionary ideals in Italy.^[15]
• '''1814''': In the Napoleonic Wars, French Emperor Napoleon I defeated a larger Russian army led by General Peter Wittgenstein at the Battle of Champaubert, a tactical victory that temporarily relieved pressure on French lines during the campaign's Six Days' Campaign.^[15]
• '''1824''': The Congress of Peru appointed Simón Bolívar as dictator of Peru, granting him broad powers to consolidate independence from Spain and extend his leadership across South America's liberation movements.^[15]
• '''1837''': Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, considered the founder of modern Russian literature, died from wounds sustained two days earlier in a duel with French officer Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès over rumors involving Pushkin's wife, marking a personal tragedy that influenced Russian cultural memory.^[15]
• '''1840''': Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace, a union that popularized white wedding dresses and symbolized the Victorian era's emphasis on domestic stability and constitutional monarchy.^[16]
• '''1846''': Brigham Young led the first group of Mormon pioneers eastward from Nauvoo, Illinois, initiating the mass exodus to the Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah Territory following the murder of Joseph Smith, establishing a theocratic settlement in the American West.^[15]
• '''1878''': The Pact of Zanjón concluded the Ten Years' War in Cuba, with Spanish authorities granting limited autonomy to Cuban rebels under Antonio Maceo and Calixto García, though it failed to fully resolve independence demands and led to renewed conflict.^[15]

1901–present

1906 – The revolutionary battleship HMS Dreadnought was launched by the Royal Navy at Portsmouth, featuring an all-big-gun armament and steam turbine propulsion that rendered preceding battleship designs obsolete and initiated a global naval arms race.^[17] 1962 – American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, captured after his reconnaissance flight was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, was exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel on the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin, marking a notable Cold War prisoner swap.^[18] 1967 – The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, establishing procedures for presidential succession and addressing vice presidential vacancies, as well as provisions for temporary transfer of power in cases of presidential inability.^[19] 1982 – Automobile executive John DeLorean was arrested by U.S. federal agents in Los Angeles on charges of conspiring to sell cocaine to finance his struggling DeLorean Motor Company, leading to a high-profile trial that ended in acquittal on the main charge due to entrapment defense. 1996 – IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in the first game of a six-game match in Philadelphia, marking the first victory by a computer over a reigning chess champion under standard tournament rules.^[20] 2009 – An inactive Russian military satellite (Kosmos 2251) collided with an operational Iridium 33 communications satellite over Siberia at an altitude of approximately 790 kilometers, creating over 2,000 pieces of trackable debris and highlighting risks of space debris accumulation.

Births

Pre-1600

On February 10, 1163, Baldwin III, king of Jerusalem since 1143, died in Beirut at age 33, reportedly from illness contracted during a campaign; his death prompted the immediate succession of his brother Amalric, who was crowned later that year, altering the balance of power in the Crusader states amid ongoing threats from Muslim forces.^[8] The Mongol siege of Baghdad, which began on January 29, 1258, ended on February 10 when Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim surrendered to Hulagu Khan's forces after breaches in the city's defenses and internal collapse; this capitulation led to the caliph's execution days later and the systematic destruction of the city, resulting in an estimated 200,000 to 1,000,000 deaths and the effective termination of the Abbasid Caliphate after over 500 years, shifting Islamic political power eastward.^[9][10] On February 10, 1306, Robert the Bruce fatally stabbed rival Scottish noble John Comyn (known as the Red Comyn) before the altar of Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries during a dispute over allegiance to Edward I of England and claims to the Scottish throne; this assassination, whether premeditated or spontaneous, eliminated Bruce's primary competitor, prompted his excommunication by the Pope, and catalyzed Bruce's rebellion, culminating in his coronation as king six weeks later and renewed Scottish resistance in the Wars of Independence.^[11][12] The St Scholastica Day riot erupted in Oxford on February 10, 1355, when a verbal altercation between university scholars complaining about diluted wine at the Swindlestock Tavern and the innkeeper escalated into town-gown violence; over the next two days, townsfolk mobilized up to 10,000 militia against approximately 3,000 scholars and clerics, resulting in at least 63 scholarly deaths and significant property damage, after which King Edward III fined the town £250 annually—paid to the university until 1825—to affirm clerical privileges over local authorities.^[13][14]

1601–1900

• '''1676''': During King Philip's War, an alliance of Wampanoag, Nipmuc, and Narragansett Native Americans under sachem Metacomet (King Philip) attacked the frontier settlement of Lancaster, Massachusetts, killing over 30 colonists and destroying buildings, in one of the conflict's notable raids that contributed to the displacement and decline of Native populations in New England.^[15]
• '''1720''': Edmond Halley, the English astronomer known for predicting the periodicity of Halley's Comet, was appointed as the second Astronomer Royal at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, succeeding John Flamsteed and advancing systematic astronomical observations.^[15]
• '''1763''': The Treaty of Paris was signed, formally ending the Seven Years' War—including its North American theater, the French and Indian War—with France ceding Canada and territories east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain, while Spain received Louisiana west of the Mississippi, reshaping colonial possessions and setting the stage for future tensions leading to the American Revolution.^[1]
• '''1778''': Philosopher and writer Voltaire, after 28 years of exile, returned triumphantly to Paris, where he was greeted by crowds of 300,000 and later honored at the Académie Française, marking a symbolic reconciliation with the French establishment shortly before his death.^[15]
• '''1798''': French forces under General Louis-Alexandre Berthier entered Rome unopposed, arresting Pope Pius VI and proclaiming the Roman Republic, as part of Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign to weaken papal influence and expand revolutionary ideals in Italy.^[15]
• '''1814''': In the Napoleonic Wars, French Emperor Napoleon I defeated a larger Russian army led by General Peter Wittgenstein at the Battle of Champaubert, a tactical victory that temporarily relieved pressure on French lines during the campaign's Six Days' Campaign.^[15]
• '''1824''': The Congress of Peru appointed Simón Bolívar as dictator of Peru, granting him broad powers to consolidate independence from Spain and extend his leadership across South America's liberation movements.^[15]
• '''1837''': Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, considered the founder of modern Russian literature, died from wounds sustained two days earlier in a duel with French officer Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès over rumors involving Pushkin's wife, marking a personal tragedy that influenced Russian cultural memory.^[15]
• '''1840''': Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace, a union that popularized white wedding dresses and symbolized the Victorian era's emphasis on domestic stability and constitutional monarchy.^[16]
• '''1846''': Brigham Young led the first group of Mormon pioneers eastward from Nauvoo, Illinois, initiating the mass exodus to the Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah Territory following the murder of Joseph Smith, establishing a theocratic settlement in the American West.^[15]
• '''1878''': The Pact of Zanjón concluded the Ten Years' War in Cuba, with Spanish authorities granting limited autonomy to Cuban rebels under Antonio Maceo and Calixto García, though it failed to fully resolve independence demands and led to renewed conflict.^[15]

1901–present

1906 – The revolutionary battleship HMS Dreadnought was launched by the Royal Navy at Portsmouth, featuring an all-big-gun armament and steam turbine propulsion that rendered preceding battleship designs obsolete and initiated a global naval arms race.^[17] 1962 – American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, captured after his reconnaissance flight was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, was exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel on the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin, marking a notable Cold War prisoner swap.^[18] 1967 – The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, establishing procedures for presidential succession and addressing vice presidential vacancies, as well as provisions for temporary transfer of power in cases of presidential inability.^[19] 1982 – Automobile executive John DeLorean was arrested by U.S. federal agents in Los Angeles on charges of conspiring to sell cocaine to finance his struggling DeLorean Motor Company, leading to a high-profile trial that ended in acquittal on the main charge due to entrapment defense. 1996 – IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in the first game of a six-game match in Philadelphia, marking the first victory by a computer over a reigning chess champion under standard tournament rules.^[20] 2009 – An inactive Russian military satellite (Kosmos 2251) collided with an operational Iridium 33 communications satellite over Siberia at an altitude of approximately 790 kilometers, creating over 2,000 pieces of trackable debris and highlighting risks of space debris accumulation.

Deaths

Pre-1600

On February 10, 1163, Baldwin III, king of Jerusalem since 1143, died in Beirut at age 33, reportedly from illness contracted during a campaign; his death prompted the immediate succession of his brother Amalric, who was crowned later that year, altering the balance of power in the Crusader states amid ongoing threats from Muslim forces.^[8] The Mongol siege of Baghdad, which began on January 29, 1258, ended on February 10 when Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim surrendered to Hulagu Khan's forces after breaches in the city's defenses and internal collapse; this capitulation led to the caliph's execution days later and the systematic destruction of the city, resulting in an estimated 200,000 to 1,000,000 deaths and the effective termination of the Abbasid Caliphate after over 500 years, shifting Islamic political power eastward.^[9][10] On February 10, 1306, Robert the Bruce fatally stabbed rival Scottish noble John Comyn (known as the Red Comyn) before the altar of Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries during a dispute over allegiance to Edward I of England and claims to the Scottish throne; this assassination, whether premeditated or spontaneous, eliminated Bruce's primary competitor, prompted his excommunication by the Pope, and catalyzed Bruce's rebellion, culminating in his coronation as king six weeks later and renewed Scottish resistance in the Wars of Independence.^[11][12] The St Scholastica Day riot erupted in Oxford on February 10, 1355, when a verbal altercation between university scholars complaining about diluted wine at the Swindlestock Tavern and the innkeeper escalated into town-gown violence; over the next two days, townsfolk mobilized up to 10,000 militia against approximately 3,000 scholars and clerics, resulting in at least 63 scholarly deaths and significant property damage, after which King Edward III fined the town £250 annually—paid to the university until 1825—to affirm clerical privileges over local authorities.^[13][14]

1601–1900

• '''1676''': During King Philip's War, an alliance of Wampanoag, Nipmuc, and Narragansett Native Americans under sachem Metacomet (King Philip) attacked the frontier settlement of Lancaster, Massachusetts, killing over 30 colonists and destroying buildings, in one of the conflict's notable raids that contributed to the displacement and decline of Native populations in New England.^[15]
• '''1720''': Edmond Halley, the English astronomer known for predicting the periodicity of Halley's Comet, was appointed as the second Astronomer Royal at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, succeeding John Flamsteed and advancing systematic astronomical observations.^[15]
• '''1763''': The Treaty of Paris was signed, formally ending the Seven Years' War—including its North American theater, the French and Indian War—with France ceding Canada and territories east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain, while Spain received Louisiana west of the Mississippi, reshaping colonial possessions and setting the stage for future tensions leading to the American Revolution.^[1]
• '''1778''': Philosopher and writer Voltaire, after 28 years of exile, returned triumphantly to Paris, where he was greeted by crowds of 300,000 and later honored at the Académie Française, marking a symbolic reconciliation with the French establishment shortly before his death.^[15]
• '''1798''': French forces under General Louis-Alexandre Berthier entered Rome unopposed, arresting Pope Pius VI and proclaiming the Roman Republic, as part of Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign to weaken papal influence and expand revolutionary ideals in Italy.^[15]
• '''1814''': In the Napoleonic Wars, French Emperor Napoleon I defeated a larger Russian army led by General Peter Wittgenstein at the Battle of Champaubert, a tactical victory that temporarily relieved pressure on French lines during the campaign's Six Days' Campaign.^[15]
• '''1824''': The Congress of Peru appointed Simón Bolívar as dictator of Peru, granting him broad powers to consolidate independence from Spain and extend his leadership across South America's liberation movements.^[15]
• '''1837''': Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, considered the founder of modern Russian literature, died from wounds sustained two days earlier in a duel with French officer Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès over rumors involving Pushkin's wife, marking a personal tragedy that influenced Russian cultural memory.^[15]
• '''1840''': Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace, a union that popularized white wedding dresses and symbolized the Victorian era's emphasis on domestic stability and constitutional monarchy.^[16]
• '''1846''': Brigham Young led the first group of Mormon pioneers eastward from Nauvoo, Illinois, initiating the mass exodus to the Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah Territory following the murder of Joseph Smith, establishing a theocratic settlement in the American West.^[15]
• '''1878''': The Pact of Zanjón concluded the Ten Years' War in Cuba, with Spanish authorities granting limited autonomy to Cuban rebels under Antonio Maceo and Calixto García, though it failed to fully resolve independence demands and led to renewed conflict.^[15]

1901–present

1906 – The revolutionary battleship HMS Dreadnought was launched by the Royal Navy at Portsmouth, featuring an all-big-gun armament and steam turbine propulsion that rendered preceding battleship designs obsolete and initiated a global naval arms race.^[17] 1962 – American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, captured after his reconnaissance flight was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, was exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel on the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin, marking a notable Cold War prisoner swap.^[18] 1967 – The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, establishing procedures for presidential succession and addressing vice presidential vacancies, as well as provisions for temporary transfer of power in cases of presidential inability.^[19] 1982 – Automobile executive John DeLorean was arrested by U.S. federal agents in Los Angeles on charges of conspiring to sell cocaine to finance his struggling DeLorean Motor Company, leading to a high-profile trial that ended in acquittal on the main charge due to entrapment defense. 1996 – IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in the first game of a six-game match in Philadelphia, marking the first victory by a computer over a reigning chess champion under standard tournament rules.^[20] 2009 – An inactive Russian military satellite (Kosmos 2251) collided with an operational Iridium 33 communications satellite over Siberia at an altitude of approximately 790 kilometers, creating over 2,000 pieces of trackable debris and highlighting risks of space debris accumulation.

Holidays and Observances

Religious Observances

In the Roman Catholic Church, February 10 is the memorial of Saint Scholastica, the twin sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia and a founder of Benedictine monasticism for women; she is venerated as the patron saint of nuns and is remembered for her deep piety and the miracle of a storm that prevented her brother from leaving her during their final meeting in 543.^[21] The day also commemorates Saint José Sánchez del Río, a Mexican Cristero boy martyr executed in 1928 at age 14 for refusing to renounce his faith amid anti-Catholic persecution following the Mexican Revolution.^[22] In the Eastern Orthodox Church, February 10 (on the Revised Julian Calendar) honors the Hieromartyr Haralampus (also spelled Charalambos), Bishop of Magnesia in Thessaly, who endured torture under Emperor Septimius Severus around 202 AD and is invoked against sudden death; his relics are said to have performed healings, including restoring youth to an aged woman.^[23][24] In Malta, February 10 marks the Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck, a public religious holiday commemorating the apostle's arrival on the island in 60 AD as described in Acts 27–28, with traditions including solemn Masses, processions, and reenactments centered in Valletta and other parishes dedicated to the event.^[25]

National and Cultural Holidays

In Malta, February 10 is a national public holiday known as the Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck, commemorating the biblical event in 60 AD when the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked on the island's shores during a storm, as recounted in Acts 27–28 of the New Testament. This incident is regarded as the origin of Christianity in Malta, with Paul spending three months on the island preaching and performing miracles. Observances include solemn masses, processions carrying the statue of St. Paul through Valletta and other parishes, fireworks, and band marches, drawing participation from local communities and emphasizing the island's historical Christian heritage.^[26][27] In Eritrea, February 10 marks Fenkil Day, a national observance honoring Operation Fenkil, a three-day military offensive from February 8–10, 1990, that captured the strategic Red Sea port of Massawa from Ethiopian Derg forces, representing a pivotal victory in the 30-year Eritrean struggle for independence. The operation involved amphibious assaults, coordinated ground advances, and significant sacrifices, with over 1,000 Eritrean fighters killed or wounded. Annual commemorations, organized by the government, feature wreath-laying ceremonies at martyrs' cemeteries, speeches by officials, military parades, and cultural exhibitions in Asmara and Massawa, underscoring themes of resilience and national unity.^[28][29][30]

Secular Awareness and Fun Days

World Pulses Day, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 and observed annually on February 10 since 2019, promotes the nutritional and environmental benefits of pulses such as lentils, beans, and chickpeas.^[31] The day highlights pulses' role in sustainable agriculture, food security, and dietary diversity, with events organized by governments, NGOs, and the Food and Agriculture Organization emphasizing their low environmental footprint compared to animal proteins.^[32] Plimsoll Day, observed on February 10 to mark the birthday of Samuel Plimsoll (1824–1898), commemorates the British reformer's campaign against overloaded "coffin ships" in the 19th century.^[33] Plimsoll's advocacy led to the Merchant Shipping Act of 1876, mandating load lines—now known as the Plimsoll line—on vessels to prevent unsafe overloading, a measure that reduced maritime fatalities and remains a global standard.^[34] National Umbrella Day, an unofficial observance held on February 10, celebrates the invention and utility of umbrellas for protection against rain and sun.^[35] While the day's origins are unclear and it has been promoted since at least 2004 by calendar aggregators, it draws attention to umbrellas' ancient history, with early parasols used in Egypt and China over 4,000 years ago primarily as sunshades before evolving into waterproof devices in 18th-century Europe.^[36] Safer Internet Day falls on the second Tuesday in February, coinciding with February 10 in certain years such as 2026, and serves as a global initiative to promote online safety and responsible digital citizenship.^[37] Coordinated by networks like Insafe in Europe and ConnectSafely in the US, it involves educational campaigns, workshops, and resources targeting children, parents, and educators to combat cyberbullying, misinformation, and privacy risks.^[38] Extraterrestrial Culture Day, also observed on the second Tuesday in February and thus sometimes on February 10, originated in New Mexico in 2003 as a state memorial to honor potential extraterrestrial visitors and foster interstellar relations, inspired by the 1947 Roswell incident.^[39] The observance encourages reflection on humanity's cosmic connections through events like UFO discussions, though it remains a niche, unofficial promotion largely confined to enthusiast communities.^[40]