Skip to main content

View Historical Events by Day:

What Happened Today in History on April 10

Explore the historical events that shaped our world on April 10th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.

Battle of Bryn Glas: Forces loyal to Owain Glyndŵr of Wales defeat the English at Pumlumon in Powys.

The Battle of Anghiari occurs between the Milanese and the Florentine troops.

The Banquet of Chestnuts takes place at the Vatican, notorious for its scandalous behavior.

Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, marries English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia.

The window tax, a property tax based on the number of windows in a house, is imposed in England.  While the Act was passed during the 1695 parliamentary session, it did not become law until April 10,1696.

John Paul Jones Sails to the British Isles from Brest, France, after been given command of the newly built 18-gun sloop Ranger, with the mission to raid British merchant shipping and warships in the Irish Sea. Operating out of Brest, Jones cruised to the Irish Sea, capturing or destroying several small vessels. This cruise made Jones a household name in Britain. More

Mount Tambora on the northern coast of Sumbawa island, Indonesia explodes in a violent blast which blew the mountain apart resulting in one of the most powerful eruptions in recorded human history. Tambora’s catastrophic activity began on April 5, 1815, with small tremors and pyroclastic flows, followed by Increased steaming and smaller eruptions for up to three years. The effects of the eruptions included major climate changes and a "volcanic winter" in the following year (1816) which is referred to as "the year without summer" The blast, pyroclastic flows, and tsunamis that followed killed at least 10,000 islanders and destroyed the homes of 35,000 more. Before its eruption Mount Tambora was about 4,300 meters (14,000 feet) high. After the eruption ended, a caldera spanning some 6 km (3.7 miles) across remained. The death toll estimate is that at least 71,000 people perished, of which 11,000 –12,000 were killed directly by the eruption. More 

The modern safety pin is invented and patented by Walter Hunt, a mechanic and independent inventor from New York. The design included a clasp to protect the point and a circular twist at the bend for a spring action. Hunt needed money to pay off a debt he owed to a draftsman and he sold the patent for $400 to W.R. Grace & Co. which later made significant profits from the invention.  More

The Thresher (SSN-593), the first of a class of U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarines, sinks approximately 220 miles east of Massachusetts while performing deep dive exercises and carrying a crew of 129 men, in the worst submarine accident in history. The Thresher had been originally launched on July 9, 1960. More

The Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement, is signed after three decades of conflict known as the Troubles. The agreement set up a power-sharing arrangement and also restored self-government to Northern Ireland. it was approved by voters on May 22, 1998, and came into force on December 2, 1999. The Agreement still survives today.

The Netherlands passed a bill permitting euthanasia, the first such national law in the world. More