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Explore the historical events that shaped our world on December 10th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Martin Luther throws a copy of the Papal bull, Exsurge Domine (“Arise O Lord”) into a bonfire after the expiration of the period stipulated in the bull from Pope Leo X for Luther to recant his teachings.
Luther refused and continued to rebuke the papacy. As a result, Luther was excommunicated on Jan 3, 1521. More
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Isaac Newton's manuscript "On the motion of bodies in an orbit"; (De Motu) which he had sent to Edmond Halley, is read to the Royal Society. The manuscript gave important mathematical derivations relating to the three relations now known as "Kepler's laws of planetary motion".
Before Newton's work, those derivations had not been generally regarded as scientific laws. After further encouragement from Halley, Newton went on to develop and write his book "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" (Principia) which includes nearly all of the manuscript content. More
The Encyclopedia Britannica is first published and advertised for sale in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the oldest continuously published and revised work in the English language. More
The French revolutionary government declares the metric system to be the official system of weights and measures.
Mississippi becomes the 26th State of the Union
Mississippi is admitted into the United States Union becoming the 20th State.
The Treaty of Paris is signed by representatives of Spain and the United States, concluding the Spanish-American War.
The first Five Nobel Prizes are presented on December 10, 1901, on the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. In accordance to Nobel's will; the Peace Prize, was presented in Christiania, as Oslo was then called and the others in Stockholm. Since then, the Nobel Prizes have been presented to new laureates at ceremonies on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. More
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris. A milestone document in the history of human rights, it sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. More
The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) gains independence from British colonial rule.
South African President Nelson Mandela signs a new constitution that completes a transition from a long period of white minority rule (apartheid) to full-fledged democracy. More
