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On This Day in History: July 10

Explore the historical events that shaped our world on July 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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Today 7/9

Jul. 10

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983 CE, July 10

Pope Benedict VII dies on July 10, 983 after a reign marked by the struggle between the papacy and the Roman nobility.

1676 CE, July 10

The Greenwich Observatory is completed by Sir Christopher Wren. The observatory, now named after the first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, was completed and established on the site of a former castle on July 10, 1676

1890 CE, July 10

Wyoming is admitted into the Union becoming the 44th State. View list of Admission

1925 CE, July 10

The "Scopes Monkey trial", formally The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, starts. The trial publicized the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy, which set Modernists, who said evolution was not inconsistent with religion, against Fundamentalists. The trial was deliberately staged in order to attract publicity to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, where it was held. On July 21 Scopes was found guilty and was fined $100 (equivalent to $1,700 in 2023), but the verdict was overturned on a technicality. More

1940 CE, July 10

The Battle of Britain began on July 10, 1940, as Nazi Germany launches air attacks on southern England. More

1943 CE, July 10

American and British forces began the invasion of Sicily by air and sea on July 10, 1943

1962 CE, July 10

Telstar 1, a 171 pounds (78 kg) communications satellite is launched. One of the earliest communications satellites, it was the first to achieve live transmission of broadcast television images and telephone conversations between the United States and Europe. Telstar 1 remained active for only 7 months before it prematurely failed due to Starfish Prime, a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States. The satellite remains in Earth orbit but is no longer operational. More

1962 CE, July 10

The U.S. Patent Office issued Patent No. 3,043,625 to “Nils Ivar Bohlin, Goteborg, (Volvo) for the three-point seatbelt on July 10 1962. Volvo was so convinced of its safety potential safety that it made the patent available for other manufacturers, and motorists, to benefit from.

1973 CE, July 10

The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas gains its independence by the United Kingdom Government, Order in Council. This date is now celebrated as the country's Independence Day.

The Bahamas is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises more than 3,000 islands, cays and islets in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located north of Cuba and north-west of the island of Hispaniola (split between the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the U.S. state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys. The capital and largest city is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The Bahamas 2023 census population was 412,628 people.

1985 CE, July 10

French secret service agents planted two bombs and sank the Greenpeace Flagship The Rainbow Warrior on July 10, 1985. One crew member was killed. More