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What Happened Today in History on June 10

Explore the historical events that shaped our world on June 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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1190 CE, June 10

Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick I, also known as Barbarossa drowns while crossing the Saleph River (also known as the Göksu River) in modern-day Turkey, near the city of Seleucia in Anatolia. Frederic I was leading an army to Jerusalem during the Third Crusade.

His death was a blow to the Third Crusade which had the goal of retaking the Holy Land from Muslim control and led to the departure of many German nobles and others to abandon the Crusade before reaching Acre. Historians consider him among the Holy Roman Empire's greatest medieval emperors. More

1647 CE, June 10

The Puritan-led English Parliament during Oliver Cromwell's republican Commonwealth, passed an ordinance which declared the celebration of Christmas to be a punishable offence. Although many people continued to celebrate Christmas in private, Christmas effectively ceased to be celebrated in the great majority of churches overtime. It wasn't until the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 that Christmas Day celebrations were brought back. In Scotland Celebrating Christmas was still deeply frowned upon for centuries. In fact, the 25th December only became a public holiday in Scotland in 1958. More

1692 CE, June 10

Bridget Bishop is hanged on Proctor's Ledge at Gallows Hill during the Salem Witch Trials in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was accused of witchcraft and found guilty by the Court of Oyer and Terminer (to Hear and to Decide). A total of 19 more individuals lost their life; five women on July 19, one woman and four men on

August 19, and finally six women and two men on September 22. The court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps on October 29, 1692. He also prohibited more arrests and released many accused witches. By May 1693, Phips had pardoned all those imprisoned on witchcraft charges, effectively ending the trials. More

1752 CE, June 10

Benjamin Franklin’s famous kite-in-a-thunderstorm experiment is said to have taken place on this day in 1752. More

1772 CE, June 10

Rhode Islanders, led by merchant John Brown, board and set fire to the revenue cutter HMS Gaspee in Narragansett Bay whereupon her powder magazine exploded. Efforts of the British authorities to learn the names of the culprits were unsuccessful since the public sentiment was in accord with the venture, despite the sizable reward that had been offered. More

1786 CE, June 10

The collapse of a landslide dam on the Dadu River kills 100,000 in Sichuan province, China. The landslide dam was created by a magnitude 7.75 earthquake ten days earlier on June 1, in and around Kangding, in what is now China's Sichuan province.

1868 CE, June 10

Michael III ruling Prince of Serbia (Mihailo Obrenović) is assassinated, affecting the plans of the Balkan League for a coordinated rebellion against the Ottomans and destroying the league.

1940 CE, June 10

Italy declares war against France and Great Britain. The Italian entry into the war widened its scope considerably in Africa and the Mediterranean Sea.

1940 CE, June 10

Norway surrenders to Nazi Germany, two months after Germany attacked Denmark and Norway on April 9, 1940. On that same day, Denmark surrendered and was immediately occupied. The Norwegians resisted for two additional months.

1953 CE, June 10

President Eisenhower rejects isolationism in the Cold War. More

1977 CE, June 10

Apple Inc. ships its first Apple II computer, a fully assembled computer, priced at $1,298, featuring color graphics, sound, and BASIC programming capabilities. It marked a pivotal moment in the personal computer revolution becoming a success in schools and businesses.

2003 CE, June 10

The Mars Spirit Rover is launched, beginning NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission. Spirit, landed on Mars on January 4, 2004. Its twin, rover Opportunity, launched on July 7, 2003 lands on Mars 21 days after Spirit on January 24, 2004. Spirit remained active until March 22, 2010. NASA was not able to regain contact with Spirit and officially concluded its recovery efforts May 25, 2011.