September 10

1419 John the Fearless is murdered at Montereau, France, by supporters of the dauphine.

1547 The Duke of Somerset leads the English to a resounding victory over the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh.

1588 Thomas Cavendish returns to England, becoming the third man to circumnavigate the globe.

1623 Lumber and furs are the first cargo to leave New Plymouth in North America for England.

1813 The nine-ship American flotilla under Oliver Hazard Perry wrests naval supremacy from the British on Lake Erie by capturing or destroying a force of six English vessels.

1846 Elias Howe patents the first practical sewing machine in the United States.

1855 Sevastopol, under siege for nearly a year, capitulates to the Allies during the Crimean War.

1861 Confederates at Carnifex Ferry, Virginia, fall back after being attacked by Union troops. The action is instrumental in helping preserve western Virginia for the Union.

1912 J. Vedrines becomes the first pilot to break the 100 m.p.h. barrier.

1914 The six-day Battle of the Marne ends, halting the German advance into France.

1923 In response to a dispute with Yugoslavia, Mussolini mobilizes Italian troops on Serb front.

1961 Jomo Kenyatta returns to Kenya from exile, during which he had been elected president of the Kenya National African Union.

1963 President John F. Kennedy federalizes Alabama’s National Guard to prevent Governor George C. Wallace from using guardsmen to stop public-school desegregation.

1967 Gibraltar votes to remain a British dependency instead of becoming part of Spain.

1974 Guinea-Bissau (Portuguese Guinea) gains independence from Portugal.

1981 Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica is returned to Spain and installed in Madrid’s Prado Museum. Picasso stated in his will that the painting was not to return to Spain until the Fascists lost power and democracy was restored.

2001 Contestant Charles Ingram cheats on the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, wins 1 million pounds.

2003 Sweden’s foreign minister, Anna Lindh, is stabbed while shopping and dies the next day.

2007 Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister of Pakistan, returns after 7 years in exile, following a military coup in October 1999.

2008 The Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator—described as the biggest scientific experiment in history—is powered up in Geneva, Switzerland.

Born on September 10

1487 Julius III, Italian poet who promoted the Jesuits.

1754 William Bligh, British naval officer who was the victim of two mutinies, the most famous on the HMS Bounty which was taken over by Fletcher Christian.

1847 John Roy Lynch, first African American to deliver the keynote address at a Republican National Convention.

1885 Carl Van Doren, historian and critic who won a Pulitzer Prize for his biography on Benjamin Franklin.

1892 Arthur Compton, physicist.

1929 Arnold Palmer, golfer who won four Masters, two British Opens and one U.S. Open.

1934 Charles Kuralt, journalist, known for his popular "On the Road" television program.

1935 Mary Oliver, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.

1941 Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist, biologist and writer of popular books about science such as Time’s Cycle and The Panda’s Thumb.

1941 Gunpei Yokoi, inventor of Game Boy.

1945 Jose Feliciano, guitarist, singer, songwriter.

1948 Margaret Trudeau, actress (Kings and Desperate Men), author, photographer.

1949 Bill O’Reilly, TV host (The O’Reilly Factor), author.

1950 Rosie Flores, singer, musician.

1960 Colin Firth, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor (The King’s Speech).

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