History of 10 May
- 1994 – Nelson Mandela was sworn in as South Africa’s first black president.
- 1997 – An earthquake in northeastern Iran killed at least 2,400 people.
- 1999 – China broke off talks on human rights with the U.S. in response to NATO’s accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia.
- 1999 – The Cezanne painting “Still Life With Curtain, Pitcher and Bowl of Fruit” sold for 60.5 million.
- 2000 – 11,000 residents were evacuated in Los Alamos, NM, due to a fire that was blown into a canyon. The fire had been deliberately set to clear brush.
- 2001 – Boeing Co. announced that it would be moving its headquarters to Chicago, IL.
- 2001 – In Ghana, 121 people were killed in a stampede at a soccer game.
- 2002 – Robert Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole. Hanssen, an FBI agent, had sold U.S. secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
- 2002 – Taiwan test fired a locally made Sky Bow II surface-to-air missile for the first time. They also fired three U.S.-made Hawk missiles.
- 2002 – Dr. Pepper announced that it would be introducing a new flavor, Red Fusion, for the first time in 117 years.
- 2011 – It was announced that Microsoft had closed a deal to purchase the internet phone service Skype for $8.5 billion.
- 2013 – In New York, NY, crane operators hoisted the final pieces of the spire atop One World Trade Center (formerly called the Freedom Tower).
- 2016 – NASA announced that it’s Kepler mission had verified 1,284 new planets. This was the single largest finding of planets to date.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Samuel Dalembert, Haitian-Canadian basketball player
- 1981 – Humberto Suazo, Chilean footballer
- 1983 – Gustav Fridolin, Swedish journalist and politician, Swedish Minister of Education
- 1984 – Edward Mujica, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1984 – Pe’er Tasi, Israeli singer
- 1985 – Ryan Getzlaf, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Jon Schofield, English canoe racer
- 1986 – Emilio Izaguirre, Honduran footballer
- 1987 – Wilson Chandler, American basketball player
- 1987 – Kévin Constant, French-Guinean footballer
- 1990 – Salvador Pérez, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1990 – Ivana Španović, Serbian long jumper
- 1995 – Missy Franklin, American swimmer
- 1995 – Gabriella Papadakis, French ice dancer
- 1996 – Tyus Jones, American basketball player
- 1996 – Kateřina Siniaková, Czech tennis player