On This Day in History – February 10

Major Events

• 1258 – The Mongol army under Hulagu Khan begins the sack of Baghdad, leading to the collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate and a major shift in Middle Eastern history.
• 1763 – The Treaty of Paris is signed, formally ending the Seven Years’ War and reshaping colonial control in North America and beyond.
• 1840 – Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert in a ceremony at the Chapel Royal in London, beginning one of the most influential royal partnerships in British history.
• 1863 – Alanson Crane patents the first fire extinguisher in the United States, significantly improving fire safety technology.
• 1947 – The Paris Peace Treaties are signed, officially concluding World War II hostilities between the Allies and former Axis powers.
• 1962 – U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers is exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, easing Cold War tensions following the U-2 incident.
• 1996 – IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue defeats world chess champion Garry Kasparov in the first game ever won by a computer against a reigning champion under tournament conditions.
• 2005 – North Korea publicly announces it possesses nuclear weapons, escalating international security concerns.
• 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation, the first papal resignation in nearly 600 years.

Famous Birthdays

• Bertolt Brecht – German playwright and poet (1898–1956)
• Laura Dern – American actress and producer (1967)
• Mark Spitz – American Olympic swimmer (1950)
• Elizabeth Banks – American actress and filmmaker (1974)
• Chloë Grace Moretz – American actress (1997)
• Cliff Burton – American musician, bassist for Metallica (1962–1986)
• Don Omar – Puerto Rican singer and songwriter (1978)
• Mia Khalifa – Lebanese-American media personality (1993)
• Robert Wagner – American actor (1930)

Notable Deaths

• Alexander Pushkin – Russian poet and novelist (1837, born 1799)
• Laura Ingalls Wilder – American author (1957, born 1867)
• Sophia Loren (fictional avoided; real figures only)
• Andy Warhol – American artist and cultural icon (1987, born 1928)
• James Brown – American musician (2006, born 1933)
• Joseph Lister – British surgeon and pioneer of antiseptic medicine (1912, born 1827)
• Charles Lamb – English essayist and poet (1834, born 1775)
• William Allen White – American journalist (1944, born 1868)
• Teófilo Cubillas – Peruvian footballer (2023, born 1949)

Holidays

• World Pulses Day – United Nations observance
• National Umbrella Day – United States
• Feast of Saint Scholastica – Observed in some Christian traditions

Fun Facts

• The Treaty of Paris drastically reduced French influence in North America.
• Deep Blue’s victory over Kasparov marked a major milestone in artificial intelligence.
• Queen Victoria’s white wedding dress helped popularize the tradition worldwide.
• World Pulses Day highlights the nutritional and environmental benefits of beans and lentils.
• The sack of Baghdad in 1258 is considered one of the most destructive events of the medieval era.
• Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books remain widely read more than half a century after her death.