On This Day
What Happened on December 10 in History
8 events that happened on December 10, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
The Young Republic and the Civil War Era
1817
Mississippi was admitted to the Union as the 20th state.
President James Monroe signed the resolution of admission after the territory met the last requirements for statehood. Former territorial governor David Holmes became the first state governor.
Source: mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov
1869
Wyoming Territory granted women the right to vote.
Governor John Campbell signed the suffrage bill passed by the territorial legislature. When Wyoming became a state in 1890, it was the only state where women could vote.
Source: history.com; prologue.blogs.archives.gov
1898
The Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War.
Spain gave up Cuba and ceded Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, and agreed to sell it the Philippines. The deal gave the United States its first overseas empire.
Source: history.state.gov; history.com
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1901
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded, on the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.
Prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace were given for the first time. Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, had left most of his fortune to fund the awards.
Source: history.com; nobelprize.org
1906
Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee honored Roosevelt for his part in ending the Russo-Japanese War.
The Cold War
1948
The UN General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Drafted by representatives from many legal and cultural traditions and adopted in Paris, the declaration set out for the first time a list of fundamental human rights to be protected everywhere.
Source: un.org
1950
Ralph Bunche became the first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
The American diplomat was honored for his UN mediation during the first Arab-Israeli war, which produced a ceasefire between Israel and its Arab opponents.
Source: history.com; nobelprize.org
1984
The UN General Assembly adopted the Convention against Torture.
The treaty requires member states to prevent and punish torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. It entered into force in June 1987.
Source: legal.un.org