On This Day
What Happened on January 10 in History
9 events that happened on January 10, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
Colonial America and the Revolution
1776
Thomas Paine published Common Sense, his pamphlet arguing for American independence.
First issued without the author's name, the pamphlet made the case for breaking with Britain in plain language. Its first printing sold out quickly, and it became one of the most influential pamphlets in American history.
Source: history.com; battlefields.org
The Young Republic and the Civil War Era
1863
The Metropolitan Railway opened in London as the world's first underground railway.
The line ran between Paddington and Farringdon, with steam locomotives pulling gas-lit wooden carriages through shallow tunnels. It became the first piece of what is now the London Underground.
Source: nationalarchives.gov.uk
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1901
A gusher at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, Texas, launched the modern American oil industry.
The well struck oil at more than 1,000 feet and flowed at roughly 100,000 barrels a day, taking nine days to cap. Oil soon became the main fuel for new inventions such as cars and airplanes.
Source: history.com; tsl.texas.gov
1920
The League of Nations came into being as its Covenant took effect.
The Covenant had been ratified by 42 nations in 1919 as part of the peace settlement after World War I. President Woodrow Wilson had championed the idea of a world body to keep the peace.
Source: history.com; history.com
1941
Franklin Roosevelt sent his lend-lease plan to Congress to supply Britain against Nazi Germany.
The Battle of Britain was raging and Britain badly needed planes, tanks and ships it could not pay for. The plan let the United States send war materials while staying out of the fighting itself.
Source: history.com; archives.gov
The Cold War
1946
The United Nations General Assembly held its first session in London.
Delegates from 51 nations met at Westminster Central Hall. Within two weeks the Security Council had also met, and the Assembly passed its first resolution, on the peaceful use of atomic energy.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
1962
A glacier avalanche from Mount Huascaran buried towns in Peru, killing more than 4,000 people.
A huge block of ice broke from the mountain in the evening and roared into the Rio Santa Valley. Nine towns and seven smaller villages were destroyed.
Source: history.com; pubs.usgs.gov
1967
Lyndon Johnson asked Congress for more money to fight the Vietnam War in his State of the Union address.
By early 1967 about 14,000 American troops had been killed in action in Vietnam, and the war was growing more costly.
Source: history.com; millercenter.org
The Modern Era
2000
America Online announced a deal to buy Time Warner in one of the largest media mergers ever.
The roughly $182 billion deal created AOL Time Warner, which joined internet access with magazines, film, music and cable. It came at the height of the dot-com boom.
Source: history.com; sec.gov