May 10 in History
28BC — A sunspot is observed by astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han — one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. 1774 — Louis XV (Louis the Beloved), 64, of France dies of smallpox after a reign of almost 59 years (he succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV on September 1 1715). Louis XVI, 19, becomes king.
1837 — The Panic of 1837: New York City banks suspend specie payments. The panic had domestic and foreign origins — speculative lending practices in western states, a sharp decline in cotton prices, a collapsing land bubble, international specie flows and restrictive lending policies in Great Britain. It triggers a banking crisis and an economic depression that lasts until the mid-1840s, the severity of which is not surpassed until the Great Depression in the 1930s. 1924 — J Edgar Hoover, 29, is appointed the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and remains so until his death on May 2 1972.
1938 — Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis player (French Open champion 1961 and 1964, Wimbledon 1966, US Open 1965), is born in Madrid.
1960 — Bono (Paul David Hewson), Irish singersongwriter (lead singer for U2), musician, venture capitalist, businessman, humanitarian, philanthropist and activist for social-justice causes, is born in Dublin. 1960 — Merlene Ottey, Jamaican-Slovenian sprinter, is born in Cold Spring, Hanover, Jamaica. 1965 — Linda Evangelista, supermodel, is born in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada, to Italian parents. 1969 — Dennis Bergkamp, footballer (37 goals in 79 matches for the Netherlands, 1990-2000) and manager, is born in Amsterdam.
1973 — Ollie (Andre-Henri) le Roux, Springbok prop (54 Tests, 1994-2002), is born in Fort Beaufort.
1974 — Sylvain Wiltord, footballer (92 appearances for France, 1999-2006), is born in Neuilly-sur-Marne. 1977 — Henri Camara, footballer (99 appearances for Senegal, 1999-2008), is born in Dakar.
1981 — Humberto Suazo, footballer (60 appearances for Chile, 2005-2013), is born in San Antonio.
1993 — A fire in the Kader Toy Factory on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, leaves 188 workers (mostly young females from rural families) dead and almost 500 injured.
1995 — Tragedy strikes at Vaal Reefs’ #2 Shaft near Orkney in North West Province when an underground locomotive crashes through a barrier into the shaft at a level of 1,700m below surface, falling onto a conveyance transporting 104 mineworkers. The impact causes the conveyance to plunge to the bottom of the shaft, 2,300m below surface.