10 April 2026 (MIA)

837 – Halley’s Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million km).

1606 – The Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.

1710 – The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, comes into force in Great Britain.

1809 – Napoleonic Wars: The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria.

1847 – American newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer is born in Mako, Hungary.

1865 – American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time.

1866 – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.

1912 – The RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, England, on her ill-fated maiden voyage.

1925 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner’s Sons.

1932 – German president Paul Von Hindenburg is re-elected, with Adolf Hitler coming in second.

1941 – World War II: The Axis powers in Europe establish the Independent State of Croatia from occupied Yugoslavia with Ante Pavelić’s Ustaše fascist insurgents in power.

1948 – The construction of Mavrovo hydro-power plant begins.

1952 – The MGM movie musical “Singin’ in the Rain,” starring Gene Kelly, is first released.

1963 – The nuclear-powered submarine USS Thresher fails to surface off Cape Cod, Mass., in a disaster that claims 129 lives.

1964 – Lazar Lichenoski, a distinguished Macedonian painter, dies in Skopje. Considered one of the founders of Macedonian arts, Lichenoski was known for his paintings presenting authentically Macedonian landscapes (“Sheepfolds,” “Poppy Fields,” “Ohrid Fishermen”). He was born on March 26, 1901, in Galichnik.

1972 – Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.

1972 – Seventy-four nations sign the Biological Weapons Convention, the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of biological weapons.

1974 – Golda Meir announces resignation as prime minister of Israel.

1981 – Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands wins election to the British Parliament.

1991 – A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites.

1998 – Northern Ireland peace talks conclude as negotiators reach Good Friday Agreement, a landmark settlement to end 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks.

2009 – President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces he has abrogated the constitution, dismissing all judges and constitutional appointees and assuming all governance in the country.

2010 – Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of other senior officials.

2016 – An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, shaking up India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan.

2019 – Event Horizon Telescope scientists announce capturing first ever image of a black hole, located in the center of the Messier 87 galaxy.