1910

Events in 1910 45

• 1819 – 1910 Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910) Died 17 October 1910, aged 91 American author and reformer best known for writing the lyrics to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" during the Civil War. She was also a prominent abolitionist, suffragist and the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She campaigned for peace and women's rights throughout her later life.
• 1820 – 1910 Florence Nightingale The Lady with the Lamp Founder of modern nursing during the Crimean War.
• 1821 – 1910 Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) Died 3 December 1910, aged 89 American author who founded the Christian Science movement and its Church of Christ, Scientist in 1879. Her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" remains central to the faith. She also founded The Christian Science Monitor newspaper in 1908.
• 1828 – 1910 Henri Dunant Founder of the Red Cross Inspired by the Battle of Solferino, he co-founded the ICRC and won the first Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1828 – 1910 Leo Tolstoy Russian novelist Tolstoy wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina, blending historical realism with deep moral philosophy.
• 1835 – 1910 Mark Twain American writer and humorist Twain wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, using satire to critique society and capture American life.
• 1836 – 1910 Winslow Homer (1836-1910) Died 29 September 1910, aged 74 American landscape painter and printmaker regarded as one of the foremost artists of 19th-century America, known for his seascapes and depictions of rural and coastal life. He worked in watercolor and oil and spent his later years painting the Maine coast at Prouts Neck. His work profoundly influenced American realism.
• 1841 – 1910 Edward VII (1841-1910) Died 6 May 1910, aged 68 King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1901 until his death. His diplomatic tours earned him the nickname "Uncle of Europe" and helped shape the alliances that would define the coming war. His funeral in London drew nine reigning monarchs, the largest gathering of royalty in history to that point.
• 1843 – 1910 Robert Koch (1843-1910) Died 27 May 1910, aged 66 German physician and microbiologist who identified the bacteria causing tuberculosis, cholera and anthrax, establishing key principles of modern bacteriology. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1905. His methods for isolating and studying pathogens remain foundational to microbiology.
• 1844 – 1910 Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) Died 2 September 1910, aged 66 French post-impressionist painter, known as Le Douanier, celebrated for his naive, dreamlike jungle scenes despite having no formal artistic training. Largely dismissed by critics during his lifetime, he was championed by younger artists including Pablo Picasso. His work later became a major influence on modern and surrealist art.
• 1862 – 1910 O. Henry (1862-1910) Died 5 June 1910, aged 47 American writer William Sydney Porter, known by his pen name O. Henry, was celebrated for short stories marked by wit, wordplay and twist endings such as "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Ransom of Red Chief." He wrote hundreds of stories during a prolific career centered in New York City. The O. Henry Award for short fiction is named in his honor.
• 1877 – 1910 Charles Rolls (1877-1910) Died 12 July 1910, aged 32 British motoring and aviation pioneer who co-founded Rolls-Royce with Henry Royce in 1904. He died when his Wright biplane broke apart during a flying display in Bournemouth, becoming the first Briton to be killed in a powered aircraft accident. He had earlier been the first person to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by air.
• 1910 – 1934 Bonnie Parker (1910-1934) Died 23 May 1934, aged 23 American outlaw and partner of Clyde Barrow in a two-year crime spree across the central United States. Texas and Louisiana lawmen killed the pair in an ambush near Gibsland, Louisiana.
• 1910 – 1953 Django Reinhardt (1910-1953) Died 16 May 1953, aged 43 Django Reinhardt was a Belgian-born Romani guitarist who pioneered jazz manouche, developing a virtuosic playing style despite the loss of use of two fingers in a fire. He co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, influencing generations of jazz and rock guitarists. He is regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of the twentieth century.
• 1910 Halley’s Comet visible Halley’s Comet visible Halley's Comet reached perihelion in April 1910 and passed close enough that Earth crossed part of its tail. Spectroscopy had detected cyanogen in the tail, prompting newspaper panic and a brisk trade in comet pills and gas masks. It was the first return of the comet to be photographed and studied spectroscopically.
• 1910 Jazz emerges New Orleans, USA Jazz evolved in New Orleans from African-American musical traditions, blending blues, ragtime and improvisation into an entirely new art form.
• 1910 Lasker survives Schlechter match Title retained by half a point Carl Schlechter drew the 10-game match 5-5 but needed to win by 2 to take the title. Lasker retained his championship in one of the narrowest escapes in chess history.
• 1910 – 2026 Old Trafford Manchester, England Manchester United's ground since 1910 and the largest club stadium in England. Bombed flat in the Second World War, rebuilt over a decade, and expanded four times since.
• 1910 Old Trafford opens Manchester, England Manchester United's ground and the largest club stadium in England at 74,310. Bombed in 1941 and rebuilt over a decade; nicknamed the Theatre of Dreams by Bobby Charlton.
• 1910 – 2014 Luise Rainer (1910-2014) German-born actress, the first to win two consecutive Oscars, who lived to 104.
• 1910 Great Flood of Paris The Seine bursts its banks, submerging much of the city Weeks of heavy rain caused the Seine to rise over eight meters above its normal level, flooding the streets, sewers and Métro tunnels of Paris. Tens of thousands of Parisians were displaced and the flood caused extensive damage to the city's infrastructure. No deaths were directly attributed to the flooding itself.
• 1910 Boy Scouts of America founded Youth movement incorporated in Washington, D.C. The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated by publisher William D. Boyce after he encountered the Scouting movement in Britain. It grew rapidly into one of the largest youth organizations in the United States. The organization adapted the scouting principles founded by Robert Baden-Powell three years earlier.
• 1910 – 1976 Jacques Monod (1910-1976) Died 31 May 1976, aged 66 Jacques Monod, the French biochemist who shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries in gene regulation, died in Cannes. His work with Francois Jacob established the operon model explaining how genes are switched on and off. He was also known as the author of the philosophical work Chance and Necessity.
• 1910 – 1990 Joan Bennett (1910-1990) American actress, a blonde ingenue turned film noir star in Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Window and Scarlet Street.
• 1910 – 1983 David Niven (1910-1983) Died 29 July 1983, aged 73 David Niven was a British actor known for his urbane screen persona in films including Around the World in Eighty Days and won an Academy Award for Separate Tables. He also wrote several best-selling volumes of memoirs. He remains regarded as one of the classic era's most charming leading men.
• 1910 – 2000 Claire Trevor (1910-2000) American actress known as the Queen of Film Noir, Oscar winner for Key Largo.
• 1910 – 1998 Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) Died 6 September 1998, aged 88 Akira Kurosawa, the Japanese film director behind Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Ran, died on 6 September 1998. Widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history, his work shaped generations of directors worldwide.
• 1910 Union of South Africa formed Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal and Orange River Colony unite The British colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange River were merged into a single self-governing dominion of the British Empire. Louis Botha became the first prime minister. The new state retained racially restrictive voting laws that would shape South African politics for decades.
• 1910 – 1990 Paulette Goddard (1910-1990) American actress, Charlie Chaplin's co-star in Modern Times and The Great Dictator.
• 1910 – 1990 Robert Cummings (1910-1990) American actor, star of Saboteur and Dial M for Murder and of his own 1950s sitcom.
• 1910 – 1976 Howlin' Wolf Blues singer and guitarist Chester Arthur Burnett, the towering Chicago bluesman of Smokestack Lightnin', Spoonful and Killing Floor.
• 1910 – 1997 Jacques Cousteau (1910-1997) Died 25 June 1997, aged 87 Jacques Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, and filmmaker who co-invented the Aqua-Lung and pioneered underwater documentary filmmaking. His television series brought ocean life to a global audience for decades. He was a prominent advocate for marine conservation.
• 1910 – 2010 Gloria Stuart (1910-2010) American actress of 1930s horror films who returned at 87 as the elderly Rose in Titanic.
• 1910 Jack Johnson defeats James Jeffries "Fight of the Century" boxing match in Reno, Nevada Reigning heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, the first Black world heavyweight champion, knocked out former champion James Jeffries, who had come out of retirement as the "Great White Hope." Johnson's victory triggered race riots across the United States. The fight became one of the most racially charged sporting events in American history.
• 1910 – 2001 William Hanna (1910-2001) Died 22 March 2001, aged 90 With Joseph Barbera, Hanna created Tom and Jerry at MGM and then co-founded Hanna-Barbera, the studio behind The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear and The Jetsons. Their assembly-line methods made television animation affordable. He worked with Barbera for more than sixty years.
• 1910 – 1999 Sylvia Sidney (1910-1999) American actress, a star of 1930s dramas for Lang and Hitchcock whose career ran to Beetlejuice and Mars Attacks!
• 1910 – 2006 Jane Wyatt (1910-2006) American actress, the mother in Father Knows Best and Spock's mother in Star Trek.
• 1910 – 1997 Mother Teresa (1910-1997) Died 5 September 1997, aged 87 Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta and devoted her life to caring for the poor and dying. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. She died just days after Princess Diana, and was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 2016.
• 1910 Japan annexes Korea Korea becomes a colony of the Japanese Empire Under the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty, the Korean Empire was formally absorbed into the Empire of Japan and ceased to exist as an independent state. Japanese colonial rule over Korea lasted until 1945. The annexation followed years of increasing Japanese control after the Russo-Japanese War.
• 1910 Proclamation of the First Republic End of the Monarchy A revolution that overthrew the centuries-old monarchy and established the Portuguese Republic.
• 1910 – 1963 Jack Carson (1910-1963) Canadian-American actor, the brash comic foil of Warner Bros. films in the 1940s.
• 1910 – present Alfa Romeo Italian performance and racing brand Alfa Romeo became famous for combining Italian design, motorsport heritage and high-performance engineering. The company played an important role in early Grand Prix racing and influenced generations of sports car development.
• 1910 Mexican Revolution begins Francisco Madero calls for armed uprising against Porfirio Díaz Francisco Madero issued the Plan de San Luis Potosí, calling on Mexicans to rise up against the long rule of President Porfirio Díaz starting on this date. The ensuing conflict toppled Díaz within months and grew into a decade of civil war that reshaped Mexican society. It is considered one of the major social revolutions of the 20th century.
• 1910 Execution of Dr. Crippen First murderer caught with the aid of wireless telegraphy Hawley Harvey Crippen was hanged in London for the murder of his wife after fleeing to Canada aboard a steamship. The ship's captain recognized him and alerted Scotland Yard by wireless telegraph, allowing a faster ship to intercept him on arrival. The case was the first criminal manhunt to make prominent use of radio.
• 1910 – 1986 Jean Genet (1910-1986) Died 15 April 1986, aged 75 French novelist, playwright and political activist whose works, including The Thief's Journal, drew on his own experience of poverty, crime and imprisonment. He became a major figure of postwar French literature and an outspoken supporter of marginalized and revolutionary causes. He died in Paris.