10 July History
- 1520 - The Spanish explorer Cortes is driven from Tenochtitlan and retreats to Tlaxcala.
- 1609 - The Catholic states in Germany set up a league under the leadership of Maximillian of Bavaria.
- 1679 - The British crown claims New Hampshire as a royal colony.
- 1747 - Persian ruler Nadir Shah is assassinated at Fathabad.
- 1776 - The statue of King George III is pulled down in New York City.
- 1778 - In support of the American Revolution, Louis XVI declares war on England.
- 1850 - Millard Fillmore is sworn in as the 13th president of the United States following the death of Zachary Taylor.
- 1890 - Wyoming becomes the 44th state.
- 1893 - Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs the first successful open-heart surgery, without anesthesia.
- 1925 - The trial of Tennessee teacher John T. Scopes opens, with Clarence Darrow appearing for the defense and William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution.
- 1940 - Germany begins the bombing of England.
- 1942 - General Carl Spaatz becomes the head of the U.S. Air Force in Europe.
- 1943 - American and British forces complete their amphibious landing of Sicily.
- 1945 - U.S. carrier-based aircraft begin airstrikes against Japan in preparation for invasion.
- 1951 - Armistice talks between the United Nations and North Korea begin at Kaesong.
- 1962 - The satellite Telstar is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, beaming live television from Europe to the United States.
- 1993 - Kenyan runner Yobes Ondieki becomes the first man to run 10,000 meters in less than 27 minutes.
10 July Birthdays
- 1509 - John Calvin, Protestant religious leader, founder of Calvinism.
- 1830 - Camille Pissarro, French painter.
- 1834 - James Abbott McNeil Whistler, painter.
- 1871 - Marcel Proust, French novelist (Remembrance of Things Past).
- 1875 - Mary McLeod Bethune, educator, founder of Bethune-Cookman College and the National Council of Negro Women.
- 1905 - Ivie Anderson, jazz singer.
- 1915 - Saul Bellow, writer.
- 1920 - David Brinkley, broadcaster.
- 1927 - David Dinkins, first African-American mayor of New York City.
- 1931 - Alice Munro, Canadian writer (Open Secrets, Friend of my Youth).
- 1933 - Jerry Herman, songwriter.
- 1943 - Arthur Ashe, American tennis player.
- 1947 - Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson, football player.