This Day In History : August 10

1876 Canada

The world’s first long-distance phone call

On August 10, 1876, the world’s first long-distance phone call was made from a shop in the village of Paris, Ontario, to the Alexander Graham Bell Homestead near Brantford. During that historic call, Alexander Graham Bell uttered the famous words to his assistant, Mr. Watson: “Mister Watson – Come here – I want to see you”.

Also on This Day in History August 10

Discover what happened on August 10 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, August 10
  • 1928 Jimmy Dean

    American singer, actor and businessman who founded the Jimmy Dean Food Company

  • 1861 Almroth Wright

    English bacteriologist (one of 1st vaccines for typhoid)

  • 1913 Wolfgang Paul

    German physicist who developed the Paul trap

  • 1889 Charles Darrow

    American businessman who modified and popularized Monopoly game

  • 1856 William Willett

    British inventor of Daylight Saving Time

Deaths on This Day, August 10
  • 1945 Robert Goddard

    American physicist, rocket engineer and inventor known as the father of modern rocketry

  • 1817 Francis Cabot Lowell

    American mill owner (founded 1st raw cotton-to-cloth textile mill)

  • 1900 Thomas Elkins

    African American abolitionist and inventor who held patents for a type of furniture called the chamber commode and the Refrigerating Apparatus

  • 1915 Henry Moseley

    English physicist (relationship between atomic number and charge of the atomic nucleus)

  • 1979 Walther Gerlach

    German physicist who, with Otto Stern, co-discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field (Stern–Gerlach effect)

1990

The Magellan space probe reaches Venus

The Magellan spacecraft, also known as the Venus Radar Mapper, arrived at Venus on August 10, 1990. It was designed to map the surface of Venus using radar, providing detailed images of the planet's topography and geological features. This mission significantly enhanced our understanding of Venus and its geological processes.
1821

Missouri admitted as 24th US state

Missouri was admitted as the 24th state of the United States on August 10, 1821. It was the first state formed from the territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Missouri's admission also marked a critical point in the balance of free and slave states in the Union, as it entered as a slave state, maintaining the equilibrium in Congress at the time.
1885

Leo Daft opens America's 1st commercially operated electric streetcar in Baltimore

On August 10, 1885, Leo Daft, an engineer from England, inaugurated the first commercially operated electric streetcar in America in Baltimore. He converted the Baltimore to Hampden Line from horse-drawn cars to electricity using his unique third rail system, with the current from that third rail serving as the power source.
1949

The National Security Act Amendment signed by U.S. President Harry S. Truman

The National Security Act Amendment signed by U.S. President Harry S. Truman on August 10, 1949, streamlined the defense agencies of the U.S. Government. It reorganized and renamed the Department of War to the United States Department of Defense, reflecting a broader scope beyond just military operations.
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