10 March 2023 (MIA)

1735 – An agreement between Nader Shah and Russia is signed near Ganja, Azerbaijan and Russian troops are withdrawn from Baku.

1762 – French Huguenot Jean Calas, who had been wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform.

1804 – Louisiana Purchase: In St. Louis, Missouri, a formal ceremony is conducted to transfer ownership of the Louisiana Territory from France to the United States.

1814 – Napoleon I of France is defeated at the Battle of Laon in France.

1816 – Crossing of the Andes: A group of royalist scouts is captured during the Action of Juncalito.

1830 – The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army is created.

1848 – The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States Senate, ending the Mexican–American War.

1861 – El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Ségou, destroying the Bamana Empire of Mali.

1876 – Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call by saying “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.”

1891 – Almon Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas, patents the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching.

1906 – The Courrières mine disaster, Europe’s worst ever, kills 1099 miners in Northern France.

1909 – By signing the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, Thailand relinquishes its sovereignty over the Malay states of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu, which become British protectorates.

1915 – The Battle of Neuve Chapelle begins. This is the first large-scale operation by the British Army.

1917 – Some provinces and cities in the Philippines are incorporated due to the ratification of Act No. 2711 or the Administrative Code of the Philippines.

1922 – Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in prison, only to be released after nearly two years for an appendicitis operation.

1933 – An earthquake in Long Beach, California kills 115 people and causes an estimated $40 million in damage.

1944 – Greek Civil War: The Political Committee of National Liberation is established in Greece by the National Liberation Front.

1945 – The U.S. Army Air Force firebombs Tokyo, and the resulting conflagration kills more than 100,000 people, mostly civilians.

1952 – Fulgencio Batista leads a successful coup in Cuba and appoints himself as the “provisional president”.

1959 – Tibetan uprising: Fearing an abduction attempt by China, 300,000 Tibetans surround the Dalai Lama’s palace to prevent his removal.

1965 – Stale Popov, one of the most prolific writers after WWII, died in Skopje, aged 63. One of his most notable works include the novels Krpen Zivot (Patched-up life) and Kalesh Angja.

1966 – Military Prime Minister of South Vietnam Nguyễn Cao Kỳ sacked rival General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation.

1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Lima Site 85, concluding the 11th with largest single ground combat loss of United States Air Force members (12) during that war.

1969 – In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King, Jr. He later unsuccessfully attempts to retract his plea.

1970 – Vietnam War: Captain Ernest Medina is charged by the U.S. military with My Lai war crimes.

1975 – Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh Campaign: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Mê Thuột in the South on their way to capturing Saigon in the final push for victory over South Vietnam.

1977 – Rings of Uranus: Astronomers discover rings around Uranus.

1980 – Madeira School headmistress Jean Harris shoots and kills Scarsdale diet doctor Herman Tarnower.

1980 – Formation of the Irish Army Ranger Wing.

1990 – In Haiti, Prosper Avril is ousted 18 months after seizing power in a coup.

2000 – The Nasdaq Composite stock market index peaks at 5132.52, signaling the beginning of the end of the dot-com boom.

2005 – Tung Chee-hwa resigns from his post as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong after widespread public dissatisfaction of his tenure.

2006 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars.