10 July: On this day in history
What events happened on 10 July in history? We round up the events, births and deaths…
10 July 138
After a 21-year reign, the Roman emperor Hadrian dies of a heart attack at his villa in Baiae, in the Gulf of Naples.
10 July 1460
Watched by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians at the battle of Northampton, capturing King Henry VI and killing the Duke of Buckingham. The Lancastrians, who were entrenched with cannon in a strong position south of the river Nene near Delapre Abbey, were routed partly because heavy rain prevented them from making use of their artillery but mainly because of the treachery of Lord Grey. At a key moment in the battle he ordered his men to lay down their arms and let the Yorkists into the Lancastrian entrenchments.
10 July 1871
Marcel Proust, essayist, critic and author of the monumental A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (In Search of Lost Time) was born in Auteuil, Paris. His father, Achille Adrien Proust, was an eminent Paris physician.
10 July 1943
Operation Husky. Just before dawn and despite adverse weather conditions, forces from the British 8th Army and US 7th Army made amphibious and airborne landings in south-eastern Sicily. Five weeks later the island was in Allied hands.
10 July 1962
The Telstar communications satellite was launched aboard a Delta rocket at Cape Canaveral. Telstar made possible the transatlantic transmission of live television images and was the inspiration for a hit record by The Tornados.
Get exclusive access to Ruth Goodman’s six-week Academy course on Victorian Life, featuring two live Q&As + a book of your choice when you subscribe to BBC History Magazine
