Discover fascinating historical events that happened on the 10th May, including King Xerxes punishing the sea, Columbus discovering the Cayman Islands, the start of the 1857 Indian Mutiny, and more. A fun and informative message for students.
Dear Students,
Did you know that there was once a king who punished the sea? This curious incident took place exactly on this day, the 10th of May, about 2,511 years ago, in the year 486 BCE.
The story goes that King Xerxes I of Persia had built a bridge across the Dardanelles to reach Greece more quickly. However, a storm destroyed the bridge. The king was so furious that he ordered his soldiers to punish the sea by whipping it with chains 300 times and poking it with red-hot irons.
Yes, dear students, history can sometimes be quite funny and fascinating!
Do you know what else happened on the 10th of May?
Here are some interesting events:
1) Christopher Columbus became the first European to discover the Cayman Islands on the 10th of May in the year 1503. He named the islands ‘Las Tortugas’ after the sea turtles found there.
2) Students, have you heard of Warren Hastings? He was the first Governor-General of Bengal, and it was on this day, the 10th of May in 1787, that the British Parliament officially appointed him to the position.
3) Did you know that the First Indian Mutiny (also known as the Sepoy Mutiny) against the rule of the British East India Company began on the 10th of May, 1857, in Meerut?
4) Have you heard about Halley’s Comet? It is one of the most famous comets because it was the first time astronomers realised comets could return to our skies. On the 10th of May, 1910, Halley’s Comet made its closest approach to Earth. It was last seen in 1986 and will appear again in 2061.
5) Students, do you know about gas masks, which are used during fires or even in wars? It was on the 10th of May, 1915, that Canadian physician Cluny Macpherson first presented his gas mask invention to the British War Office.
6) Do you know that it was this day in the year 1916 when The historic Ship Port Museum was opened in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands?
7) How many of you are cricket fans? You’ll be delighted to know that on the 10th of May, 1981, the first-ever night cricket match in India was played in Bombay (now Mumbai).
8) Many of you may have heard of Nelson Mandela. If not, you can click HERE to learn more about him. On this day in 1994, he became the first Black President of South Africa.
9) Did you know that on the 10th of May, 2000, India’s population reached 1 billion with the birth of baby girl Aastha at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital?
10) And finally, on this day in 2016, an Indian fertility clinic announced that a 70-year-old woman had successfully given birth to a baby boy – a remarkable achievement in the field of science.
Also, did you clean your room today? Because today is National Clean Your Room Day! Yes, the day originally started in the US and is now celebrated in many countries.
Before I say goodbye, I would like you all to join me in wishing a very happy birthday to Halicharan Narzary, the talented Indian footballer, and
Pentala Harikrishna, the young chess grandmaster.
We also celebrate the birth anniversaries of Pankaj Mullick, the legendary Bengali music composer, and Alivardi Khan, the great Nawab of Bengal who defended Bengal from the Maratha Bargis.
