A computer screen is photographed February 16, 1996 at IBM's headquarters in Armonk, New York, during IBM's supercomputer Deep Blue' s matches against world chess champion Garry Kasparov.

World chess champion Garry Kasparov loses game to computer

Born on This Day

Portrait Of Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht

1898 - 1956

German playwright and theater director known for exploring social and political themes in works like "The Threepenny Opera."

Soprano Leontyne Price

Leontyne Price

1927 -

American soprano and one of the first Black opera superstars. Notable roles include "Aida." Cousin of singer Cissy Houston.

"Poor Things" New York Premiere

Laura Dern

1967 -

Actress known for collaborations with director David Lynch. Oscar winner for "Marriage Story." Daughter of actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd.

Bertolt BrechtMondadori via Getty Images

Leontyne PriceGetty Images

Laura DernFilmMagic

1943

FEB10

Duct tape is born when Vesta Stoudt, a factory worker packing WWII munitions, writes FDR outlining—with drawings—her idea to replace weak paper packing tape with a tougher waterproof cloth version. Impressed, FDR pushed her idea into production.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on February 10th

The French and Indian War ends

The Seven Years’ War, a global conflict known in America as the French and Indian War, ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris by France, Great Britain and Spain. In the early 1750s, France’s expansion into the Ohio River valley repeatedly brought the country into armed conflict with the British colonies. In 1756, […]

1:40m read

Laura Ingalls Wilder, chronicler of American frontier life, dies

On February 10, 1957, Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the best-selling Little House series of children’s novels based on her childhood on the American frontier, dies at age 90 in Mansfield, Missouri. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born in a log cabin near Pepin, Wisconsin, on February 7, 1867, the second of Charles and Caroline Quiner […]

2:10m read

Pilot Gary Powers exchanged in U.S.-Soviet spy swap

On February 10, 1962, American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is released by the Soviets in exchange for Soviet Colonel Rudolf Abel, a senior KGB spy who was caught in the United States five years earlier. The two men were brought to separate sides of the Glienicker Bridge, which connects East and West Berlin across […]

4:56m read

Auto safety crusader Ralph Nader testifies before Congress

On February 10, 1966, Ralph Nader, a young lawyer and the author of the groundbreaking book Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile, testifies before Congress for the first time about unsafe practices in the auto industry. By the mid-1960s, U.S. automakers were still largely unregulated. Nader’s book, which was published […]

2:14m read

Avalanche buries skiers in France

On February 10, 1970, an avalanche crashes down on a ski resort in Val d’Isere, France, killing 42 people, mostly young skiers. This disaster was the worst such incident in French history. The resort at Val d’Isere was operated by a nonprofit youth organization and attracted many young ski enthusiasts. On the morning of February […]

1:22m read

Vietnam War journalists killed in helicopter crash

Four journalists, including photographer Larry Burrows of Life magazine, Kent Potter of United Press International, Henri Huett of the Associated Press and Keisaburo Shimamoto of Newsweek, die in a South Vietnamese helicopter operating in Laos. The journalists had been covering Operation Lam Son 719, a limited attack into Laos by South Vietnamese forces, when their […]

1:04m read

Ziggy Stardust makes his earthly debut

On February 10, 1972, a relatively minor rocker named David Bowie debuts the spaceman character Ziggy Stardust during a concert at Greater London’s Toby Jug pub. It’s one of those events that virtually nobody witnessed—but many wish they had. More than just a rock musician in a costume costume, Bowie effortlessly inhabited the identity of […]

1:52m read

Star boxer Mike Tyson convicted of rape

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, accused of raping 18-year-old beauty-pageant contestant Desiree Washington, is found guilty by an Indiana jury. The following month, Tyson was given a 10-year prison sentence, with four years suspended. Mike Tyson rose to fame in 1986 when he beat Trevor Berbick and became, at age 20, the youngest heavyweight […]

1:36m read

Final episode of “Arrested Development” airs on Fox

Celebrated by critics and beloved by its relatively small but devout fan base, the Fox television series “Arrested Development” airs its last episode on Fox on February 10, 2006. “Arrested Development,” created by Mitchell Hurwitz, premiered in November 2003. It was almost universally acclaimed by critics, who praised its sharp, complicated writing and stellar acting, […]

2:42m read

Iconic child star Shirley Temple dies at 85

On February 10, 2014, Shirley Temple Black, who as a child in the 1930s became one of Hollywood’s most successful stars, dies at her Woodside, California, home at age 85. The plucky, curly-haired performer sang, danced and acted in dozens of films by the time she was a teen; as an adult, she gave up […]

2:24m read

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