August 10th: Turning Points in Empire, Art, and Human Rights

Summary:
August 10th may seem like an ordinary summer day—but history says otherwise. From the fall of empires to the birth of powerful ideas, this date has marked revolutions, treaties, and remarkable cultural contributions. In this article, we explore August 10th through calendar insights, world traditions, and major historical milestones, giving readers a richer understanding of how this day shaped the world we live in.

📅 August 10th in the Calendar

August 10th is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 143 days remaining. It lands deep in the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere and late winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

In the Julian calendar, still used liturgically by some Eastern Christian traditions, August 10th currently corresponds to August 23rd (Gregorian).

🗓️ Notable Historical Events on August 10th

🇫🇷 1792 – Storming of the Tuileries Palace During the French Revolution

On August 10, 1792, revolutionary crowds in Paris stormed the Tuileries Palace, arresting King Louis XVI and effectively ending the monarchy’s authority. The Swiss Guards defending the palace were slaughtered, and this insurrection paved the way for the abolition of the French monarchy in September.

Why it matters:
This was a decisive turning point in the French Revolution, transitioning France from constitutional monarchy to radical republicanism. It marked the rise of popular sovereignty and the decline of royal privilege, influencing revolutions around the world.

🇺🇸 1846 – Establishment of the Smithsonian Institution

On August 10, 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was founded in Washington, D.C., funded by a bequest from British scientist James Smithson. He had never visited the United States but left his fortune to establish “an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

Why it matters:
Today, the Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex, including 21 museums, the National Zoo, and nine research centres. It represents a unique partnership between science, education, and public access to knowledge.

🇩🇪 1920 – Treaty of Sèvres Signed

The Treaty of Sèvres, signed on August 10, 1920, between the Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire, sought to dismantle the Ottoman state after World War I. It proposed vast territorial losses for the Ottomans and plans for an autonomous Kurdistan and an Armenian state.

Why it matters:
Though never fully implemented (it was replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923), the Treaty of Sèvres sowed the seeds of modern tensions in the Middle East, including unresolved questions about Kurdish and Armenian statehood.

✈️ 1985 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 Disaster

On August 10, 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashed into Mount Takamagahara after suffering structural failure, killing 520 of the 524 people on board. It remains the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history.

Why it matters:
This tragedy led to major reforms in aircraft maintenance, crew communication protocols, and emergency response practices worldwide, significantly improving flight safety.

🔬 1961 – First Use of Agent Orange in Vietnam

On this day in 1961, the United States began its herbicidal warfare program in Vietnam, which included the use of Agent Orange—a chemical defoliant designed to remove jungle cover used by Viet Cong fighters.

Why it matters:
Agent Orange left a devastating legacy, causing long-term health issues for millions of Vietnamese civilians and U.S. veterans. It remains a powerful symbol of the environmental and human costs of modern warfare.

🎭 Traditions, Saints & Feast Days on August 10th

✝️ Feast of Saint Lawrence

August 10th is observed in the Roman Catholic and Anglican calendars as the Feast Day of Saint Lawrence, one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome martyred in 258 AD during Emperor Valerian’s persecution of Christians.

According to tradition, Lawrence was burned alive on a gridiron and famously joked, “Turn me over, I’m done on this side!” His wit, courage, and care for the poor made him a beloved saint across Europe.

Cultural note:
In Spain and Italy, bonfires, community feasts, and stargazing events (like the Perseids meteor shower, often peaking around this date) are sometimes associated with his martyrdom.

🎂 Notable Birthdays on August 10th

• Henri Nestlé (1814–1890) – German-Swiss industrialist and founder of the Nestlé company.

• Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) – 31st President of the United States, remembered for leading during the early years of the Great Depression.

• Antonio Banderas (b. 1960) – Spanish actor, director, and producer known for Zorro, Desperado, and Puss in Boots.

• Suzanne Collins (b. 1962) – American author of The Hunger Games trilogy.

✨ Other Observances and Fun Facts

• Perseid Meteor Shower – One of the brightest meteor showers of the year, often visible around August 10th, adding a celestial sparkle to Saint Lawrence’s Feast Day.

• National Lazy Day (U.S., informal) – A humorous day encouraging relaxation, doing nothing, or taking a guilt-free break from productivity.

• International Biodiesel Day – Recognized by environmental groups to raise awareness about sustainable fuel alternatives, commemorating Rudolf Diesel’s invention of the diesel engine.

🔚 Conclusion: August 10th in Perspective

From revolutionary fervour in Paris to the founding of great institutions and the tragedies of modern warfare, August 10th is a date packed with moments that redefined nations, lives, and legacies. It’s a day where knowledge was enshrined, empires were rewritten, and human rights were both honored and violated—all depending on where the spotlight shines.

📣 Call to Action

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1776

 

In 1776 the American Declaration of Independence reaches London.

 

On the 22^nd of March 1765 Britain begins the ‘Stamp Tax’ in America, which puts a tax on any official document, Newspapers and playing cards. The controversial tax was introduced to raise the money towards the 10,000 troops placed in the American frontier to defend and protect the colonies. The Seven Years War (1756-1763) and ‘French and Indian War (1754-1763) had only ended and Tensions still ran high between Great Britain and France. Other taxes in Britain’s colonies had been introduced by their elected representatives, but this tax had been introduced directly from Britain and not approved by an American legislator. This was seen as an insult to the Americans, as well as many Britain’s, and it implied that Americans were merely subjects with fewer rights than Britain’s at home.

 

Former Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder gave a speech in Parliament in defence of America and their rights as equal citizens “This Kingdom has no right to lay a tax upon the colonies. They are the subjects of the kingdom equally entitled with yourselves to all the natural rights of mankind and the peculiar privileges of Englishmen. The Americans are the sons not the bastards of England.”

 

The King also made his opposition to the tax known and within a year on the 18^th of March 1776 it was repealed. The introduction of the stamp tax is considered to be the start of the political arm of the American Revolution. Although the tax was repealed the damage had been done and the colonists began many more acts of political defiance to resist all taxation they deemed illegal. This included the Tea Act of 1773 which reduced the price of tax added to tea produced by the British East India Company giving them the monopoly over the American Tea trade. The colonists threw the tea into the Boston port, an act of defiance that would become known as the “Boston Tea Party”.

 

On the 19^th of April 1775 the military arm of the American Revolution began known as the ‘American Revolutionary War’ or the ‘American War of Independence’. The first incident that initiated the war took place on in Lexington when British troops were ordered to travel to concord and take the Patriots military stores there. While the British troops headed out on their mission, a Patriot line of communication, made from men on horse back, sent word to Patriot forces of the impending raid. As 700 British troops, under the command of Major Pitcairn, moved through the town green in Lexington, they were met with 77 minutemen (elite mobile infantry of the American militia) under the command of Captain John Parker. Pitcairn ordered the American force to disperse and initially they obeyed. But just as the confrontation seemed over a single shot was fired which would start the American War of Independence and bring four nations into conflict with Britain. That single shot has been referred too as ‘the shot that was heard across the world’ and as soon as it was fired (both sides blamed the other), the British and American forces opened fire on one another. With the small rebellion subdued the British troops continued to concord to complete their mission. But patriot forces in Concord were even greater and well prepared. They had already removed the stash of military hardware and up to 400 patriot troops met with the British and forced them to retreat back to Boston. The British lost 273 men compared to the patriot’s 95 men killed and this victory to the patriots spurred on many more to join and fight the British.

 

A Continental Congress was formed and chose a committee to create a Declaration of Independence and on the 4^th of July 1774 the declaration was adopted by 12 colonies of the 13 original colonies of the United States of America. New York, the 13^th colony, would adopt the declaration on the 19^th July.

 

By the 10th of August the Declaration reached London and the government of Great Britain.  The British Government immediately denounced the value of the declaration whose signatories, and original author Thomas Jefferson, owned slaves. How could they preach that “all men are created equal” and continue to treat humans as possessions.

 

A pamphlet was commissioned entitled “Answer to the American Congress” and written by John Lind. The pamphlet went further, accusing one of the main reasons behind the declaration was the fear that the growing anti-slavery movement in Britain would spread to America  and not about "Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" or that they truly believe that “all men are created equal” as suggested.

 

The anti-slave movement in Great Britain really broke ground with the verdict of the “Somerset Case 1772”. Lord Mansfield declared that there was no law that permitted slavery in Britain, and no law that supported it. The result of this judgement made people question that if any slave stepped foot on British soil then could they no longer be considered a slave and therefore slavery throughout the British Empire may also be unlawful. The slave trade was eventually banned throughout the empire in 1807 and slavery itself in 1833 but many other acts against slavery took place throughout the Empire including Lord Dunmore’s Emancipation Proclamation created on the 7^th of December 1775. Lord Dunmore called on all slaves of patriots to rise up and join his forces and in doing so they would win their freedom. Many slaves did indeed escape their masters, both loyalist and patriot alike, and in 1776 three hundred slaves did win their freedom. But Lord Dunmore had an additional motive. As with Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Dunmore knew that an uprising of slaves would play into the hands of the Royalists.

 

When Lind wrote the pamphlet he claimed that the line "has incited domestic insurrections among us..." in the declaration was in relation to Dunmore’s Proclamation against slavery.

 

During the American Revolutionary War many of the slaves fought on both sides but the majority fought on the side of the British after King George III promised their freedom. Many thousands of slaves were indeed freed by the British before the war ended.