Today In History: Influential Events On December 10

Today is Monday, December 10, 2018. Today marks the 344th day of the year, meaning there is only 21 days left before 2019. This date is saturated with cultural significance, so let’s revisit some of the most influential events to happen on this date. 

Today in 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. received his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. King says he accepted it “with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind.”

In 1817, Mississippi was admitted as the 20th state of the Union.

In 1869, women were granted the right to vote in the Wyoming Territory.

In 1898, a treaty was signed in Paris officially ending the Spanish-American War.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work mediating an end to the Russo-Japanese War.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

In 1931, Jane Addams became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1967, singer Otis Redding, just 26  years of age, was killed with six others when their plane crashed into Wisconsin’s Lake Monona; one passenger, Ben Cauley, survived. 

In 1996, South African President Nelson Mandela signed the country’s new constitution into law during a ceremony in Sharpeville. Five years ago, Mandela’s memorial services were held with Barack Obama and tens of thousands of spectators in attendance. Mandela was considered “the last great liberator of the 20th century.” 

In 2005, actor/comedian Richard Pryor died in Encino, California, at age 65.

In 2007, suspended NFL star, Michael Vick, was sentenced by a federal judge in Richmond, Virginia, to 23 months in prison for aiding a dogfighting operation and killing dogs that underperformed. Vick served 19 months at Leavenworth. On the same day, former Vice President Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, calling for humanity to help the climate crisis.