THE DAY IN HISTORY · MAY 10

May 10 in history

What happened on May 10: 5 moments from the Maps of History atlases, in 1857, 1869, 1871, 1940 and 1994, each linked to the map that shows it.

1857 — Meerut mutiny

10 May 1857 — The previous day, 85 troopers of the 3rd Light Cavalry had been shackled on parade for refusing the new cartridges. Their comrades now broke open the jail, killed officers and civilians, and rode through the night to Delhi. The mutineers were seeking a sovereign for their rising.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE & PARTITION MAP → · THE FULL STORY →

1869 — First transcontinental railroad

10 May 1869 — In Utah, the Central Pacific meets the Union Pacific, completing the first transcontinental railroad. Chinese workers built its western half and made up about 90 per cent of the Central Pacific’s workforce.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION MAP → · THE FULL STORY →

1871 — Treaty of Frankfurt

10 May 1871 — Under the Treaty of Frankfurt, France gives up Alsace and most of Lorraine and must pay an indemnity of five billion francs. German troops are to remain on French soil until the debt is paid. France pays it early, by September 1873, but the loss of the provinces remains unacceptable to it.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE WWI MAP → · THE FULL STORY →

1940

Germany strikes west through the Low Countries — and, the same evening, Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister. One day, two hinges.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE WW2 MAP →

1994 — Inauguration of Nelson Mandela

10 May 1994 — At the Union Buildings, Nelson Mandela is sworn in as South Africa’s first democratically elected president. Jets of the old regime dip their wings overhead. The map of a free Africa is complete.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE DECOLONIZATION OF AFRICA MAP → · THE FULL STORY →