On This Day in History: September 10

Across the centuries, September 10 has served as a turning point in global politics, exploration, international diplomacy, science, and civil society. Here is a look back at ten significant events that occurred on this day.

1608 — John Smith Elected President of Jamestown Council

On September 10, 1608, Captain John Smith was elected president of the governing council of Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America. Under his leadership, the struggling colony instituted strict discipline and work requirements, famously enforcing the policy that those who did not work would not eat, which stabilized food supplies and colony operations during a crucial phase of early American colonial history.

1813 — Oliver Hazard Perry Wins the Battle of Lake Erie

During the War of 1812, Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry led the United States Navy to a decisive victory against the British Royal Navy squadron commanded by Robert Heriot Barclay in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. Perry famously dispatched the historic dispatch, "We have met the enemy and they are ours," securing American control of Lake Erie for the remainder of the war and safeguarding the northwestern frontier.

1846 — Elias Howe Receives U.S. Patent for the Sewing Machine

On September 10, 1846, American inventor Elias Howe was awarded U.S. Patent No. 4,750 for an improved sewing machine using a lock-stitch design. Howe's practical machine, which featured an eye-pointed needle and a reciprocating shuttle, revolutionized garment manufacturing and laid the legal and technological groundwork for modern industrial textile production.

1898 — Empress Elisabeth of Austria Assassinated in Geneva

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also Queen of Hungary and widely known as Sisi, was fatally stabbed on September 10, 1898, while walking along Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The attacker, an Italian anarchist named Luigi Lucheni, targeted her as part of an anti-monarchical political stance. Her death led directly to the International Conference of Rome for the Social Defense Against Anarchists later that year, initiating multilateral security cooperation across Europe.

1919 — The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye Is Signed

Following the end of World War I, Allied representatives and the newly established Republic of German-Austria signed the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 10, 1919. The comprehensive treaty officially dissolved the Austro-Hungarian Empire, recognized the sovereignty of newly formed nations including Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and established significant regional border and territorial adjustments in Central Europe.

1939 — Canada Officially Enters World War II

On September 10, 1939, King George VI proclaimed Canada's formal declaration of war against Nazi Germany following an independent vote and approval by the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa. Led by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada entered the conflict as an independent sovereign nation under the Statute of Westminster, distinct from the British declaration made a week earlier, marking an important step in Canadian constitutional autonomy.

1960 — Abebe Bikila Wins Olympic Marathon Running Barefoot

At the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome, Ethiopian athlete Abebe Bikila won the men's marathon on September 10, 1960, completing the race entirely barefoot through the city's historic paved streets. Bikila set a new world record time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 16.2 seconds, becoming the first athlete from sub-Saharan Africa to win an Olympic gold medal and transforming international long-distance running.

1977 — France Carries Out Its Final Guillotine Execution

On September 10, 1977, France performed its final execution by guillotine at Baumettes Prison in Marseille, putting to death Hamida Djandoubi following his trial and conviction. This execution marked the last time the guillotine was used as a method of capital punishment anywhere in the world, preceding France's complete legal abolition of the death penalty under President François Mitterrand in 1981.

1989 — Hungary Opens Its Border, Aiding the Fall of the Iron Curtain

In a historic move toward European reunification, Hungarian Foreign Minister Gyula Horn announced that starting at midnight on September 10, 1989, Hungary would open its western border with Austria to tens of thousands of East German citizens seeking transit to West Germany. This diplomatic decision breached the physical barriers of the Eastern Bloc and accelerated the sequence of events that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall two months later.

2008 — Large Hadron Collider Circulates First Particle Beams

At the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland, physicists and engineers achieved a monumental scientific milestone on September 10, 2008, by successfully circulating the first high-energy proton beams around the 27-kilometer underground ring of the Large Hadron Collider. This opening test inaugurated the most powerful particle accelerator ever built, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries in fundamental physics, including the observation of the Higgs boson in 2012.