Dec
January 2025
Feb
On This Day 5 mins Read

January 10: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Did you know that on this day, January 10, 1863, the London Underground was opened?

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You're On the 2025 version of this page. Click to view Jan 10, 2026.

January 10th is celebrated as Houseplant Appreciation Day and Peculiar People Day.

Welcome to day ten, you’ve just made it to another milestone in the new year. Keep going!

Here you will unearth fun facts all about January 10, as well as some important key turning points in history. You’ll also discover some less important events that occurred on this day including TV facts and celebrity gossip!

Did you know that on this day, January 10, 1863, the London Underground was opened? It’s the world’s oldest underground railway system.

Keep reading for more fun & interesting facts about January 10th in history!

Historical Events

What memorable events happened on January 10 in history? Keep reading to find out!

The UK’s Prince Harry published Spare, his tell-all memoir on his upbringing with the Royal Family.

Maya Angelou became the first African American woman featured on a US quarter.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ net worth reached $106 billion.

OTD in 2018: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' net worth reached $106 billion.

With only Bill Gates passing the $100 billion milestone in 1999, this made Bezos the second man on Earth worth over $1 billion.

A large group of people was poisoned at a funeral in Mozambique.

Mourners at a funeral drank crocodile bile spiked beers. One hundred and sixty-nine people were hospitalized, and 72 lost their lives.

The Sopranos, the hit American crime drama, debuted on HBO.

China lifted martial law.

OTD in 1990: China lifted martial law.

The law was imposed after the death of 10,000 protesters at the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Petra Schneider set a world record by swimming 1,500 meters freestyle in just 15:43:31.

The Soviet Union’s Soyuz 17 was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Soyuz rocket.

The mission was the first of two crewed missions to the USSR's Salyut 4 Space Station, which was launched into orbit just weeks earlier on December 26. The mission set a new record for Soviet mission durations, lasting just over 29 days.

John D. Rockefeller created Standard Oil Company in Cleveland, Ohio.

London Underground was opened, making it the world’s oldest underground railway system.

OTD in 1863: London Underground was opened

The line originally only ran from London Paddington and Farringdon.

Indian Assam Tea was brought to the United Kingdom for the very first time.

OTD in 1839: Indian Assam Tea was brought to the United Kingdom for the very first time.

King Charles I and the Queen fled from London to Oxford, Hampton Court.

He and his family had to escape London after he unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the House of Commons by trying to arrest five members of parliament.

Stephen III of Moldavia defeated the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.

Pope Fabian succeeded Anterus and became the twentieth pope of Rome.

Julius Caesar and his armies crossed the Rubicon River, an act that directly led to the Roman Civil War.

Caesar was a governor at the time, but when his governorship ended, the Roman Senate ordered him to disband his armies and return to Rome. Specifically, he was not to cross the Rubicon River with his troops, which at the time was Italy's northern border.

Famous Births

Is today your birthday? If so, you share this special day with Rod Stewart! Check out more famous people born on this day below.

2002

Ben Azelart

American-Canadian YouTuber

Age

23 years old

Born IN

Texas, USA

2006

Avi Angel

American Instagram Star

Age

19 years old

Born IN

Arizona, USA

1999

Mason Mount

English Footballer

Age

26 years old

Born IN

England, UK

1945

Rod Stewart

British Rock Singer

Age

80 years old

Born IN

England, UK

1949

George Foreman

American Boxer

Died On

Mar 21, 2025 (Age 76)

Born IN

Texas, USA

Birthday & Zodiac

Everyone who was born on January 10 shares the same zodiac sign, Capricorn.

Capricorns are ambitious, determined and will consistently apply efforts to any task at hand to get the job done. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, or indeed, how many times they might fail.

Those of you that were born in January have the Garnet birthstone. The garnet is a colorful gem that provides the wearer protection on their journey through life.

The carnation, January’s primary birth flower, signifies the resilient spirit and warmth characteristic of people born this month. Snowdrops are the secondary birth flower and represent purity and the promise of brighter days ahead.

If you were born on this day, you would likely have been conceived on or around April 19th of the previous year.

Babies conceived on this day will likely be born around October 3rd, 2025.

Famous Deaths

Unfortunately, January 10th has also been a day where we've had to say some goodbyes over the years…

1947 — 2016

David Bowie

English Singer David Bowie was born on January 8, 1947. He died on this day in 2016, at age 69 in New York City, USA.

Quotes

Below are the most famous quotes people have said or written on January 10th throughout history.

1769

“Satire lies about literary men while they live and eulogy lies about them when they die.”

Voltaire

(French Writer)

Special Holidays

Are you looking for something to do today? Then why not find time today to celebrate the following special holidays.

United States

National Houseplant Appreciation Day

Our holiday decorations and festive tree are gone now, but our living rooms look a little bare. National Houseplant Appreciation Day is all about loving houseplants, dusting them off, bringing in new plants, watering them, and showing them the love they deserve.

United States

Peculiar People Day

It's never the ordinary people that make the most significant breakthroughs and change the world, but the wacky, zany, eccentric ones! Today is Peculiar People Day, so go out and pat your peculiar friends on the back for being themselves – or let your own freak flag fly!

Fact Of The Day

Days Until

Your countdown to 2025's upcoming special days!

  • Groundhog Day

    23 days

  • Valentine's Day

    35 days

  • Women's Day

    57 days

  • St Patrick's Day

    66 days

  • Halloween

    294 days

  • Christmas Day

    349 days

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About The Author

Luke Ward
Owner

Luke Ward is the owner of FactstoryHub. He has over 14 years of experience in researching, informative writing, fact-checking, SEO & web design. In his spare time, he loves to explore the world, drink coffee & attend trivia nights.

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