On this day in history - October 10

What Happened On This Day – October 10

• 2010 The Country of Netherlands Antilles is Dissolved

  The Caribbean Dutch dependency, also sometimes known as the Dutch Antilles, was formed in 1954. The dissolution came after a series of referendums to become independent states within the Kingdom of the Netherlands were passed on the Islands of Curaçao, St Maarten, Bonaire, and Saba.

• 1970 Fijian independence

  The South Pacific Ocean island country had been ruled by the British since 1874. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara became the first prime minister of independent Fiji.

• 1967 Outer Space Treaty is Enforced

  Also known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, it regulated the exploration and use of outer space and created the field of international space law. The treaty declared that outer space and all celestial bodies were the common heritage of mankind and could not be claimed by any one nation.

• 1964 The Tokyo Summer Olympics Begin

  93 countries participated in the first Olympics to be held in Asia. As a tribute to the horrors of the Second World War, Yoshinori Sakai, who was born in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the day an atomic bomb destroyed the city, was chosen as the torchbearer to light the Olympic flame during the opening. The Tokyo Olympics was also the first Olympic Games that used satellites - Syncom 3 in the United States and Relay 1 in Europe - to telecast the games. Some of the games were also broadcasted in color for the first time.

• 1933 United Airlines Boeing 247 explosion

  In one of the oldest unsolved cases in aviation history, the airplane which was flying from Newark, New Jersey to Oakland California exploded mid-air and crashed near Chesterton, Indiana. All 7 passengers and crew members died in the incident. To this day, it is not known what and who caused the explosion.