Today in History: Germans begin demolishing the Berlin Wall

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on November 10: 

 

1674 - Dutch formally cede New Netherlands (New York) to the English.

 

1885 - German engineer Gottlieb Daimler unveils the world's first motorcycle.

1928 – Hirohito was crowned emperor of Japan. He had effectively become head of state and was named regent when his father became ill in 1920. He ruled until his death in 1989.

1938 – Mustapha Kemal Ataturk, the first president of Turkey from 1923 and founder of the modern secular state, died at the age of 57.

1982 – Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev died at the age of 75; he had been leader of the Soviet Union from 1964 and state president from 1977.

1987 – Seyni Kountche, president of Niger, died in Paris. He became president in 1974, seizing power in a coup from President Hamani Diori, who had run Niger since independence from France in 1960.

1989 - Germans begin demolishing the Berlin Wall.

1995 – Minority rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his associates were hanged in a Nigerian prison after being convicted of murder.

2000 – First-ever test cricket match between Bangladesh and India.

2001 – Members of the World Trade Organisation formally approved the terms of China’s entry.

2002 – NASA honours first Native American astronaut.

2007 – Norman Mailer, who won the Pulitzer Prize twice and was a dominating presence on the U.S. literary scene for decades, died at the age of 84.

2007 – Finland’s speed skater Pekka Koskela sets new world record in men’s 1,000m race.

2008 – NASA officials declare end of mission for Phoenix Mars Lander after five months of operating on the planet.

(Reuters)