What Happened On
New Coke
July 10, 1985
After much public outcry and poor sales, Coca-Cola announces it is bringing back its original formula and calling it "Coca-Cola Classic." The Coke flavor had been changed to New Coke less than three months earlier. New Coke remained available and was renamed Coke II in 1992 and discontinued altogether in 2002.
Monkey Trial
July 10, 1925
John Scopes goes on trial for teaching evolution in Tennessee. The previous March, Tennessee made it a misdemeanor to "teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals." High school teacher John Scopes defied this law by teaching evolution in his classroom. The famous lawyer, and three-time U.S. presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan volunteered for the prosecution. Attorney Clarence Darrow joined the ACLU for the defense. Darrow called as his sole witness for the defense the prosecuting attorney Bryan, in an attempt to discredit his literal interpretation of the Bible. Bryan was ridiculed and forced to make contradictory statements. In an unusual twist, the defense attorney in his closing remarks asked the jury to convict his client. This accomplished two things: It allowed the case to be taken to the Tennessee Supreme Court and it prevented the prosecutor from delivering his closing speech that he had spent weeks preparing. Scopes was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of $100. Even though Bryan the prosecutor won, he was publicly humiliated and many believe the public ridicule contributed to his death six days later. The conviction was eventually overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
First Privately-Financed Satellite
July 10, 1962
Telstar I is launched. Thirteen days later, it was used for the first commercial transmission of live television via satellite between the United States and Europe. It was also used to relay the first satellite telephone call, between U.S. vice-president Lyndon B. Johnson and the chairman of AT&T, Frederick Kappel.
Telstar 1 remained active for only 7 months before it was damaged by a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States. Although no longer operational, it remains in Earth orbit.
Hottest Day in the U.S.
July 10, 1913
Hottest day recorded in the U.S., 134° F (57° C) in Death Valley, California. Source: Guinness Book of World Records
Wyoming
July 10, 1890
Wyoming becomes the 44th state. Wyoming is Algonquin for "large prairie place."
Birthdays
Fred Gwynne
Born July 10, 1926 d. 1993
American actor. TV: Car 54, Where Are You? (1961-63, officer Francis Muldoon) and The Munsters (1964-66, Herman). Film: My Cousin Vinny (1992, Judge Chamberlain Haller).
While attending Harvard, Gwynne was a cartoonist for and served as president of the Harvard Lampoon and also acted in Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals shows.
Raging Bull
Jake LaMotta (Giacobbe LaMotta)
Born July 10, 1922 d. 2017
American Hall of Fame boxer. Known as "The Bronx Bull" and "Raging Bull." He was the first person to defeat Sugar Ray Robinson, knocking him out in the first round. He admitted to throwing a fight in order to get a title bout. His life is portrayed in the 1980 film Raging Bull.
Harvey Ball
Born July 10, 1921 d. 2001
American commercial artist. He created the popular smiley face image in 1963, which has since become an international icon. Ball was hired as a freelance artist by State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts (now Hanover Insurance) to create an image to help improve employee morale. It took him less than 10 minutes to create the smiley face, with the lopsided smile and the eye on the right bigger than the other. The company made 100 pins with the image to pass out to employees. The pins proved popular and more than 50 million smiley face pins were sold by 1971. Ball never trademarked the image and was only paid $45 for his work.
Mr. Wizard
Don Herbert (Donald Herbert Kemske)
Born July 10, 1917 d. 2007
American TV personality. TV: Watch Mr. Wizard (1951-65, Mr. Wizard) and Mr. Wizard's World (1983-90). Herbert and Bill Murray were the first guests on Late Night with David Letterman when it premiered in 1982.
Nikola Tesla
Born July 10, 1856 d. 1943
Serbian-American inventor, considered America's greatest electrical engineer, credited with inventing radio, and for whom the tesla (unit of magnetic flux density) is named. He invented the first AC induction motor (1883). Known for making incredible claims, Tesla claimed that he invented a death ray that could send concentrated beams of particles through air with the capability of bringing down a fleet of 10,000 enemy airplanes at a distance of 250 miles.
James McNeill Whistler
Born July 10, 1834 d. 1903
American artist. Known for his portrait of his mother (1872).
Ron Glass
Born July 10, 1945 d. 2016
American actor. TV: Barney Miller (1975-82, Det. Ron Harris) and Firefly (2002, spiritual Shepherd Derrial Book).
Photo Credit: Bogaerts, Rob / Anefo
Photo Credit: Bogaerts, Rob / Anefo
Arthur Ashe
Born July 10, 1943 d. 1993
American tennis player. Arthur Ashe was the first black male to win a major tennis title (1968, U.S. Open) and the first black Wimbledon men's singles champion (1975). Ashe died of AIDS that he acquired during heart bypass surgery in 1983.
Adams as Johnny Yuma
Adams as Johnny Yuma
Nick Adams (Nicholas Aloysius Adamshock)
Born July 10, 1931 d. 1968
American actor. Film: Twilight of Honor (1963, Oscar nomination). TV: The Rebel (1959-61, Johnny Yuma).
David Brinkley
Born July 10, 1920 d. 2003
American Emmy-winning TV news correspondent. "Good night, Chet; Good night, David."
The First Lady of The Struggle
Mary McLeod Bethune
Born July 10, 1875 d. 1955
American educator, stateswoman, civil rights activist. She is known as "The First Lady of The Struggle" because of her commitment to gain better lives for African Americans. She was the first black woman to hold a major federal office (1936, Director of the Division of Negro Affairs for the National Youth Administration). She started a school for African-American girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, which became Bethune-Cookman University.
Finley Peter Dunne
Born July 10, 1867 d. 1936
American humorist, creator of Mr. Dooley.
George Mifflin Dallas
Born July 10, 1792 d. 1864
American politician. 11th U.S. Vice-President (1845-49).
Deaths
Mel Blanc (Melvin Jerome Blank)
Died July 10, 1989 b. 1908
American cartoon voice. Man of a thousand voices: Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Barney Rubble to name just a few.
Johann Gottfried Galle
Died July 10, 1910 b. 1812
German astronomer. He discovered the planet Neptune (1846) using calculations made by Urbain Le Verrier the previous year.
Clement Clarke Moore
Died July 10, 1863 b. 1779
American theology professor. He is best known for his poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (1822, which begins "Twas the night before Christmas").
Earliest Photo of a Living Person (1838)
Earliest Photo of a Living Person (1838)
Inventor of the Daguerreotype Photograph
Louis Daguerre (Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre)
Died July 10, 1851 b. 1787
French photographer. Inventor of the Daguerreotype photographic process (1839).
This photo made in 1838 by Daguerre is believed to be the earliest photograph of a living person. It is a view of a busy street, but because the exposure lasted for several minutes, moving objects left no trace. Only the two men near the bottom left, one apparently having his boots polished by the other, stayed in one place long enough to be visible.
Omar Sharif (Michel Dimitri Chalhoub)
Died July 10, 2015 b. 1932
Egyptian actor and world-class bridge player. Film: Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Dr. Zhivago (1965).
Arthur Fiedler
Died July 10, 1979 b. 1894
American conductor, with the Boston Pops Orchestra. He is the world's best-selling classical artist (50,000,000 records) and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977).
Dudley Fisher
Died July 10, 1951 b. 1890
American cartoonist. Created Right Around Home (1937) and Myrtle (1941).
Jelly Roll Morton (Ferdinand Joseph Morton)
Died July 10, 1941 b. 1890
American jazz musician. The first great composer in jazz.
Paul Charles Morphy
Died July 10, 1884 b. 1837
American chess player. He won the first American Masters tournament (1857) and went on to defeat every European master who would play him.
René I
Died July 10, 1480 b. 1409
King of Naples (1435-42), titular King of Naples (1435-80).
Benedict VII
Died July 10, 983 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 135th Pope (974-983).