What happened on December 10 ?

1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V.

1508 - The League of Cambrai is formed by Pope Julius II, Louis XII of France, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Ferdinand II of Aragon as an alliance against Venice.

1520 - Martin Luther burns his copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine outside Wittenberg's Elster Gate.

1684 - Isaac Newton's derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, is read to the Royal Society by Edmund Halley.

1817 - Mississippi becomes the 20th U.S. state.

1836 - Emory College (now Emory University) is chartered in Oxford, Georgia.

1864 - American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea - Major General William T. Sherman's Union Army troops reach Savannah, Georgia.

1868 - The first traffic lights are installed outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Resembling railway signals, they use semaphore arms and are illuminated at night by red and green gas lamps.

1869 - Wyoming grants women the right to vote.

1869 - The first American chapter of Kappa Sigma is founded at the University of Virginia.

1898 - Spanish-American War: The Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the conflict.

1899 - The Delta Sigma Phi fraternity is founded at the City College of New York.

1901 - The first Nobel Prizes are awarded.

1904 - The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity is founded at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.

1906 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt wins the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first American to win a Nobel Prize of any kind.

1932 - Thailand adopts a Constitution and becomes a constitutional monarchy.

1936 - Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII signs his Instrument of Abdication.

1941 - World War II: The Royal Navy capital ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse are sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo bombers.

1941 - World War II: Battle of the Philippines - Imperial Japanese forces under the command of General Masaharu Homma land on the Philippine mainland.

1948 - The UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

1949 - Chinese Civil War: The People's Liberation Army begins its siege of Chengdu, the last Kuomintang-held city in mainland China, forcing President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek and his government to retreat to Taiwan.

1953 - Dr. Albert Schweitzer is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work.

1963 - The United States Air Force's X-20 Dyna-Soar spaceplane program is cancelled by Robert McNamara.

1965 - The Grateful Dead play their first concert, at the Fillmore in San Francisco.

1970 - Agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug, "father of the Green Revolution", is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1971 - Jim Hart throws a football for a record 98 yards, the longest recorded throw.

1972 - Major League Baseball's American League votes to adopt the Designated Hitter for the following season. The first to appear in a game was Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees.

1975 - Activist Andrei Sakharov is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, accepted by his wife, Yelena Bonner.

1978 - Arab-Israeli conflict: Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1981 - The United Nations General Assembly approves Pakistan proposal for establishing nuclear free-zone in South Asia.

1983 - Democracy was restored on Argentina with the assumption of President Raúl Alfonsín.

1983 - Solidarity leader Lech Wa??sa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, accepted by his wife, Danuta.

1984 - Apartheid: Cleric and activist Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1986 - The Holocaust: Elie Wiesel is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1986 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan declares the date Human Rights Day in the United States.

1989 - Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj announced the establishment of Mongolia's democratic movement that peacefully changed the second oldest communist country into a democratic society.

1993 - First release of Doom, one of the most popular shoot-em'up PC videogames

1996 - Rwandan Genocide: Military Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations Maurice Baril recommends that the UN multi-national forces in Zaire stand down.

2002 - The High Court of Australia hands down its judgement in the internet defamation case of Gutnick v Dow Jones.

2004 - A tombstone commemorating the 35th anniversary of the death of Brazilian guerrilla Carlos Marighella is inaugurated in Salvador, Bahia.

2005 - Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crashes in Nigeria.