2010 History Events: What Happened in 2010

In 2010, the globe was technologically advanced, and more individuals had access to the internet. Betty White, the American Sweetheart, becomes 88 years old and becomes the oldest Saturday Night Live host. Paul Harding’s debut novel, Tinker, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Gregory Brother’s video of the Bed Intruder Song was the most viewed video on YouTube in 2010, marking the fifth anniversary of the service.

The Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico caught fire on April 20th after an explosion. The rig fire, which occurred about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, killed 11 people and injured 17 others, resulting in the largest oil leak in American history. For the British oil company BP, the rig was drilling an exploratory well. 4.9 million barrels of oil, or 206 million gallons of oil, had leaked into the ocean by the time the well was capped on July 15. In the United States, BP pleaded guilty to 14 felony offences and established a $20 billion fund to compensate catastrophe victims.

Larry King, the legendary talk show presenter, promoted Larry King Live CNN on December 16. Since June 1985, the hour-long programme has featured interviews with world leaders, movie stars, politicians, musicians, and other newsmakers. Trump, Ryan Seacrest, Katie Couric, former President Bill Clinton via satellite, Regis Philbin, and a pre-recorded footage of President Barack Obama all made appearances on the most recent broadcast.

In 1970, 20 million people attended the first Earth Day celebration. In 2010, nearly a billion individuals celebrated the 40th anniversary of the day. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin came up with the concept for Earth Day. He had an idea for a new way to teach people about the need of environmental protection. The international year of biodiversity and youth was held in 2010, a decade into the new century. The European Year of Poverty and Social Exclusion was also observed.

Continue reading to discover more about the events of 2010.

Event
(January 04, 2010) Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has become home to the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, which was officially opened today. photo source: wikimedia.org
Advertisements (January 12, 2010) On this day in 2010, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, wreaking havoc on the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, killing over 200,000 people and displacing over 1,000,000 people, sparking a large worldwide relief effort. photo source: wikimedia.org
(January 27, 2010) J.D. Salinger, best known for The Catcher in the Rye (1951), a novel in which the sensitive, rebellious teenager Holden Caulfield is depicted through humour and colourful language, died at the age of 91.
(February 18, 2010) WikiLeaks began publishing classified US government documents obtained by army intelligence analyst Bradley (later Chelsea) Manning; it was the largest unauthorised disclosure of state secrets in US history.
(February 27, 2010) A magnitude-8.8 earthquake rocked Chile on this day in 2010, inflicting severe damage and creating a wave that damaged coastal towns; it was the region's most destructive earthquake since 1960.
Advertisements (March 07, 2010) Kathryn Bigelow, an American director, became the first woman to win an Academy Award for best director for her work on The Hurt Locker (2008).
(April 20, 2010) On this day in 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, some 41 miles (66 kilometres) off the coast of Louisiana, resulting in the world's greatest oil leak.
(May 11, 2010) Gordon Brown, a Scottish-born British politician, has formally resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, bringing an end to the Labour Party's 13-year dominance. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats create the country's first coalition administration since World War II, with David Cameron as Prime Minister.
(May 15, 2010) Jessica Watson is the world's youngest person to sail around the world solo, nonstop and unassisted.
Advertisements (June 24, 2010) Julia Gillard, an Australian politician, was sworn in as the country's first female prime minister.
(October 06, 2010) Instagram, a popular photo-sharing app, is established. photo source: wikimedia.org
(October 13, 2010) After a record-breaking 69 days underground, the Copiapó mining disaster in Chile comes to an end with the rescue of all 33 trapped miners. photo source: wikimedia.org
(December 08, 2010) SpaceX, an American aerospace company, became the first commercial company to launch a spacecraft, called the Dragon capsule, into space and bring it back to Earth. photo source: wikimedia.org