July 10 in history — What Happened Today in History

EADS, the world's second-largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA.

Bashar al-Assad succeeds his father Hafez al-Assad as President of Syria.

In women's association football, the United States defeats China in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl near Los Angeles to win the final match of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Watched by 90,185 spectators, the final sets a new world record for attendance at a women's sporting event.

Catholic Church sexual abuse cases: The Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claim they were sexually abused by Rudolph Kos, a former priest.

In London, scientists report the findings of the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton which supports the "out of Africa theory" of human evolution, placing an "African Eve" at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.

Miguel Ángel Blanco, a member of Partido Popular (Spain), is kidnapped (and later murdered) in the Basque city of Ermua by ETA members, sparking widespread protests.

Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi is released from house arrest.

The NIOSH air filtration ratings update with the enactment of 42 CFR 84, previously published in the Federal Register. The new regulation includes rules governing the new N95 respirator standard.

In Miami, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.

The South African cricket team is readmitted into the International Cricket Council following the end of Apartheid.

Boris Yeltsin takes office as the first elected President of Russia.

A Beechcraft Model 99 crashes near Birmingham Municipal Airport (now Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport) in Birmingham, Alabama, killing 13 of the 15 people on board.

The Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior is bombed and sunk in Auckland harbour by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira.

An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 stalls and crashes near Uchkuduk, Uzbekistan (then part of the Soviet Union), killing all 200 people on board in the USSR's worst-ever airline disaster.

President Moktar Ould Daddah of Mauritania is ousted in a bloodless coup d'état.

Four mercenaries (one American and three British) are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial.

An EgyptAir Tupolev Tu-154 stalls and crashes at Cairo International Airport, killing all six people on board.

The Bahamas gains full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations.

New Zealand decimalises its former currency to the modern-day New Zealand dollar.

The Chicago Freedom Movement, co-founded by Martin Luther King Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago; as many as 60,000 people attend.

Telstar, the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.

Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong.

The official establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).: 121

Muhammad Ali Jinnah is recommended as the first Governor-General of Pakistan by the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee.

World War II: Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, begins.

World War II: An American pilot spots a downed, intact Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island (the "Akutan Zero"), which the US Navy then uses to learn the aircraft's flight characteristics.

Jedwabne pogrom: Massacre of Polish Jews living in and near the village of Jedwabne.

World War II: The Vichy government is established in France.

Chiyonokuni Toshiki, Japanese sumo wrestler

Antonio Brown, American football player

Heather Hemmens, American actress, director, and producer

Sarah Walker, New Zealand BMX rider

Park Chu-young, South Korean footballer

B. J. Crombeen, American ice hockey player

Mario Gómez, German footballer

Funda Oru, Belgian politician

Nikolaos Mitrou, Greek footballer

Giuseppe De Feudis, Italian footballer

Matthew Egan, Australian footballer

Gabi, Spanish footballer

Kim Hee-chul, Korean entertainer and singer

Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor (born 1932)

Jon Vickers, Canadian tenor (born 1926)

Robert C. Broomfield, American lawyer and judge (born 1933)

Juozas Kazickas, Lithuanian-American businessman and philanthropist (born 1918)

Paul G. Risser, American ecologist and academic (born 1939)

Zohra Sehgal, Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer (born 1912)

Gloria Schweigerdt, American baseball player (born 1934)

Philip Caldwell, American businessman (born 1920)

Józef Gara, Polish poet and linguist (born 1929)

Concha García Campoy, Spanish journalist (born 1958)

Caroline Duby Glassman, American lawyer and jurist (born 1922)

Ku Ok-hee, South Korean golfer (born 1956)

Gokulananda Mahapatra, Indian author and academic (born 1922)