February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 324 days remaining until the end of the year (325 in leap years).
1901 – 2000
- 1904 - Russo-Japanese War: Japan declares war on Russia.
- 1906 – The battleship HMS Dreadnought is launched in Portsmouth.
- 1910 - Off Minorca, French passenger ship General Chanzy is tossed against a reef in a storm, causing it to sink. Only 1 of the 156 people on board survives.
- 1920 – North Schleswig votes to become part of Denmark.
- 1933 – Round 13 of Boxing Match in New York City's Madison Square Garden: Primo Carnera knocks down Ernie Schaaf, who dies four days later as a result of his injuries.
- 1939 - Spanish Civil War: Nationalists finish their conquest of Catalonia and seal Spain's border with France.
- 1940 – The Soviet Union begins mass deportations of Polish citizens from occupied Eastern Poland to Siberia.
- 1942 – A Japanese submarine bombs Midway Atoll.
- 1945 - German passenger ship Steuben with 4,000 refugees on board off the Pomeranian Baltic Sea coast, is torpedoed by a Soviet U-boat and sinks, killing 3,500.
- 1947 - Italy cedes most of Venezia-Giulia to Yugoslavia.
- 1949 – The play Death of a Salesman is performed for the first time in Broadway. Its writer, Arthur Miller, dies on the same date 56 years later.
- 1952 – Jawaharlal Nehru wins India's first election.
- 1954 – Dwight D. Eisenhower warns against intervention in Vietnam.
- 1957 – In Sudan, football's Africa Cup of Nations is held for the first time.
- 1962 – Captured American pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
- 1964 - Aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collides with destroyer HMAS Voyager off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.
- 1967 – The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.
- 1972 - The remote North Atlantic rock of Rockall is fully integrated as part of Scotland.
- 1981 - A fire at the Las Vegas hotel-casino kills 8 people.
- 1990 - Mikhail Gorbachev and Helmut Kohl meet for talks.
- 1996 – The computer Deep Blue first defeats Garry Kasparov in a game of chess.
- 1998 – Voters in Maine repeal a Gay rights law.
Up to 1900
- 1499 – Thomas Platter, Swiss humanist (d. 1582)
- 1524 - Albrecht Giese, German politician and diplomat (d. 1580)
- 1606 – Christine Marie of France, regent of Savoy (d. 1663)
- 1609 - John Suckling, English poet (d. 1642)
- 1685 – Aaron Hill, English writer (d. 1750)
- 1686 – Hans Egede, Norwegian pastor and missionary in Greenland (d. 1758)
- 1720 - Charles De Geer, Swedish industrialist and scientist (d. 1778)
- 1744 - William Cornwallis, English Royal Navy admiral (d. 1819)
- 1783 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter (d. 1873)
- 1785 - Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist (d. 1836)
- 1788 - Robert P. Letcher, American politician, 15th Governor of Kentucky (d. 1861)
- 1795 - Ary Scheffer, French painter (d. 1858)
- 1806 - Orville Hickman Browning, 9th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1881)
- 1815 - Constantin Bosianu, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1882)
- 1818 - Isham G. Harris, American politician, 18th Governor of Tennessee (d. 1897)
- 1824 – Samuel Plimsoll, British politician and social reformer (d. 1898)
- 1842 - Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer (d. 1907)
- 1846 - Ira Remsen, American chemist (d. 1927)
- 1847 - Nabinchandra Sen, Bengali poet (d. 1909)
- 1859 – Alexandre Millerand, President of France (d. 1943)
- 1878 – Zdenek Nejedly, Czech intellectual and politician (d. 1962)
- 1881 - Pauline Brunius, Swedish stage and movie actress, and director (d. 1954)
- 1881 - Ken McArthur, South African marathon runner (d. 1960)
- 1884 - Frederick Hawksworth, English engineer (d. 1976)
- 1888 - Harry Beaumont, American movie director (d. 1966)
- 1888 - Alexander Cudmore, American soccer player (d. 1944)
- 1888 - Alfredo Pacini, Italian cardinal (d. 1967)
- 1888 - Giuseppe Ungaretti, Egyptian-Italian soldier, journalist and writer (d. 1970)
- 1890 – Fanny Kaplan, Russian revolutionary, believed to be the attempted assassin of Vladimir Lenin (d. 1918)
- 1890 – Boris Pasternak, Russian writer (d. 1960)
- 1892 – Alan Hale Sr., American actor (d. 1950)
- 1893 – Bill Tilden, American tennis player (d. 1953)
- 1893 - Jimmy Durante, American actor and comedian (d. 1980)
- 1894 – Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1986)
- 1897 – Judith Anderson, Australian actress (d. 1992)
- 1897 – John Franklin Enders, American scientist (d. 1985)
- 1898 – Bertolt Brecht, German writer and playwright (d. 1956)
- 1898 - Joseph Kessel, French journalist and novelist (d. 1979)
- 1899 - Cevdet Sunay, 5th President of Turkey (d. 1982)
1901 – 1950
- 1901 – Stella Adler, American actress (d. 1992)
- 1902 – Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist (d. 1987)
- 1903 - Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer (d. 1939)
- 1903 - Waldemar Hoven, German Nazi physician (d. 1948)
- 1904 - John Farrow, Australian-American director, father of Mia Farrow (d. 1963)
- 1905 - Walter A. Brown, American businessman (d. 1964)
- 1906 – Lon Chaney, Jr., American actor (d. 1973)
- 1910 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar (d. 1969)
- 1910 - Sofia Vembo, Greek singer and actress (d. 1978)
- 1913 - Douglas Slocombe, English cinematographer (d. 2016)
- 1914 – Larry Adler, American musician (d. 2001)
- 1915 - Vladimir Zeldin, Russian actor (d. 2016)
- 1922 – Arpad Goncz, former President of Hungary (d. 2015)
- 1922 - Harold Hughes, American politician, Governor of Iowa (d. 1996)
- 1923 – Ahti Karjalainen, Prime Minister of Finland (d. 1990)
- 1923 – Cesare Siepi, Italian operatic tenor (d. 2010)
- 1925 - Pierre Mondy, French actor and director (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Danny Blanchflower, Northern Irish footballer (d. 1993)
- 1927 - Alma Adamkiene, former First Lady of Lithuania
- 1927 – Leontyne Price, American singer
- 1927 - Brian Priestman, British conductor (d. 2014)
- 1929 - Hallgeir Brenden, Norwegian skier (d. 2007)
- 1929 - Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
- 1929 - Jim Whittaker, American mountaineer
- 1929 - Lou Whittaker, American mountaineer
- 1930 – Robert Wagner, American actor
- 1931 - Doug Young, American voice actor
- 1932 – Barrie Ingham, English actor (d. 2015)
- 1934 - Kirk Fordice, American politician, Governor of Mississippi (d. 2004)
- 1937 - Yuriy Poyarkov, Ukrainian volleyball player (d. 2017)
- 1939 – Roberta Flack, American singer
- 1939 – Adrienne Clarkson, former Governor General of Canada
- 1939 – Peter Purves, British actor and television presenter
- 1940 - Mary Rand, British sprinter and long jumper
- 1940 - Kathryn Mullen, American puppeteer, actress and voice actress
- 1941 – Michael Apted, British movie director
- 1942 - Lawrence Weiner, American conceptual artist
- 1944 – Frank Keating, 25th Governor of Oklahoma
- 1944 - Peter Allen, American singer and actor
- 1946 - Muntaka Connmassie, Nigerian jurist (d. 2017)
- 1947 - Louise Arbour, Canadian diplomat, former United Nations Commissioner for Human rights
- 1947 - Nicholas Owen, English journalist
- 1948 - Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (d. 1994)
- 1949 - Harold Sylvester, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter
- 1950 – Mark Spitz, American swimmer
1951 – 1975
- 1951 - Robert Iger, American entertainment executive
- 1952 – Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore
- 1953 - John Shirley, American science fiction author
- 1954 - Peter Ramsauer, German politician
- 1955 – Greg Norman, Australian golfer
- 1955 - Jim Cramer, American television personality
- 1956 - Enele Sopoaga, 12th Prime Minister of Tuvalu
- 1959 - John Calipari, American basketball player
- 1961 - Alexander Payne, American movie director
- 1961 – George Stephanopoulos, American television journalist
- 1962 – Cliff Burton, American musician (Metallica) (d. 1986)
- 1963 – Philip Glenister, English actor
- 1964 – Glenn Beck, American broadcaster
- 1964 - Arthur Lenk, Israeli diplomat
- 1964 – Francesca Neri, Italian actress
- 1964 - Sam Graddy, American athlete
- 1964 – Victor Davis, Canadian swimmer (d. 1989)
- 1966 - Ji Suk-jin, South Korean comedian, actor and singer
- 1966 - Natalie Bennett, Australian-English journalist and politician, former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
- 1967 – Laura Dern, American actress
- 1967 - Vince Gilligan, American writer and executive producer
- 1968 – Matthias Hamann, German footballer
- 1968 - Peter Popovic, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1968 - Garrett Reisman, American engineer and astronaut
- 1970 – Asne Seierstad, Norwegian writer and journalist
- 1970 - Noureddine Naybet, Moroccan footballer and manager
- 1973 - Ajdar, Turkish singer-songwriter and engineer
- 1973 - Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, English businesswoman and philanthropist
- 1974 – Elizabeth Banks, American actress
- 1975 – Kool Savas, German rapper
- 1975 - Hiroki Kuroda, Japanese baseball player
From 1976
- 1976 – Keeley Hawes, English actress
- 1976 – Carlos Jimenez Sanchez, Spanish basketball player
- 1980 – Riki Flutey, New Zealand-born English rugby player
- 1980 – Enzo Maresca, Italian footballer
- 1980 - Mike Ribeiro, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 - Bruno Sundov, Croatian basketball player
- 1981 – Andrew Johnson, English footballer
- 1981 – Holly Willoughby, English television presenter
- 1981 - Ozo Aduba, American actress and singer
- 1982 – Justin Gatlin, American athlete
- 1983 - Ricardo Clark, American soccer player
- 1984 - Jemma Simpson, British athlete
- 1985 - Anette Sagen, Norwegian skier
- 1986 – Radamel Falcao, Colombian footballer
- 1986 – Viktor Troicki, Serbian tennis player
- 1986 - Josh Akognon, Nigerian-American basketball player
- 1986 - Yui Ichikawa, Japanese actress and model
- 1987 - Choi Siwon, South Korean singer
- 1987 - Facundo Roncaglia, Argentine footballer
- 1988 - Jade Ramsey, English actress
- 1989 - Neelofa, Malaysian actress, television host and model
- 1990 – Sooyoung, South Korean singer (Girls' Generation)
- 1991 – Emma Roberts, American actress
- 1992 - Misha B, American rapper and singer
- 1992 - Haruka Nakagawa, Japanese singer
- 1992 - Reinhold Yabo, German footballer
- 1993 - Max Kepler, German baseball player
- 1994 - Son Na-eun, South Korean singer and actress
- 1994 - Kang Seul-gi, South Korean singer
- 1994 - Mackenzie Vega, American actress
- 1995 - Haruna Kawaguchi, Japanese model and actress
- 1996 - Christina Parie, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1997 - Chloe Moretz, American actress
- 1998 - Candy Hsu, Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actress and record producer
- 2000 - Yara Shahidi, Iranian-American actress
Up to 1900
- 547 - Scholastica, Christian nun
- 1126 – William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 1071)
- 1162 – King Baldwin III of Jerusalem (b. 1130)
- 1242 – Emperor Shijo of Japan (b. 1231)
- 1278 - Margaret II of Flanders (b. 1202)
- 1306 – John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, Scottish nobleman
- 1307 – Temur Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan, Emperor of China (b. 1265)
- 1543 - Johannes Eck, German theologian (b. 1486)
- 1567 – Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (b. 1546)
- 1755 – Montesquieu, French writer (b. 1689)
- 1758 - Thomas Ripley, English architect (b. 1682)
- 1782 - Christian Christoph Oetinger, German theologian (b. 1702)
- 1829 – Pope Leo XII (b. 1760)
- 1837 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian writer (b. 1799)
- 1854 - Jose Joaquin de Herrera, President of Mexico (b. 1792)
- 1857 – David Thompson, Canadian explorer (b. 1770)
- 1865 - Heinrich Lenz, German physicist (b. 1804)
- 1891 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian mathematician (b. 1850)
1901 – 2000
- 1904 - John A. Roche, American politician (b. 1844)
- 1912 – Joseph Lister, British surgeon (b. 1827)
- 1913 – Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek athlete and Olympic champion (b. 1888)
- 1917 – John William Waterhouse, Italian-born artist (b. 1849)
- 1918 - Abdul Hamid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1842)
- 1918 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian pacifist (b. 1833)
- 1923 – Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, German scientist (b. 1845)
- 1932 – Edgar Wallace, English novelist and screenwriter (b. 1875)
- 1939 – Pope Pius XI (b. 1857)
- 1944 - E. M. Antoniadi, Greek-French astronomer and chess player (b. 1870)
- 1956 - Emmanouil Tsouderos, 132nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1882)
- 1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American writer (b. 1867)
- 1958 - Aleksander Klumberg, Estonian athlete (b. 1899)
- 1960 - Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (b. 1898)
- 1964 – Eugen Saenger, Austrian aerospace engineer (b. 1905)
- 1966 - Billy Rose, American composer (b. 1898)
- 1975 - Nikos Kavvadias, Greek poet and writer (b. 1910)
- 1979 - Edvard Kardelj, Yugoslav Communist leader (b. 1910)
- 1985 - Johnny Mokan, American baseball player (b. 1895)
- 1990 - Bill Sherwood, American producer and composer (b. 1952)
- 1992 – Alex Haley, American writer (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Jim Varney, American actor (b. 1949)
From 2001
- 2001 – Abraham D. Beame, American politician and Mayor of New York City (b. 1906)
- 2002 - Dave Van Ronk, American musician (b. 1936)
- 2002 – Traudl Junge, Adolf Hitler's press secretary (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Arthur Miller, American playwright (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Roy Scheider, American actor (b. 1932)
- 2009 - Jeremy Lusk, American motocross racer (b. 1984)
- 2010 – Charles Wilson, American politician (b. 1933)
- 2014 - Stuart Hall, Jamaican-British sociologist and cultural theorist (b. 1932)
- 2014 - Doug Jarrett, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1944)
- 2014 - Ronnie Masterson, Irish actress (b. 1926)
- 2014 - Shirley Temple, American actress and diplomat (b. 1928)
- 2015 - Deng Liqun, Chinese politician (b. 1915)
- 2015 - Naseer Aruri, Palestinian scholar and activist (b. 1934)
- 2015 - Karl Josef Becker, German theologian and cardinal (b. 1928)
- 2016 - Phil Gartside, English businessman (b. 1952)
- 2016 - Leo Ehlen, Dutch footballer (b. 1953)
- 2016 - Andrew L. Lewis, Jr., American business executive and politician (b. 1931)
- 2016 - Eliseo Prado, Argentine footballer (b. 1929)
- 2016 - Günter Schröter, German footballer (b. 1927)
- 2016 - Claude Jeancolas, French writer, artist and journalist (b. 1949)
- 2017 - Edward Bryant, American writer (b. 1945)
- 2017 - Mike Ilitch, American businessman and sports owner (b. 1929)
- 2017 - Piet Keizer, Dutch footballer (b. 1943)
- 2017 - Yuriy Poyarkov, Ukrainian volleyball player (b. 1937)
- 2017 - Hal Moore, American general and author (b. 1922)
- 2017 - Tsuyoshi Yamanaka, Japanese swimmer (b. 1939)
- 2018 - Jeff Bell, American politician (b. 1943)
- 2018 - Bevan Congdon, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1938)
- Feast of Saint Paul's Shipwreck (Malta)
- Fenkil Day (Eritrea)