May 10 – Nelson Mandela elected and more

1503: Christopher Columbus discovers the Cayman Islands

Christopher Columbus sighted the Cayman Islands on May 10. And then named them Las Tortugas after seeing numerous sea turtles swimming in the surrounding waters. This is a combination of three islands. Later their name was changed to Cayman in 1530 as a tribute to the caimans who roamed the islands.

1676: Bacon’s Rebellion begins in the New World

The Bacon’s Rebellion was an armed rebellion that took place 1676-1677 by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley with the goal of bringing change in Virginia’s Indian-Frontier Policy.

1801: First Barbary War

The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America (1st US foreign war). Also known as the Tripolitanian War and the Barbary Coast War. The United States and Sweden fought against the four North African states collectively known as the Barbary States.

1857: The Bengal Army in India revolts against the British

This was the First War of Indian Independence, also called the Sepoy Mutiny or the Indian Mutiny. It ended in 1859. It began in Meerut and slowly spread to Agra, Delhi, Lucknow, and Kanpur. There were more fundamental causes behind the Bengal Army’s Mutiny than the relentless pressure of military campaigning and the ‘accident’ of the greased cartridges’

1872: Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for U.S. president

The first woman to actively pursue the country’s highest office was Victoria Woodhull—a stockbroker, newspaper publisher, and champion of social reform who ran for the presidency in 1872, some 50 years before women throughout the United States had achieved the right to vote. Woodhull was politically active in the early 1870s. She was nominated as the first woman candidate for the United States presidency on May 10. At that time women could not vote. She could not even enter any establishment of any kind unless she was with a man.

1940: Winston Churchill succeeds Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of Britain after Neville’s resignation after losing a confidence vote in the House of Commons. Winston Churchill served as Conservative Prime Minister twice – from 1940 to 1945 and then from 1951 to 1955. It was on this day – May 10.

1994: Nelson Mandela was sworn in as South Africa’s 1st black president

Nelson Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, lawyer, and former political prisoner. He was the first non-white head of state of South African history. Also, the first to take office following the dismantling of the apartheid system and the introduction of multiracial democracy. Mandela was also the oldest head of state in South Africa’s history, taking office at the age of seventy-five.

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