2010
Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire
A 26-year-old Tunisian fruit vendor humiliated by police and bureaucrats walked into a square in Sidi Bouzid, doused himself with paint thinner, and lit…
Haiti earthquake
A magnitude 7.0 quake hit ten miles from Port-au-Prince in the late afternoon, collapsing the presidential palace, the cathedral, and acres of cinder-block…
Pakistan's monsoon megaflood
Unprecedented monsoon rains swelled the Indus until a fifth of Pakistan was underwater, inundating an area roughly the size of England.
Eyjafjallajökull grounds Europe
An Icelandic volcano with an unpronounceable name spewed a high-altitude ash cloud that drifted over Europe and grounded most commercial flights for a week…
Chilean miners trapped
A copper-and-gold mine collapsed in northern Chile and trapped thirty-three men 700 meters underground for sixty-nine days.
iPad unveiled
Steve Jobs sat in a leather armchair onstage in San Francisco and demonstrated a slab of glass that was halfway between a phone and a laptop.
Deepwater Horizon explodes
BP's offshore rig caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and rupturing a wellhead a mile beneath the surface.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 2010?
Saeculum lists 7 events from 2010. The most significant is Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire.
What era was 2010 part of?
2010 falls within the Contemporary (2001-2026). Networks, climate, and the new uncertainty.
Which regions saw notable events in 2010?
The events from 2010 span Africa, North America, South Asia, Europe and South America.