10 August 1996

Having already caused severe flooding in the Philippines, Typhoon Lekima made landfall in Zhejiang, China, killing 45 people in the province.

Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York.

Amid large protests against the impending demolition of the Queen's Pier, the High Court of Hong Kong dismissed legal attempts to preserve the landmark.

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 became law, authorizing reparations to surviving Japanese Americans interned during World War II.

The Heron Road Bridge in Ottawa, Canada, collapsed during its construction, killing nine workers.

First Indochina War: The French Union withdrew its forces from Operation Camargue against the Việt Minh in central modern-day Vietnam.

The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers began an ultimately unsuccessful strike to reverse its declining fortunes and organize large numbers of new members.

José Antônio Saraiva announced that the Brazilian military would exact reprisals after Uruguay's governing Blanco Party refused Brazil's demands, beginning the Uruguayan War.

American Civil War: The first major battle west of the Mississippi River, the Battle of Wilson's Creek, was fought.

From measurements of its motion, German astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel deduced that Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, had an unseen companion.

The Louvre (pyramid pictured) in Paris, today the world's most-visited museum, opened with an exhibition of 537 paintings and 184 objets d'art.

French Revolution: Insurrectionists in Paris stormed the Tuileries Palace (depicted), effectively ending the French monarchy until it was restored in 1814.

The first wave of the Expulsion of the Acadians from the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces by the British began with the Bay of Fundy campaign at Chignecto.

The Swedish warship Vasa sank shortly after departing Stockholm on her maiden voyage to take part in the Thirty Years' War.

Yekuno Amlak deposed the last Zagwe king and seized the imperial throne of Ethiopia, beginning the reign of the Solomonic dynasty, which would last for more than 700 years.

Hungarian invasions of Europe: Forces under Otto the Great were victorious at the Battle of Lechfeld (depicted) near present-day Augsburg, Germany, holding off the incursions of the Magyars into Central Europe.

Israel strikes Al-Tabaeen school in eastern Gaza City, killing at least 80 Palestinians.

Derecho in Iowa becomes the most costly thunderstorm disaster in U.S. history.

Thirty-two are killed and one million are evacuated as Typhoon Lekima makes landfall in Zhejiang, China. Earlier it had caused flooding in the Philippines.

Philip Manshaus shoots his stepsister and attacks a mosque in the Bærum mosque shooting.

Horizon Air employee Richard Russell hijacks and performs an unauthorized takeoff on a Horizon Air Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 plane at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in Washington, flying it for more than an hour before crashing the plane and killing himself on Ketron Island in Puget Sound.

An anti-government rally turns into a riot when members of the Romanian Gendarmerie attack the 100,000 people protesting in front of the Victoria Palace, leading to 452 recorded injuries. The authorities alleged that the crowd was infiltrated by hooligans who began attacking law enforcement agents.

Forty people are killed when Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915 crashes at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport.

The Marikana massacre begins near Rustenburg, South Africa, resulting in the deaths of 47 people.