10 May 1988

Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces, assisted by the U.S. military, captured the Tabqa Dam and surrounding countryside, completing the Battle of Tabqa.

One World Trade Center (pictured) in New York City, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, was topped out at a height of 1,776 feet (541 m).

Suicide bombers detonated two car bombs outside a military intelligence complex in Damascus, killing 55 people.

Vladimir Arutyunian attempted to assassinate U.S. president George W. Bush and Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi using a hand grenade, which failed to detonate.

American serial killer John Wayne Gacy was executed by lethal injection for the murders of twelve teenage boys and young men in a series of killings committed between 1972 and 1978.

World War II: German Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess (pictured) parachuted into Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the British government.

British prime minister Neville Chamberlain resigned and formally recommended Winston Churchill as his successor.

World War II: German forces commenced their invasion of Belgium.

As part of Nazi Germany's persecution of transgender people, thousands of books taken from the Institute for Sexual Science were burned in Bebelplatz square for being "un-German".

A personal dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Macready in New York City devolved into a riot that left at least 22 dead and more than 120 injured.

Siamese–Vietnamese wars: Lê Văn Khôi escaped from prison to begin a revolt against Emperor Minh Mạng, primarily to avenge his adoptive father, Vietnamese general Lê Văn Duyệt.

First Barbary War: The Barbary corsairs of Tripoli declared war on the United States by cutting down the flagstaff in front of the U.S. consulate.

American Revolutionary War: A small force of Patriots led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga in New York, without significant injury or incident.

American Revolutionary War: Delegates from the Thirteen Colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to convene the Second Continental Congress, which would serve as the de facto national government of the future United States.

Dutch explorer Pieter Nuyts was appointed governor of Formosa (modern-day Taiwan) by the Dutch East India Company.

Chinese astronomers during the Han dynasty made the first precisely dated observation of a sunspot.

Start of the May 2024 solar storms, the most powerful set of geomagnetic storms since the 2003 Halloween solar storms.

Queen Elizabeth II misses the State Opening of Parliament for the first time in 59 years. It was the first time that a new session of Parliament was opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge acting as Counsellors of State.

Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last footholds of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Al-Tabqah, bringing the Battle of Tabqa to an end.

One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 20 m from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.

FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.

A blizzard strikes Mount Everest, killing eight climbers by the next day.

Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.