On this day...

241 -BC- Battle of Aegusa: Roman fleet sinks 50 Carthagean ships
1791 John Stone, Concord Massachusetts, patents a pile driver
1847 First money minted in Hawaii
1849 Abraham Lincoln applies for a patent; only US president to do so
1862 US issues $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 & $1000 paper money
1874 Purdue University (Indiana) admits it's first student
1876 First telephone call made (Alexander Graham Bell to Thomas Watson)
1880 Salvation Army of England sets up US welfare & religious activity
1888 Heavyweight boxing champ John L. Sullivan draws Charlie Mitchell in 30 rounds
1893 Ivory Coast becomes a French colony
1896 Charilaos Vasilakos of Greece wins first modern marathon in 3:18
1906 Coal dust explosion kills 1,060 at Courrieres France
1913 William Knox becomes first in American Bowling Congress to bowl 300
1933 Nevada becomes first US state to regulate narcotics
1939 17 villages damaged by hailstones in Hyderabad India
1940 Germany invades the Benelux countries
1946 Train derailment kills 185 near Aracaju Brazil
1956 Peter Twiss sets new world air record 1,132 mph (1,823 kph)
1963 Pete Rose debuts with hits in his first two at bats in spring training
1963 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA SF Warriors scores 70 points vs. Syracuse
1966 Five time Horse of the Year, Kelso, retires
1966 North Vietnamese capture US Green Beret Camp at Ashau Valley
1969 James Earl Ray pleads guilty of killing Martin Luther King, Jr.
1971 Senate approves amendment decreasing voting age to 18
1975 Dog spectacles patented in England
1980 Willard Scott becomes the weathercaster on the Today Show
1982 Sygyzy: all 9 planets aligned on same side of Sun
1985 Dallas Maverick coach Dick Motta is 4th NBA coach to win 700 games

Birthdays which occurred on March 10th:

1538 Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk; executed by Queen Elizabeth in 1572
1772 Friedrich von Schlegel Germany, romantic writer/critic
1842 Ina Donna Coolbrith US, poet laureate of California
1845 Alexander III Russian Tsar (1881-94)
1867 Lillian D Wald US, sociologist/organizer (Visiting Nurses)
1880 Michael Jacobs NYC, boxing promoter
1898 Cy Kendall St Louis, actor (Mysteries of Chinatown)
1900 Sherman Billingsley Enid Oklahoma, talk show host (Stork Club)
1908 Kristian Palusalu Finland, heavyweight wrestler (Olympic-gold-1936)
1911 Warner Anderson Brooklyn, actor (Doctor, Lineup, Matthew-Peyton Place)
1914 Chandler Harper golfer (1950 PGA champ)
1916 James Herriot Scotland, writer (All Creatures Great & Small)
1926 Marques Haynes Harlem Globetrotters
1927 Donn Trenner New Haven Connecticut, orchestra leader (ABC's Nightlife)
1932 Anatoliy Roschin USSR, super heavyweight wrestler (Olympic-gold-1972)
1937 Tamara Press USSR, shot putter (Olympic-gold-1960, 64)
1938 Ron Mix NFL tackle (San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders)
1940 Chuck Norris martial art champ/actor (Missing in Action, Walker Texas Ranger)
1940 David Rabe playwright (Streamers)
1940 Dean Torrence surf music singer (Jan & Dean-Little Old Lady)
1945 Katherine Houghton actress (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner)
1947 Tom Scholz rock guitarist/keyboardist (Boston)
1948 Austin Carr NBA star (Cleveland Cavaliers)
1958 Sharon Stone Meadsville Pennsylvaniaa, actress
1963 Jasmine Guy Boston, actress (Whitley-Different World)

Deaths which occurred on March 10th:

1913 Harriet Tubman abolitionist, conductor on Underground RR, dies in NY
1973 Sir Richard Sharples governor of Bermuda, is assassinated
1980 Doctor Tarnoff Jean Harris kills Scarsdale diet doctor
1984 June Marlowe actress, dies at 81
1985 Konstanin Cherneko Soviet leader
1986 Ray Milland actor (Lost Weekend-Academy Award 1945), dies at 81
1988 Andy Gibb pop singer