1710
Apr 10, Britain’s Queen Anne gave her assent to an act “for the encouragement of learning." It upheld Parliament’s 1709 copyright act, which set a limit of 21 years for books already in print and 14 years for new ones with an additional 14 years if the author was still alive when the first term ran out.


1836
Apr 10, Helen Jewett, a prostitute in a Thomas St. bordello in Manhattan, was murdered. Her boyfriend, Richard P. Robinson (17), a clerk for a local merchant, was tried for the murder but acquitted. In 1998 Patricia Cline Cohen published “The Murder of Helen Jewett," an account of the story.


1965
Apr 10, Linda Darnell (41), actress, died from burns received in a fire.


2001
Apr 10, Republican Jane Swift took office as the first female governor of Massachusetts, succeeding Paul Cellucci, who'd resigned to become U.S. ambassador to Canada.


2004
Apr 10, A stray bullet killed an 11-year old Palestinian girl in her kitchen when Israeli troops fired on her neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip.



2004
Apr 10, Rania al-Baz, a popular Saudi TV host, was severely beaten by her husband. She suffered 13 facial fractures that required 12 operations. She allowed photos to be broadcast and opened discussions of ongoing violence against women in Saudi Arabia.


2007
Apr 10, The European Court of Human Rights ruled that a British woman left infertile after being treated for ovarian cancer has no right to frozen embryos against the wishes of her former fiance, who provided the sperm.


2014
Apr 10, Kathleen Sebelius (65), US Health and Human Services Secretary, resigned. The next day Pres. Obama nominated Sylvia Mathews Burwell, director of the Office of Budget and Management, to succeed her.


2014
Apr 10, British author Sue Townsend (68) died. Her books about awkward teenage diarist Adrian Mole sold tens of millions of copies worldwide.


2014
Apr 10, Nigeria police said child bride WasilaTasi'u (14), forced into marriage last week, killed the groom, UmaruSani (35), and three of his friends with a poisoned meal over the weekend at the wedding party in the village of UnguwarYansoro village. On May 20, 2015, prosecutors withdrew murder charges against the girl.