Important Events on December 10 in the World

1768: Encyclopaedia Britannica

First publication of Encyclopaedia Britannica was on this day in 1768. It was advertised for sale in Edinburgh.

1898: End of Spanish-American War

Treaty of Paris was signed by Spain and the US to end the Spanish American War. The treaty was signed in Paris. William McKinley was the US President. The war between the US and Spain ended the colonial era of Spain over the US. 

1901: First Nobel Prizes 

Nobel Prizes were distributed for the first time. This popular award is named after Alfred Nobel, a Swedish Industrialist. He invented dynamite. The first Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Jean Henry Dunant and Frederic Passy. Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen received Nobel for Physics. Jacobus H. van ‘t Hoff received it for chemistry.  Emil von Behring was awarded Nobel in Physiology. Sully Prudhomme received Nobel in Literature. 

1948: UDHR

Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the UN Commission on Human Rights to draft the UDHR. He called it the Magna Carta of humanity. UDHR is indeed the basic document pertaining to International Human Rights Law. After this, December 10 is annually celebrated as Human Rights Day. There are 30 articles in the UDHR. 

1982: Law of Sea

In order to maintain peace and order in the seas, 117 nations signed the Law of the Sea. It was signed at a UN Convention for this purpose. 12 Nautical miles equal to 22 km beyond the coast of every nation is the absolute sovereignty of every country. After that, there is an Exclusive Economic Zone which extends to 200 nautical miles from shore. 

2007: First Female President

Argentina's first female President was elected. Cristina Fernandez de Krchner was sworn in this day.