List of events
Events in the year 2010 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
Events
January
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January 19: Supporters of Republican candidate Scott Brown in Massachusetts' special election. Brown's victory in Massachusetts continued a pattern of conservative victories for public office and gave the GOP their 41st senator.
- January 1
- January 2 – North Carolina bans smoking in bars, restaurants, public places, and vehicles. The new law exempts cigar bars, private clubs, and some hotel/motels.
- January 9 – A 6.5 Mw Eureka earthquake shakes the north coast of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), causing $21.8–43 million in losses and 35 injuries.
- January 13
- January 14 – U.S. President Barack Obama commits $100,000,000 to help Haiti recover from the 2010 earthquake, while calling on former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to assist Haiti.
- January 16 – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Director Rajiv Shah travel to Haiti.
- January 19 – The U.S. special election is held in Massachusetts to elect a new Senator to take the vacant seat held by the late Ted Kennedy. Republican Scott Brown beats State Attorney General Martha Coakley, who had earlier been considered a certain winner.
- January 21 – Citizens United vs. FEC: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the First Amendment prohibits restrictions on independent political expenditures by corporations, associations, and unions.
- January 25
- January 27 – U.S. President Barack Obama in his first State of the Union Address emphasizes the nation's economy, job creation, putting an end to the don't ask, don't tell policy in the military, and restated his commitment for healthcare reform in the nation.
- January 28 – U.S. President Barack Obama travels to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, where he met with crew helping with the humanitarian response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, before holding a town hall meeting at the University of Tampa.
February
- February – The job market hits a post-recession bottom of 129,655,000 payroll employees, a decline of 8,710,000 from the peak in December 2007.
- February 1 – Japanese car company Toyota announces a fix for car accelerator problems and recalls cars in the United States.
- February 2 – The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs opens a worshipping site for earth-centered religions on their campus promoting religious tolerance.
- February 5 – The Tea Party movement, which gained momentum in 2009 during the national healthcare debate, host their first convention in Nashville, Tennessee.
- February 7
- February 8 – The 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.
- February 11 – Mentally disabled woman Jennifer Daugherty is tortured and stabbed to death by six people in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The perpetrators become known as "The Greensburg Six".
- February 12
- Amy Bishop, a biology professor at the University of Alabama, opens fire at the Huntsville campus, killing at least three people. When she was 21, Bishop fatally shot her 18-year-old brother, Seth Bishop, on December 6, 1986, at their home in Braintree, Massachusetts. The incident was initially classified as an "accident" by Braintree police. On June 16, 2010, Bishop was charged with first degree murder in her brother's death nearly 24 years after his shooting.
- The single "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" was released and debuted on 12 February 2010 during an opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
- February 12–28 – The United States compete at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia and win 9 gold, 15 silver, and 13 bronze medals.
- February 17
- February 18
- February 23 – The United States Navy officially announces that it will end its ban of women in submarines.
- February 25 – Incident at SeaWorld Orlando: A SeaWorld employee in Orlando, Florida, is killed by a killer whale during a live performance.
- February 26 – New York Governor David Paterson announces that he will not be a candidate in the Democratic primary for the November gubernatorial election.
March
- March
- March 3 – The District of Columbia's same-sex marriage law goes into effect.
- March 5 – Former Jefferson County, Alabama, commission president and mayor of Birmingham Larry Langford is sentenced to 15 years in prison for soliciting bribes related to municipal bond swaps.
- March 7 – The 82nd Academy Awards, hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, are held at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker wins six awards out of nine nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, with Bigelow the first female to win the latter. The film is tied in nominations with James Cameron's Avatar. The telecast garners over 41.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched Oscar broadcast since 2005. The awards are marked by the reintroduction of the Best Picture award featuring 10 nominees, the first occurrence since 1944.
- March 8 – Friendly Fire: The Illusion of Justice memoir is published.
- March 19 – NASA announces that 2010 will likely become the warmest year on record due to global warming, based on an analysis of temperature record data from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
- March 21 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its companion, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 by votes of 219–212 and 220–211, respectively.
- March 23
- U.S. President Barack Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, aiming to insure 95% of Americans.
- 14 states (Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Washington, Idaho, and South Dakota) announce plans to sue the federal government over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
- March 28–March 30 – Nine people thought to be Hutaree militia members are arrested in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana for their alleged involvement in a plot to kill police officers and possibly civilians using explosives and/or firearms.
April
May
June
July
August
September
- September 1 – James J. Lee takes three hostages at the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. The standoff ends when Lee is fatally shot. None of the hostages are harmed.
- September 2
- Another oil rig explodes and catches fire in the Gulf of Mexico. Thirteen workers that were on the rig were rescued from the water. The rig was not in production of oil or natural gas at the time of the explosion and no hazardous materials entered the waters of the Gulf.
- U.S. launches direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Washington D.C., United States.
- September 6 – The Fourmile Canyon Fire, the most costly wild fire in Colorado state history, begins west of Boulder, Colorado.
- September 9 – A Pacific Gas and Electric Company natural gas line explosion in San Bruno, California, destroys 53 homes and damages 120 others. Eight people die and 58 are injured.
- September 11
- September 16 – A severe storm in the New York City area drenches the city streets, uproots trees, and spawns two tornadoes. A woman is killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn.
- September 21 – The US Senate strikes down a bill that would end the controversial don't ask, don't tell with a vote of 56–43, almost completely along party lines.
- September 23 – The United States and other western nations including Britain, Sweden, Australia, Belgium, Uruguay and Spain walk out of the United Nations General Assembly following claims by the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the "majority of the American people as well as most nations and politicians around the world" say that the 9/11 attacks were the work of the government of the United States trying to protect Israel.
- September 30 – Massachusetts bans text messaging for all drivers. Massachusetts is the 29th U.S. state to enact a text messaging while driving ban. Violators may be fined $100.
October
November
- November 1
- November 2 – Midterm elections: The Democrats keep control of the Senate, but the Republicans gain 6 seats, reducing the Democrats' majority. The Republicans gain control of The House with a gain of at least 64 seats, making it the largest seat change for any party since the 1948 election and the largest for any midterm since the 1938 midterm elections. Republicans also win a majority of Governorships, adding 12 to the other 11 who won their reelection bids, and a majority of State Legislatures.
- November 4 – The U.S. Federal Reserve announces it will buy $600 billion in bonds to encourage economic growth.
- November 8 – An unexplained plume, seemingly from a "mystery missile", near Los Angeles, California, makes national headlines. It is later determined to be the contrail of a commercial jet as similar photos appear the next day coinciding with daily commercial flights.
- November 9
- November 10
- November 12 – The US Supreme Court refuses to intervene on the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy while it is on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
- November 16 – Eighteen year-old Joshua Wilkerson is murdered in Pearland, Texas by Hermilo Moralez, an illegal immigrant to the United States from Belize.
- November 17 – Midterm elections: Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski wins the Alaska Senate race, defeating the tea party favorite, Joe Miller, and becoming the first Senate write-in winner since 1954.
- November 18 – General Motors returns to trading on the New York Stock Exchange after declaring bankruptcy in July 2009, 16 months earlier.
- November 19 – Darvocet, a common pain medication, is removed from the market at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- November 24 – Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th feature film, Tangled, is released in theaters. The most expensive animated film of all time, it receives critical acclaim and commercial success - the studio's best performance in both fields since the Disney Renaissance.
- November 28 – United States diplomatic cables leak: WikiLeaks publicly releases the first of thousands of confidential documents sent by U.S. diplomats.
- November 30 – General Motors holds a ceremony at its Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant to introduce the first Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicle off the assembly line.
December
Ongoing
Undated
Sports
Births
Deaths
January
- January 1 – Lhasa de Sela, singer and songwriter, died in Montreal, Quebec (b. 1972)
- January 2 – Deborah Howell, journalist, died in New Zealand (b. 1941)
- January 3 – Mary Daly, feminist (b. 1928)
- January 4 – Lew Allen, USAF general (b. 1925)
- January 5
- January 6 – James von Brunn, criminal (b. 1920)
- January 7
- January 8 – Art Clokey, animator (b. 1921)
- January 10 – Jayne Walton Rosen, singer and actress (b. 1917)
- January 11 – Dennis Stock, journalist and photographer (b. 1928)
- January 12 – Ann Prentiss, Actress (b. 1939)
- January 13
- January 15 – Marshall Warren Nirenberg, American biologist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
- January 16 – Carl Smith, American country singer-songwriter (b. 1927)
- January 17 – Erich Segal, American author, screenwriter, and educator (b. 1937)
- January 19
- January 22 – Jean Simmons, British-American actress (b. 1929)
- January 23 – Earl Wild, pianist (b. 1915)
- January 24 – Pernell Roberts, actor (b. 1928)
- January 27
February
- February 1 – Justin Mentell, actor (b. 1982)
- February 2
- February 4 – Phillip Martin, Native American political leader (b. 1926)
- February 7 – Janie Lou Gibbs, serial killer (b. 1932)
- February 9 – Walter Morrison, inventor (b. 1920)
- February 10
- February 11
- February 12 – Leroy Nash, murderer (b. 1915)
- February 14 – Doug Fieger, singer and songwriter (b. 1952)
- February 16 – Andrew Koenig, American actor, film director, editor, writer, and human rights activist (b. 1968)
- February 17 – Kathryn Grayson, actress and opera soprano (b. 1922)
- February 19 – Jamie Gillis, pornographic actor (b. 1943)
- February 20 – Alexander Haig, 59th United States Secretary of State from 1981 till 1982 and army General (b. 1924)
- February 25 – Andrew Koenig, actor, son of Walter Koenig, died in West Vancouver, British Columbia (b. 1968)
- February 26 – Violet Barclay, illustrator (b. 1922)
- February 27 – Jonathan May, cellist (b. 1958)
March
- March 1
- March 4 – Nan Martin, American actress (b 1927)
- March 5
- March 6 – Mark Linkous, American singer-songwriter (b. 1962)
- March 9 – Richard Edwin Parris Jr., American musician (b. 1963)
- March 10 – Corey Haim, Canadian actor, died in Burbank, California (b. 1971)
- March 11 – Merlin Olsen, American football player and actor (b. 1940)
- March 14 – Peter Graves, actor and brother of James Arness (b. 1926)
- March 17 – Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
- March 18 – Fess Parker, actor (b. 1924)
- March 20 – Liz Carpenter, journalist and author (b. 1920)
- March 23 – Midge Costanza, social and political activist (b. 1932)
- March 24 – Robert Culp, actor (b. 1930)
- March 28
- March 30 – David Mills, journalist, television writer and producer (b. 1961)
April
- April 1 – John Forsythe, American actor (b. 1918)
- April 2
- April 3 – Jim Pagliaroni, baseball player (b. 1937)
- April 4 – Clifford Hardin, politician (b. 1915)
- April 6 – Luigi Waites, jazz drummer (b. 1927)
- April 7 – Christopher Cazenove, British actor (b. 1945)
- April 10 – Dixie Carter, American actress (b. 1939)
- April 14 – Peter Steele, singer (b. 1962)
- April 15
- April 16 – Daryl Gates, police chief for Los Angeles, California (b. 1926)
- April 19 – Guru, rapper (b. 1961)
- April 20 – Dorothy Height, civil rights activist (b. 1912)
- April 21 – Whitney Robson Harris, attorney (b. 1912)
- April 22 – Ambrose Olsen, fashion model (b. 1985)
- April 24 – Willard Wirtz, politician (b. 1912)
- April 25 – Dorothy Provine, actress (b. 1935)
- April 29 – Walter Sear, recording engineer (b. 1930)
- April 30 – Owsley, musician (b. 1966)
May
- May 1
- May 2 – Lynn Redgrave, British-born American actress (b. 1943)
- May 3 – Jack Friedman, American businessman (b. 1939)
- May 4 – Ernie Harwell, American baseball sportscaster (b. 1918)
- May 5 – Joseph Kearney, American athletic director (b. 1927)
- May 6 – Robin Roberts, American baseball player (b. 1926)
- May 7 – Wally Hickel, 2nd Governor of Alaska from 1966 till 1969 and from 1990 till 1994. (b. 1919)
- May 9 – Lena Horne, singer and actress (b. 1917)
- May 10 – Frank Frazetta, artist (b. 1928)
- May 11 – Doris Eaton Travis, American dancer and actress (b. 1904)
- May 16
- May 22 – Martin Gardner, science writer (b. 1914)
- May 24 – Paul Gray, bassist and songwriter (b. 1972)
- May 26 – Art Linkletter, Canadian-born American television variety host (b. 1912)
- May 28 – Gary Coleman, actor (b. 1968)
- May 29 – Dennis Hopper, actor, director, and writer (b. 1936)
- May 31
June
- June 1 – William H. Ginn Jr., general (b. 1928)
- June 3 – Rue McClanahan, actress (b. 1934)
- June 4 – John Wooden, basketball player and coach (b. 1910)
- June 6 – Marvin Isley, singer-songwriter and bass player (The Isley Brothers and Isley-Jasper-Isley) (b. 1953)
- June 12 – Les Richter, American football player (b. 1930)
- June 13 – Jimmy Dean, country music singer, television and film actor, and entrepreneur (b. 1928)
- June 18 – Ronnie Lee Gardner, murderer (b. 1961)
- June 19
- June 28 – Robert Byrd, United States Senator from West Virginia from 1959 till 2010. (b. 1917)
- June 30 – Elliott Kastner, film producer (b. 1930)
July
- July 1 – Ilene Woods, American actress and singer (b. 1929)
- July 5 – Bob Probert, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1965)
- July 11
- July 12 – Harvey Pekar, comic book writer (b. 1939)
- July 13 – George Steinbrenner, American baseball owner (b. 1930)
- July 16 – James Gammon, actor (b. 1940)
- July 19 – Lorenzen Wright, professional basketball player (b. 1975)
- July 22 – Phillip Walker, American singer and guitarist (b. 1937)
- July 23 – Daniel Schorr, journalist (b. 1916)
- July 27 – Maury Chaykin, American-born Canadian actor (b. 1949)
- July 28 – George P. Lee, American religious leader (b. 1943)
- July 31 – Mitch Miller, record producer, classical musician, and singer (b. 1911)
August
September
- September 3
- September 4 – Paul Conrad, American political cartoonist (b. 1924)
- September 7 – Glenn Shadix, actor (b. 1952)
- September 8
- September 11
- September 16 – Donald Zilversmit, Dutch-American nutritional biochemist, researcher, and educator (b. 1919)
- September 20 – Kenny McKinley, American football player (b. 1987)
- September 22 – Eddie Fisher, American singer and actor (b. 1928)
- September 26 – Gloria Stuart, actress (b. 1910)
- September 27 – Sally Menke, film editor (b. 1953)
- September 28 – Arthur Penn, film director (b. 1922)
- September 29
- September 30 – Stephen J. Cannell, television writer and producer (b. 1941)
October
- October 10 – Solomon Burke, singer and songwriter, died in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands (b. 1940)
- October 14
- October 16 – Barbara Billingsley, actress (b. 1915)
- October 19 – Tom Bosley, actor (b. 1927)
- October 20
- October 23 – Fran Crippen, long-distance swimmer, died in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (b. 1984)
- October 25 – Lisa Blount, actress and producer (b. 1957)
- October 28 – James MacArthur, actor (b. 1937)
- October 29 – George Hickenlooper, documentary producer (b. 1963)
- October 31
November
- November 1 – Shannon Tavarez, actress (b. 1999)
- November 5 – Jill Clayburgh, actress (b. 1944)
- November 10 – Dino De Laurentiis, Italian film producer and husband of Silvana Mangano, died in Los Angeles, California (b. 1919)
- November 13 – Ken Iman, American football player and coach (b. 1939)
- November 15
- November 16
- November 21 – David Nolan, political activist (b. 1943)
- November 24 – Annie Lee Cooper, American civil rights activist (b. 1910)
- November 25 – C. Scott Littleton, anthropologist and academic (b. 1933)
- November 27 – Irvin Kershner, film director (b. 1923)
- November 28 – Leslie Nielsen, Canadian-born American actor (b. 1926)
December
- December 2 – Ron Santo, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1940)
- December 5 – Don Meredith, American football player and sportscaster, and actor (b. 1938)
- December 7 – Elizabeth Edwards, lawyer and wife of John Edwards (b. 1949)
- December 10
- December 11 – Dick Hoerner, American football player (b. 1922)
- December 13 – Richard Holbrooke, 22nd United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1999 till 2001. (b. 1941)
- December 15 – Blake Edwards, film director, screenwriter, producer, and husband of Julie Andrews (b. 1922)
- December 17 – Captain Beefheart, singer and songwriter (b. 1941)
- December 22 – Fred Foy, radio and television announcer (b. 1921)
- December 24 – Roy Neuberger, banker and philanthropist (b. 1903)
- December 26 – Teena Marie, singer and songwriter (b. 1956)
- December 28 – Billy Taylor, pianist (b. 1921)
Undated
See also