2021-02-10

The satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 destroyed each other in the first accidental hypervelocity collision between two intact satellites in low Earth orbit.

The Namdaemun gate in Seoul, the first of South Korea's National Treasures, was severely damaged by arson (damage pictured).

Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in a game of chess, the first ever game won by a chess-playing computer against a World Chess Champion under chess tournament conditions.

Rudolf Abel, a Soviet spy arrested by the FBI, was exchanged for Francis Gary Powers, the pilot of the CIA spy plane that had been shot down over Soviet airspace two years earlier.

The first solo exhibition by Roy Lichtenstein (pictured) opened, including the painting Look Mickey, which featured his first use of Ben Day dots, speech balloons, and comic imagery sourcing.

In the first airborne operation undertaken by the British military, a small force of paratroopers landed near Calitri, Italy, to destroy an aqueduct.

Puss Gets the Boot, the first Tom and Jerry cartoon, was released to theaters.

Spanish Civil War: The Nationalists concluded their conquest of Catalonia and sealed the border with France.

Second Italo-Ethiopian War: The Battle of Amba Aradam began, ending nine days later in a decisive tactical victory for Italy and the neutralisation of almost the entire Ethiopian army as a fighting force.

The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng launched the failed Yên Bái mutiny in the hope of ending French colonial rule in Vietnam.