On This Day - 10th May
1291
Scottish nobles recognized the authority of Edward I of England.
1307 The Battle of Loudoun Hill; fought between a Scots force led by Robert Bruce and the English commanded by Aymer de Valence. The battle took place beneath Loudoun Hill, in Ayrshire (see 
picture) and ended in a victory for Bruce. It was his first major military victory.
1768John Wilkes (English radical, journalist, and politician) was imprisoned for writing an article for the North Briton newspaper severely criticizing King George III. This action provoked rioting in London.
1773The British Parliament passed the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
1804William Pitt the younger, British prime minister, returned to office.
1824The National Gallery in London opened to the public.
1850Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, founder of Lipton's grocery chain, was born in Glasgow. He went from errand boy to millionaire by the age of 30.
1857A revolt by Sepoys at Meerut started the Indian Mutiny by Indian soldiers serving in the British Army.
1897The Evening Chronicle was first published, by Edward Hulton, a Manchester man.
1910The British House of Commons resolved that the maximum lifetime of Parliament be reduced from seven to five years.
1915The birth of Sir Denis Thatcher, British businessman and husband of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
1916Explorer Ernest Shackleton and companions reached the Falkland island of South Georgia after sailing 800 miles in 16 days in an open boat. They were looking for help for the remaining members of their party marooned on Elephant island, Antarctica.
1919The first scheduled commercial air service in Britain began. The flight from Manchester to Southport cost 4 guineas one way and was run by A.V.Roe.
1940German forces invaded Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg by air and land. The invasion began at dawn with large numbers of aeroplanes attacking the main aerodromes and landing troops. Winston Churchill formed a coalition wartime Government. When he first met his cabinet on 13th May he told them - "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears & sweat".
1941Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of Nazi Germany, flew a small plane to Scotland and parachuted to the ground in a bizarre attempt to negotiate a peace settlement with Britain. After interrogation he was jailed for life.
1941World War II - The worst night of the Blitz in Britain. 550 German bombers dropped 700 tons of bombs on London. More than 1500 people were killed and many thousands more were injured and 11,000 homes were destroyed.
1998The political wing of the republican IRA backed the Good Friday peace agreement heralding a major shift in modern republicanism.
2013Andrew "Bart" Simpson, a double Olympic medallist from Sherbourne in Dorset died after a Swedish catamaran capsized during a training session for the America's Cup in San Francisco Bay. Before the 2012 Olympics, Mr. Simpson had said that winning the America's Cup, the oldest trophy in the sport, was his biggest goal.
2014Sixth formers at Hampton Court House, a private school in Surrey, are to begin their lessons in the afternoons to allow them to sleep later in the mornings. Headmaster Guy Holloway said that the change to 1:30 pm from the usual time of 9:00 am would be more productive and less stressful for students.