The first days of 49 BC found Julius Caesar<\/a> in Ravenna, northern Italy, with a decision to make. After years of success in Gaul, Caesar was unquestionably Rome\u2019s most accomplished and popular general. But to the Senate, and to his rival Pompey the Great, that made him a threat. When the Senate ordered him to resign his commission and return to Rome, Caesar knew that both his career and his life hung in the balance.<\/p>\n According to tradition, Caesar made his move on 10 January. He spent the day as normal, inspecting plans for a new gladiatorial school and feasting with his chief companions. Once night had fallen, however, he set out with a small group of friends, riding south towards the Rubicon, a shallow river \u2013 little more than a stream, really \u2013 that marked the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul and Roman Italy. Bringing troops south across the Rubicon into Italy was a treasonable offence, punishable by death. Little wonder, then, that at the water\u2019s edge he hesitated. \u201cEven now we can turn back,\u201d he said, \u201cbut when we pass this little bridge, it means war.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the historian Suetonius, it was now that the gods intervened. Suddenly there appeared \u201ca being of wondrous stature and beauty, who sat and played upon a reed\u201d. As some of the soldiers stepped towards him, the apparition grabbed one of their trumpets, \u201crushed to the river, and sounding the war-note with a mighty blast, strode to the opposite bank\u201d. That, Suetonius wrote, was the signal that Caesar wanted. \u201cLet us go where the omens of the gods and the crimes of our enemies call us!\u201d he shouted to his men. \u201cAlea iacta est!\u00a0<\/em>| Written by Dominic Sandbrook\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n To celebrate his wedding to Isabella of Portugal, the Burgundian ruler Philip the Good founds the Order of the Golden Fleece. Later adopted by his Habsburg successors<\/a>, it becomes the pre-eminent Catholic order of chivalry, considered the most prestigious in the world.<\/p>\n French marshal Michel Ney is born in Lorraine. Dubbed \u201cthe Bravest of the Brave\u201d for his role during Napoleon\u2019s retreat from Moscow, he will be executed after\u00a0Waterloo\u00a0for deserting Louis XVIII in favour of his old master,\u00a0Napoleon.<\/p>\n Thomas Paine\u2019s revolutionary tract urges colonists to cut ties with Britain<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n In the autumn of 1774, the radical pamphleteer Thomas Paine arrived in the New World. The American colonies were in open revolt; already the first shots had been fired in what would become the War of Independence<\/a>. But to his disappointment, Paine found that many Americans were not yet ready to contemplate the ultimate breach. \u201cTheir attachment to Britain was obstinate,\u201d he recalled, \u201cand it was, at that time, a kind of treason to speak against it. Their ideas of grievance operated without resentment, and their single object was reconciliation.\u201d This, Paine decided, was where he must come in.<\/p>\n By the end of 1775 Paine had finished work on a tract entitled\u00a0Common Sense<\/em>, which was published 10 days into the new year. The first half was a blistering attack on the principle of monarchy, which he regarded as contrary to reason and enlightened values. Then Paine turned his attention to America, urging the colonies to organise a Continental Conference and elect a Congress to govern a new republic, guaranteeing \u201cfreedom and property to all men, and\u2026 the free exercise of religion\u201d.<\/p>\n Common Sense<\/em> was a sensation, selling at least 75,000 copies in its first year. Some American papers reprinted it in full; in taverns, rebel activists read it aloud. But there was a twist in the tale. In traditional radical fashion, Paine fell out with his publisher about his share of the profits, and both accused the other of deception and fraud. So much, then, for common sense. | Written by Dominic Sandbrook\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern systematic plant and animal classification, dies in Uppsala, Sweden.<\/p>\n The largest slave revolt in North American history was violently suppressed by militia and regular troops outside new Orleans. Around 95 slaves were killed or executed as a result of the revolt.<\/p>\n American inventor and industrialist Samuel Colt died in Hartford, Connecticut. Colt was the first person to make the mass manufacture of revolvers commercially viable.<\/p>\n The London Underground opens to a sceptical public<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n For its critics, the arrival of the London Underground marked the moment the capital descended into bedlam. The idea of a subterranean train had first been mooted in the 1840s, but work did not begin on what became the Metropolitan Railway until 1860.<\/p>\n What sceptics called \u201cthe Drain\u201d was not universally popular. Some warned that the tunnels would collapse under the weight of the houses above; others thought an underground railway so infernal that convicted criminals should be \u201ccondemned to round trips\u201d. And the construction work infuriated locals. It was all a \u201cmonstrous tyranny and oppression\u201d, one grumbled.<\/p>\n But by January 1863, the first trains were ready to roll. On Friday 9 January, a special train packed with politicians made the first journey \u2013 though the prime minister, Lord Palmerston, declined to join then, explaining that at the age of 78, he wanted to spend as much time above ground as possible. All went well, and the next day, Saturday 10 January, it opened to the public.<\/p>\n To general astonishment, the capital\u2019s new Underground proved a triumphant success. On that first day alone, 38,000 people descended into the earth to ride between Farringdon Street and Bishop\u2019s Road, Paddington. The carriages were divided into three classes and lit by gas; as one pleasantly surprised passenger put it, they were \u201cso lofty that a six-footer may stand erect with his hat on\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time in the history of the world,\u201d said\u00a0The Daily News<\/em>, \u201cmen can travel in pleasant carriages, and with considerable comfort, lower down than gas pipes and water pipes\u2026 lower down than the graveyard.\u201d | Written by Dominic Sandbrook\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Browse more On this day in history<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> By Lauren Good Published: Tuesday, 10 January 2023 at 12:00 am 10 January 49 BC: Caesar crosses the Rubicon The Roman general defies the Senate, bringing war to Rome The first days of 49 BC found Julius Caesar in Ravenna, northern Italy, with a decision to make. After years of success in Gaul, Caesar was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":21240,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/01\/10-january-on-this-day-in-history.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/01\/10-january-on-this-day-in-history-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/01\/10-january-on-this-day-in-history-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/01\/10-january-on-this-day-in-history.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/01\/10-january-on-this-day-in-history.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/01\/10-january-on-this-day-in-history.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/01\/10-january-on-this-day-in-history.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Lauren Good Published: Tuesday, 10 January 2023 at 12:00 am 10 January 49 BC: Caesar crosses the Rubicon The Roman general defies the Senate, bringing war to Rome The first days of 49 BC found Julius Caesar in Ravenna, northern Italy, with a decision to make. After years of success in Gaul, Caesar was…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/21239"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}10 January 1430<\/h3>\n
10 January 1769<\/h3>\n
10 January 1776:\u00a0Common Sense<\/em>\u00a0fires up America<\/h3>\n
10 January 1778<\/h3>\n
10 January 1811<\/h3>\n
10 January 1862<\/h3>\n
10 January 1863: Tunnel vision comes to fruition<\/h3>\n
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