March 10

241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end. 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a triumphal entry into Carthage. 947 – The Later Han is founded by Liu Zhiyuan. He declares himself emperor. 1496 – After establishing the city of Santo Domingo, Christopher Columbus departs for Spain, leaving his brother in command. 1535 – Spaniard Fray Tomás de Berlanga, the fourth Bishop of Panama, discovers the Galápagos Islands by chance on his way to Peru. 1607 – Susenyos I defeats the combined armies of Yaqob and Abuna Petros II at the Battle of Gol in Gojjam, making him Emperor of Ethiopia. 1629 – Charles I dissolves the Parliament of England, beginning the eleven-year period known as the Personal Rule. 1661 – French "Sun King" Louis XIV begins his personal rule of France after the death of his premier, the Cardinal Mazarin. 1735 – An agreement between Nader Shah and Russia is signed near Ganja, Azerbaijan and Russian troops are withdrawn from occupied territories. 1762 – French Huguenot Jean Calas, who had been wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform. 1814 – Emperor Napoleon I is defeated at the Battle of Laon in France. 1830 – The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army is created. 1831 – The French Foreign Legion is created by Louis Philippe, the King of France, from the foreign regiments of the Kingdom of France. 1848 – The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States Senate, ending the Mexican–American War. 1861 – El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Ségou, destroying the Bamana Empire of Mali. 1873 – The first Azerbaijani play, The Adventures of the Vizier of the Khan of Lenkaran, prepared by Akhundov, is performed by Hassan-bey Zardabi and dramatist and Najaf-bey Vezirov. 1876 – The first successful test of a telephone is made by Alexander Graham Bell.