TODAY IN HISTORY
"we live in a slightly mad world "
Jul 10 1856
Inventor and electromechanical genius Nikola Tesla is born to Serbian parents in what is now Croatia.
Jul 10 1923
Hailstones as heavy as two pounds kill 23 people in Rostov, Russia.
Jul 10 1972
A herd of angry, startled elephants emerges from India's Chandka Forest, and tramples five villages, killing 24 inhabitants.
Jul 10 1984
British customs officials in London open a large wooden crate marked "diplomatic baggage" because of its extremely odd odor. Inside they discover Alhaji Umaru Dikko, Nigeria's former Minister of Transport and Aviation. He had been abducted, drugged, and bound for Nigeria to face trial for embezzlement.
Jul 10 1985
Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior is blown up by in Auckland Harbor, killing a photographer. After the New Zealand government determines that French secret agents were responsible, the French Defense Minister resigns and the agents are jailed.
Jul 10 1992
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega sentenced to 40 years in prison for eight counts of drug trafficking, money laundering, and racketeering.