THE Bahamas gaining independence is not the only significant historical event that happened on July 10.

On the same date in 1584, William I of Orange was assassinated in his home in Delft, Holland, by Balthasar G�rard.

On July 10, 1778, during the American Revolution, Louis XVI of France declared war on Great Britain.

In 1821 the United States took possession of its newly bought territory of Florida from Spain.

In 1921, on this day, 16 people were killed and 161 houses destroyed during rioting and gun battles during Bloody Sunday in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

On July 10, 1940, the Vichy government was established in France and the Battle of Britain started, with the German Luftwaffe attacking British convoys in the English Channel.

In 1973 John Paul Getty III, a grandson of the oil magnate J Paul Getty, was kidnapped in Rome, Italy.

In 1985 Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior was bombed and sunk in Auckland harbour by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira.

In 1992, in Miami, Florida, the former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega was sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.

On July 10, 2005, Hurricane Dennis slammed into the Florida Panhandle, causing billions of dollars in damage.