- February 8
- The NASA space shuttle Endeavour blasts off from Florida, carrying six astronauts on a voyage to install the last two main pieces of the International Space Station. [35]
- US Democratic Representative John Murtha, chairman of the House of Representatives defense appropriations subcommittee, dies at age 77, from complications related to gallbladder surgery. [35]
- February 11
- The US Mint launches the 2010 Lincoln, Union Shield cent in Springfield, Illinois. The shield design is a regular issue replacement for the Lincoln Memorial design used from 1959-2008. [688.4]
- February 13
- Over 15,000 American, British and Afghan troops launch the biggest offensive in Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001. [57]
- February
- A 100-ounce gold nugget weighing 6.5 pounds is discovered in Nevada County of northern California, the largest gold nugget ever found in California. [589.62]
- February 15
- Norwegian fertilizer-maker Yara agrees to buy American firm Terra for US$4.1 billion, extending Yara's lead as world's biggest maker of nitrogen-based fertilizer. [534.62]
- February 18
- A single-engine Piper Cherokee plane crashes into a seven-storey office building in Austin, Texas, killing pilot Joseph Andrew Stack and one person in the building. The pilot left a long suicide note expressing his anger at federal tax authorities. [57]
- The US Mint releases the 2010 Millard Fillmore Presidential dollar coin to circulation. [629.5]
- March 7
- In Los Angeles, California, the 82nd Academy Awards are presented.
- Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
- Best Actor: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
- Best Actress: Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
- Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
- Foreign Language Film: El Secreto de Sus Ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes)
- Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
- Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
- Original Screenplay: Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker
- Adapted Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
- Animated Feature: Up
- Animated Short Film: Logorama
- Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg for art direction and Kim Sinclair for set decoration on Avatar
- Costume Design: Sandy Powell for The Young Victoria
- Makeup: Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow for Star Trek
- Cinematography: Mauro Fiore for Avatar
- Live Action Short Film: The New Tenants
- Documentary Feature: The Cove
- Documentary Short: Music by Prudence
- Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones for Avatar
- Sound Editing: Paul N.J. Ottosson for The Hurt Locker
- Sound Mixing: Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett for The Hurt Locker
- Film Editing: Bob Murawski and Chris Innis for The Hurt Locker
- Original Score: Michael Giacchino for Up
- Original Song: "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart
[35]
- March 11
- The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rules against a challenge (filed in 2007) to the motto "In God We Trust" appearing on US coins. [389.54]
- March 23
- U.S. President Barack Obama signs a landmark US$938 billion health-care reform bill in a White House ceremony. Opposition Republicans vowed to repeak the legislation, and 13 states have filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the constitutionality of the legislation. The law is said to make coverage possible for more than 30 million uninsured Americans and end discrimination by insurance companies against people with existing medical conditions. [105]
- March 26
- US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agree to a new nuclear arms reduction treaty. The treaty limits both sides to 1,550 warheads, a cut of 25 percent for the Americans and 30 percent for the Russians. Once the treaty is ratified, each side would have seven years to carry out the reductions. [57]
- April 5
- An explosion in the Upper Big Branch Mine-South coal mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia, USA kills 29 workers. [105]
- April 8
- US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign a landmark nuclear arms treaty in the Czech capital, Prague. The treaty commits the countries to each reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550, 30 percent lower than the previous ceiling. [57]
- April 15
- At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US President Barack Obama announces details of his new policy for the US space agency NASA. New spacecraft with new rocket booster systems are to be built so that by 2025 manned missions can extend beyond the Moon, and to Mars and back by the mid-2030s. New funding would amount to US$6 billion over the next five years. [57]
- April 16
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges Goldman Sachs Group with fraud over its marketing of a subprime mortgage product. Goldman Sachs shares drop 12.8 percent, closing down $23.57 at $160.70 on the New York Stock Exchange. [35]
- April 19
- The US Mint releases the first coin in the new 26-coin America the Beautiful quarter dollar coin program to circulation. The 2010-dated coin honors Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. [389.1]
- April 20
- The Deepwater Horizon oil platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers. The resulting oil spill, one of the largest in history, spreads for several months, damaging the waters and the United States coastline. [57] [615]
- April 22
- The Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the Louisiana coast sinks into the Gulf of Mexico two days after an explosion tore through it. [105]
- April 23
- The X-37B unmanned military prototype spaceplane is launched atop an Atlas V rocket into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The 9m long reusable spaceplane is about one-quarter the size of the space shuttle. [57]
- April 24
- The U.S. Coast Guard discovers that an estimated 1000 barrels per day of oil is leaking from the damaged well underneath the rig that exploded off Louisiana's shore on April 20. [105]
- May 4
- 13 inches of rain falls on Nashville, Tennessee, over two days, close to doubling the previous rainfall record. A levee protecting the southern park of the city is breached, causing parts of Nashville to be evacuated. 17 deaths are killed in Tennessee, mostly from drowning in flash floods. [57]
- May 6
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffers its biggest ever intraday point drop: 998.5 points. During the market's fall some shares briefly fell to nearly zero. By the end of the trading day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 347.80 points, or 3.20 percent, to 10,520.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 3.24 percent, to 1,128.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 3.44 percent, to 2,319.64. [35] [444.44]
- May 14
- Rare Coin Wholesalers of California sells a USA 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar coin graded SP-66 PCGS to Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation of California for US$7.85 million. The price is a new world record for a single US coin. [434.4] [548.79] [665.38] (May 13 [439.46])
- The NASA space shuttle Atlantis and six astronauts blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to deliver a Russian module and spare parts to the International Space Station. [35]
- May 20
- The US Mint releases the 2010 Franklin Pierce Presidential dollar coin to circulation. [629.5]
- May 26
- NASA's Atlantis space shuttle lands at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after completing its 32nd and likely final mission, delivering a Russian module and spare equipment to the International Space Station. [57]
- June 1
- The US Mint releases the 2010 Yellowstone National Park quarter dollar coin to circulation. [415.4] [446.4]
- June 3
- The US Mint officially launches the 2010 Yellowstone National Park quarter dollar, at Yellowstone Park. [444.1]
- June 4
- California firm SpaceX launches the Falcon 9 rocket on its maiden test flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket successfully achieves Earth orbit. [57]
- June 18
- Convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner (age 49) is executed by firing squad in Draper (Salt Lake City), Utah, USA. Gardner spent 25 years in prison on death row for the murder of a lawyer during an attempt to escape a court hearing. This is the first execution by firing squad in the USA in 14 years. [57]
- June 23
- US General Stanley McChrystal is forced to resign as US commander of forces in Afghanistan, replaced by General David Petraeus. [105]
- June 28
- The US Supreme Court rules 5-4 that a ban on handgun ownership in the city of Chicago was unconstitutional, ruling that the US Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defence. [57]
- June 29
- The S&P 500 stock market index drops to its lowest level in eight months, 1050.47. The Dow Jones industrial average loses 268.22 points, or 2.65 percent, to 9,870.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index drops 85.47 points, or 3.85 percent, to 2,135.18. [35]
- July 9
- Russia and the US stage an exchange of spies in Vienna, Austria; the US transfers ten spies, and Russia releases four spies, the biggest spy swap since the Cold War. [57]
- July 21
- The United States announces new sanctions against North Korea aimed to prevent North Korea selling arms and from procuring luxury goods, as well as to put out of business North Korean entities operating illicitly overseas. [35]
- July 25
- Wikileaks, an online publisher of anonymous, covert, and classified material, leaks to the public over 90,000 internal reports about the United States-led involvement in the War in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. [615]
- July 26
- The US Mint releases the 2010 Yosemite National Park quarter dollar to circulation. [446.4] [478.5]
- August 5
- Elena Kagan is approved by the US Senate for a post on the US Supreme Court, by a vote of 63-37. [35]
- August 7
- Bowers and Merena Auctions conducts an auction in Boston, Massachusetts. Some highlights:
- US 1794 Flowing Hair dollar, MS-64 NGC: US$1,207,500;
- US 1870-S Seated Liberty dollar, one of nine known, EF-40 PCGS: US$632,500;
- US 1854-O Coronet gold double eagle, one of 20 known, AU-55 PCGS: US$488,750.
[501.76] [502.48] [665.38]
- August 10
- A 1957 DeHavilland DHC-3T float plane crashes near a remote fishing village in Alaska, killing former U.S. Republican senator Ted Stevens at age 86 and four others. [105]
- August 13
- U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White bans the planting of genetically modified sugar beets engineered by Monsanto, ruling that in 2009 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had approved Monsanto's genetically modified sugar beets without adequate environmental study. [35]
- August 19
- The US Mint releases the 2010 James Buchanan Presidential Dollar to circulation. [493.18] [629.5]
- August 24
- US military in Iraq cuts its strength to 50,000 troops. [35]
- August (month)
- US official unemployment rate: 9.6 percent. [633.10]
- September 9
- In San Bruno, California, a gas pipeline explosion destroys 38 homes, kills at least four people, and leaves a large crater in the ground. [35]
- September
- Legend Numismatics of New Jersey sells the unique 1943-D Lincoln bronze cent graded MS-64 NGC for US$1.7 million in a private sale, the highest price paid for any cent. [538.1] [568.34]
- September 20
- The US Mint releases the 2010 Grand Canyon National Park quarter dollar to circulation. [446.4] [503.5] [538.10]
- September 21
- A helicopter crash kills nine American troops in Afghanistan, making 2010 the deadliest year of the war since 2001 for foreign troops. [35]
- September 23
- Video chain Blockbuster files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with a plan to cut debt from near $1 billion down to $100 million, and giving a group of bondholders led by billionaire Carl Icahn and hedge funds a controlling stake in the company. [35]
- September (month)
- US official unemployment rate: 9.6 percent. [633.10]
- October 1
- Rahm Emanuel resigns as US Chief of Staff. [105]
- October 25
- Venezuelan government expropriates the 200th business of 2010, the Venezuelan subsidiary of Ameican glass-maker Owens-Illinois, alleging exploitation of its dominant market position. [634.44]
- October (month)
- US official unemployment rate: 9.6 percent. [633.10]
- November 2
- In midterm elections in the House of Representatives, the Republican party sees a net gain of 63 seats. [633.9] [635.17]
- November 3
- The US Federal Reserve announces it will start a second round of Quantitative Easing, buying US$600 bilion of Treasury debt over eight months. [632.18] [635.89]
- November 15
- The US Mint releases the 2010 Mount Hood National Forest quarter dollar to circulation. [446.4] [503.4] [548.5]
- November 18
- The US Mint releases the 2010 Abraham Lincoln Presidential dollar to circulation. [515.4] [542.1] [547.52] [629.5]
- November 28
- WikiLeaks releases a collection of more than 250,000 American diplomatic cables, including 100,000 marked "secret" or "confidential". [615]
- November (month)
- US official unemployment rate: 9.8 percent. [633.10]
- December 16
- (to December 16) Cherrystone Auctions sells at auction in New York City a USA 24-cent Jenny airmail stamp, inverted center, for $345,000. [613.30] [610.29]
2011
- January 5
- (to January 9) In Tampa, Florida, Heritage Numismatic Auctions conducts coin auctions at the FUN convention. Some highlights:
- USA 1907 Indian Head, Rolled Edge gold $10, PR-67 NGC: $2,185,000;
- USA 1909-O Indian Head gold $5, MS-66 PCGS: $690,000.
[572.60]
- January 6
- (to January 8) Heritage Auction Galleries conducts its Heritage Auctions Signature Currency Auction at the Florida United Numismatists convention in Tampa, Florida. A Series 1861 US10 demand note, handwritten "for the", only one known, VG-8, sells for $109,250. [589.178]
- January 8
- Jared Loughner shoots at a political event in Tucson, Arizona, killing 6, wounding 13 others. [693.9]
- January 9
- US Mint Director Edmund Moy resigns. [569.1]
- February 15
- The US Mint launches the 2011 Sacagawea, Native American dollar in Plymouth, Massachusetts. [589.38]
- March 25
- Utah Governor Gary Herbert signs House Bill 317, the "Utah Legal Tender Act", recognizing gold and silver coins issued by the federal government as legal tender in Utah. [626.5]
- April 4
- The US Mint releases the 2011 Glacier National Park quarter dollar to circulation. [618.10] [626.10]
- May 19
- The US Mint releases the 2011 Ulysses S. Grant Presidential dollar to circulation. [638.56] [664.60]
- August 8
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops by 634 points during the day, following the Standard & Poors degrade of US government debt from AAA to AA+. [692.46]
- August 11
- (to August 12) In Chicago, Illinois, Heritage Auctions conducts its Signature US Coins and Platinum Auctions. Some highlights:
- 1855-S Indian Head gold $3, PR-64 Cameo NGC: US$1,322,500;
- 1893-S Morgan dollar, MS-67: $546,250.
[698.58] [701.25]
- August 16
- (to August 20) At ANA World's Fair of Money in Rosemont, Illinois, Stack's Bowers Galleries sells at auction USA 1896 Silver Certificates, three uncut sheets of first $1, $2, and $5, for US$1,265,000, highest paid for single US currency lot at auction. [701.2]
- August 18
- The US Mint releases the 2011 Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential $1 coin to circulation. [664.56] [665.10]
- August 29
- The US Mint releases the 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Vicksburg National Military Park quarter dollar to circulation. [664.56]
- November 14
- The US Mint releases the 2011 Chickasaw National Recreation Area quarter dollar to circulation. [664.56]
- November 17
- The US Mint releases the 2011 James Garfield Presidential $1 coin to circulation. [664.56]
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