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(Redirected from 19 February)

Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

Events

★ 197 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.

★ 1594 - Having already inherited the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through his mother Catherine Jagellonica of Poland, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, succeeding his father John III of Sweden.

★ 1600 - The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina exploded in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.

★ 1674 - England and the Netherlands sign the Peace of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, which renamed it New York.

★ 1807 - In Alabama, Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason and confined to Fort Stoddart.

★ 1819 - British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands, and claims them in the name of King George III.

★ 1846 - In Austin, Texas the newly-formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following Texas' annexation by the United States.

★ 1847 - The Donner Party is rescued. It is noted that some of the survivors seem to be remarkably well-fed considering their ordeal.

★ 1852 - The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity is founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

★ 1861 - Serfdom is abolished in Russia.

★ 1878 - The phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison.

★ 1881 - Kansas became the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.

★ 1913 - Prizes are included in Cracker Jack candy boxes for the first time.

★ 1915 - World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli began.

★ 1937 - During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Eritrean nationalists attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.

★ 1941 - World War II: The Afrika Korps, the corps-level headquarters controlling the German Panzer divisions in North Africa, was formed.

★ 1942 - World War II: nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin killing anywhere from 243 to 1100 people.

★ 1942 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the executive order ''9066'', allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese-Americans to Japanese internment camps.

★ 1943 - World War II: Battle of the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.

★ 1945 - World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima - about 30,000 United States Marines land on Iwo Jima.

★ 1949 - Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.

★ 1953 - Censorship: Georgia approves the first literature censorship board in the United States.

★ 1959 - The United Kingdom grants Cyprus its independence, which is then on formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.

★ 1968 - National Educational Television (the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States) debuts the children's television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

★ 1968 - Egyptian commando forces attempt to intervene in a hijacking situation at Larnaca International Airport, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat.

★ 1982- Maiden flight of Boeing 757

★ 1985 - Artificial heart patient William J. Schroeder becomes the first such patient to leave hospital.

★ 1985 - Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148.

★ 1985 - ''EastEnders'' first airs on televisions across the United Kingdom, on the first night of a major identity change for BBC1.

★ 1986 - The Soviet Union launches the Mir space station.

★ 1999 - Official dedication and unveiling of the cornerstone at Air Canada Centre.

★ 2001 - An Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

★ 2002 - NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.

★ 2004 - Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal is awarded an honorary knighthood in recognition of a "lifetime of service to humanity."

★ 2006 - The Rolling Stones made the largest show open to the public of the world in Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1.3 million people went to the show.

★ 2007 - Three Salvadoran deputies to the Central American Parliament and their driver are murdered in Guatemala.

Births

★ 1473 - Nicolaus Copernicus, mathematician and astronomer (d. 1543)

★ 1526 - Charles de L'Ecluse, Flemish botanist (d. 1609)

★ 1552 - Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal and statesman (d. 1630)

★ 1630 - Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire (d. 1680)

★ 1660 - Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (d. 1742)

★ 1717 - David Garrick, British actor (d. 1779)

★ 1722 - Tiphaigne de la Roche, French writer (d. 1774)

★ 1743 - Luigi Boccherini, Italian composer (d. 1805)

★ 1780 - Richard McCarty, American politician (d. 1844)

★ 1802 - Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss Federal Councillor (d. 1881)

★ 1804 - Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, German physician (d. 1878)

★ 1804 - David Wark, Canadian politician (d. 1905)

★ 1821 - August Schleicher, German linguist (d. 1868)

★ 1833 - Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1906)

★ 1859 - Svante Arrhenius, Swedish chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1927)

★ 1865 - Sven Hedin, Swedish explorer (d. 1952)

★ 1876 - Constantin Brancusi, Romanian sculptor (d. 1957)

★ 1877 - Gabriele Münter, German painter (d. 1962)

★ 1880 - Alvaro Obregon, Mexican president (d. 1928)

★ 1888 - José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian writer (d. 1928)

★ 1893 - Sir Cedric Hardwicke, British actor (d. 1964)

★ 1895 - Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956)

★ 1897 - Alma Rubens, American actress (d. 1931)

★ 1899 - Yury Olesha, Russian novelist (d. 1960)

★ 1900 - Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)

★ 1902 - Kay Boyle, American writer (d. 1992)

★ 1904 - Havank, Dutch writer (d. 1964)

★ 1911 - Merle Oberon, British actress (d. 1979)

★ 1912 - Saul Chaplin, American composer (d. 1997)

★ 1913 - Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, pretender to the title Emperor of Brazil

★ 1914 - Jacques Dufilho, French comedian (d. 2005)

★ 1916 - Eddie Arcaro, American jockey (d. 1997)

★ 1917 - Carson McCullers, American author (d. 1967)

★ 1920 - C. Z. Guest, American socialite (d. 2003)

★ 1920 - Jaan Kross, Estonian writer

★ 1920 - George Rose, British music hall entertainer (d. 1988)

★ 1924 - David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player (d. 2006)

★ 1924 - Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987)

★ 1924 - Bruce Norris, American ice hockey executive (d. 1986)

★ 1929 - Jacques Deray, French film director (d. 2003)

★ 1930 - John Frankenheimer, American film director (d. 2002)

★ 1934 - Carole Eastman, American screenwriter (d. 2004)

★ 1936 - Sam Myers, American musician and songwriter (d. 2006)

★ 1936 - Marin Sorescu, Romanian writer and novelist (d. 1997)

★ 1937 - Robert "Bilbo" Walker Jr., American blues guitarist

★ 1940 - Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006)

★ 1940 - Smokey Robinson, American singer

★ 1941 - David Gross, American physicist, Nobel laureate

★ 1942 - Paul Krause, American football player

★ 1943 - Lou Christie, American singer

★ 1943 - Homer Hickam, American author and retired NASA engineer

★ 1943 - Tim Hunt, British biochemist, Nobel laureate

★ 1945 - Michael Nader, American actor

★ 1946 - Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist (Loverboy)

★ 1946 - Peter Hudson, Australian rules footballer

★ 1946 - Karen Silkwood, American activist (d. 1974)

★ 1947 - Tim Shadbolt, mayor of Invercargill, New Zealand

★ 1948 - Mark Andes, American musician

★ 1948 - Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (d. 2002)

★ 1948 - Tony Iommi, British musician (Black Sabbath)

★ 1948 - Big John Studd, American professional wrestler (d. 1995)

★ 1949 - Dan Bunten, American software developer (d. 1998)

★ 1950 - Andy Powell, British musician

★ 1951 - Stephen Nichols, American actor

★ 1951 - Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani Islamic scholar

★ 1952 - Amy Tan, American novelist

★ 1952 - Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican astronaut

★ 1953 - Massimo Troisi, Italian actor (d. 1994)

★ 1954 - Socrates, Brazilian footballer

★ 1955 - Jeff Daniels, American actor

★ 1956 - Kathleen Beller, American actress

★ 1956 - Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, Nobel laureate

★ 1957 - Falco, Austrian singer (d. 1998)

★ 1957 - Ray Winstone, British actor

★ 1960 - Andrew, Duke of York

★ 1960 - Leslie Ash, English actress

★ 1961 - Justin Fashanu, English footballer (d. 1998)

★ 1962 - Hana Mandlíková, Czech tennis player

★ 1963 - Laurell K. Hamilton, American writer

★ 1963 - Seal, English singer

★ 1964 - Dmitri Lipskerov, Russian writer

★ 1964 - Sonu Walia, Indian actress

★ 1966 - Justine Bateman, American actress

★ 1966 - Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player

★ 1966 - Enzo Scifo, Belgian footballer

★ 1967 - Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican actor

★ 1969 - Burton C. Bell, American vocalist

★ 1971 - Miguel Batista, Dominican baseball player

★ 1971 - Gil Shaham, Israeli/American violinist

★ 1972 - Francine, American professional wrestler

★ 1974 - Danny Doring, American professional wrestler

★ 1975 - Mikko Kavén, Finnish footballer

★ 1975 - Katja Schuurman, Dutch actress and singer

★ 1975 - Daewon Song, Korean professional skateboarder

★ 1977 - Ola Salo, Swedish singer (The Ark)

★ 1977 - Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer

★ 1978 - Michalis Konstantinou, Greek-Cypriot footballer

★ 1978 - Immortal Technique, American rapper

★ 1979 - Mariska, Finnish rapper

★ 1979 - Clinton Morrison, Irish footballer

★ 1979 - Mariana Ochoa, Mexican singer and actress

★ 1980 - Neleh Dennis, American Survivor contestant

★ 1980 - Mike Miller, American basketball player

★ 1981 - Ronnie Arniell, Canadian professional wrestler

★ 1981 - Gil Reyes, American boxer

★ 1981 - Nicky Shorey, English footballer

★ 1981 - Vitas, Russian singer

★ 1983 - Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer/actress

★ 1984 - Chris Richardson, American Idol finalist/singer

★ 1985 - Haylie Duff, American singer/actress

★ 1986 - Reon Kadena, Japanese model/actress

★ 1986 - Maria Mena, Norwegian singer

★ 1986 - Henri Karjalainen, Finnish racing driver

★ 1993 - Victoria Justice, American actress

Deaths

★ 197 - Clodius Albinus, Roman governor of Britain

★ 1133 - Irene Ducaena, wife of Alexius I Comnenus (b. 1066)

★ 1553 - Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511)

★ 1589 - Saint Philothei, Orthodox martyr and Patron of Athens (b. 1522)

★ 1605 - Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (b. 1550)

★ 1602 - Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercoeur, French soldier (b. 1558)

★ 1620 - Roemer Visscher, Dutch writer (b. 1547)

★ 1622 - Sir Henry Savile, English educator (b. 1549)

★ 1653 - Luigi de Rossi, Italian composer (b. 1597)

★ 1663 - Adam Adami, German bishop and diplomat (b. 1603)

★ 1670 - King Frederick III of Denmark (b. 1609)

★ 1672 - Charles Chauncy, English-born president of Harvard College (b. 1592)

★ 1709 - Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shogun (b. 1646)

★ 1716 - Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter, Norwegian poet (b. 1634)

★ 1789 - Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and President of Delaware (b. 1738)

★ 1799 - Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor (b. 1733)

★ 1806 - Elizabeth Carter, English writer (b. 1717)

★ 1837 - Georg Büchner, German playwright (b. 1813)

★ 1873 - Vasil Levski, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1837)

★ 1887 - Multatuli, Dutch writer (b. 1820)

★ 1897 - Karl Weierstraß, German mathematician (b. 1815)

★ 1916 - Ernst Mach, Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (b. 1838)

★ 1927 - Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer (b. 1847)

★ 1936 - Billy Mitchell, American general and military aviation pioneer (b. 1879)

★ 1936 - Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879)

★ 1936 - Charles Harding Firth, British historian (b. 1857)

★ 1942 - Frank Abbandando, American gangster (executed) (b. 1910)

★ 1951 - André Gide, French writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1869)

★ 1952 - Knut Hamsun, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (b. 1859)

★ 1957 - Maurice Garin, French cyclist (b. 1871)

★ 1962 - Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek doctor, inventor of the Pap smear (b. 1883)

★ 1968 - Georg Hackenschmidt, Estonian professional wrestler (b. 1878)

★ 1969 - Madge Blake, American actress (b. 1899)

★ 1972 - John Grierson, Scottish documentary filmmaker (b. 1898)

★ 1972 - Tedd Pierce, American animator (b. 1906)

★ 1973 - Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (b. 1892)

★ 1973 - Kostas Negrepontis, Greek footballer (b. 1897)

★ 1975 - Luigi Dallapiccola, Italian composer (b. 1904)

★ 1977 - Mike González, Cuban baseball player (b. 1890)

★ 1977 - Anthony Crosland, British politician (b. 1918)

★ 1980 - Bon Scott, Australian musician and singer for the band AC/DC (b. 1946)

★ 1983 - Alice White, American film actress (b. 1904)

★ 1986 - Adolfo Celi, Italian actor (b. 1922)

★ 1988 - André Frédéric Cournand, French-born physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)

★ 1994 - Derek Jarman, British film director (b. 1942)

★ 1996 - Charles O. Finley, American sports entrepreneur (b. 1918)

★ 1997 - Deng Xiaoping, Chinese Communist leader and revolutionary (b. 1904)

★ 1997 - Leo Rosten, American Yiddish writer and humorist (b. 1908)

★ 1998 - John Acheson, British actor

★ 1998 - Grandpa Jones, American entertainer (b. 1913)

★ 1999 - Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Iraqi Shiite leader (assassinated)

★ 2000 - Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian artist (b. 1928)

★ 2001 - Priscilla Davis, American socialite (b. 1942)

★ 2001 - Stanley Kramer, American director (b. 1913)

★ 2001 - Charles Trenet, French singer (b. 1913)

★ 2003 - Johnny PayCheck, American singer (b. 1938)

★ 2007 - Janet Blair, American actress (b. 1921)

★ 2007 - Celia Franca, founder of National Ballet of Canada (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances

★ Chaoflux (Discordianism)

★ Astrology: First day of sun sign Pisces

★ Astrology: Can also be last day of sun sign Aquarius depending on the time of birth and the astrologer's viewpoint.

★ February 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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