February 19Birthdays & History

On this day: February 19 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 197Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.Europe
2. 356The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan idols in the Roman Empire.Europe
3. 607Pope Boniface III is consecrated in Rome.Europe
4. 1594Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592.Europe
5. 1600The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.Latin AmericaNorth America
6. 1649The Second Battle of Guararapes takes place, effectively ending Dutch colonization efforts in Brazil.EuropeLatin America
7. 1674England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England.Europe
8. 1714Great Northern War: The battle of Napue between Sweden and Russia is fought in Isokyrö, Ostrobothnia.Europe
9. 1726The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.Europe
10. 1807Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama, and confined to Fort Stoddert.North America
11. 1819British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands.Europe
12. 1836King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the province of South Australia.Oceania
13. 1846In 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 the annexation of Texas by the United States.North America
14. 1847The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.North America
15. 1878Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.North America
16. 1884More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.North America
17. 1913Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.Latin America
18. 1915World War I: The first naval attack on the Dardanelles begins when a strong Anglo-French task force bombards Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.EuropeMiddle East
19. 1937Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Ethiopian nationalists of Eritrean origin attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.Africa
20. 1942World War II: Nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin, killing 243 people.AsiaOceania
21. 1942World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps.North AmericaAsia
22. 1943World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.Africa
23. 1945World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.AsiaNorth America
24. 1948The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta.Asia
25. 1949Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.North America
26. 1954Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.Europe
27. 1959The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.EuropeMiddle East
28. 1960China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket.Asia
29. 1963The publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique reawakens the feminist movement in the United States as women's organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.North America
30. 1965Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Viet Minh, along with Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Trần Thiện Khiêm, all Catholics, attempt a coup against the military junta of the Buddhist Nguyễn Khánh.Asia
31. 1976Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford's Proclamation 4417.Asia
32. 1978Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, 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.Middle East
33. 1985William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital.North America
34. 1985China Airlines Flight 006 experiences an aircraft upset over the Pacific Ocean, injuring 24.Asia
35. 1985A Boeing 727 operating as Iberia Flight 610 crashes Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148; it is the deadliest accident to occur in Iberia's history and the deadliest to occur in Basque County.Europe
36. 1986Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka.Asia
37. 1988A Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner operating as AVAir Flight 3378 crashes in Cary, North Carolina, killing 12.North America
38. 1989Flying Tiger Line Flight 066 crashes into a hill near Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Malaysia, killing four.Asia
39. 2002NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.North America
40. 2003An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275.Middle East
41. 2006A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, kills 65 miners.Latin America
42. 2011The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artifacts found in one location, begins in Singapore.Asia
43. 2012Forty-four people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico.Latin America
44. 2020Nine people are killed in two domestic terrorist shootings in Hanau, Hesse, Germany.Europe
45. 2021Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, a 19-year-old protester, becomes the first known casualty of anti-coup protests that formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "February 19" / CC BY-SA 4.0