February 19

February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 315 days remaining until the end of the year (316 in leap years). This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Wednesday or Thursday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Saturday (56).

Events

• 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
• 356 – Emperor Constantius II issues a decree closing all pagan temples in the Roman Empire.
• 1594 – Having already inherited the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth through his mother Catherine Jagiellon of Poland in 1587, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592.
• 1600 – The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.
• 1649 – The Second Battle of Guararapes takes place, effectively ending Dutch colonization efforts in Brazil.
• 1674 – England 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, and it is renamed New York.
• 1726 – The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
• 1807 – Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama and confined to Fort Stoddert.
• 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 the annexation of Texas by the United States.
• 1847 – The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.
• 1859 – Daniel E. Sickles, a New York Congressman, is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity. This is the first time this defense is successfully used in the United States.
• 1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
• 1884 – More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.
• 1913 – Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.
• 1915 – World 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.
• 1937 – Yekatit 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.
• 1942 – World War II: Nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin killing 243 people.
• 1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps.
• 1943 – World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.
• 1945 – World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.
• 1948 – The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta.
• 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 independence, which is then formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
• 1960 – China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket.
• 1963 – The 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.
• 1965 – Colonel 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 attempted a coup against the military junta of Nguyễn Khánh.
• 1976 – Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford's Proclamation 4417
• 1978 – Egyptian 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.
• 1985 – William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave hospital.
• 1985 – Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148.
• 1985 – EastEnders, BBC's flagship soap opera, broadcasts for the first time.
• 1986 – Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka.
• 2002 – NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
• 2003 – An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275.
• 2006 – A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, kills 65 miners.
• 2011 – The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artefacts found in one location, begins in Singapore.
• 2012 – Forty-four people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Births

• 1473 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (d. 1543)
• 1526 – Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist and academic (d. 1609)
• 1552 – Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal (d. 1630)
• 1660 – Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (d. 1742)
• 1717 – David Garrick, English actor, playwright, and producer (d. 1779)
• 1743 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
• 1798 – Allan MacNab, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Premier of Canada West (d. 1862)
• 1800 – Émilie Gamelin, Canadian nun and social worker, founded the Sisters of Providence (d. 1851)
• 1804 – Carl von Rokitansky, German physician, pathologist, and philosopher (d. 1878)
• 1821 – August Schleicher, German linguist and academic (d. 1868)
• 1833 – Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
• 1855 – Nishinoumi Kajirō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 16th Yokozuna (d. 1908)
• 1859 – Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
• 1865 – Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer and explorer (d. 1952)
• 1869 – Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian-Russian poet and author (d. 1923)
• 1872 – Johan Pitka, Estonian admiral (d. 1944)
• 1876 – Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer (d. 1957)
• 1877 – Gabriele Münter, German painter (d. 1962)
• 1878 – Harriet Bosse, Swedish–Norwegian actress (d. 1961)
• 1880 – Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and politician, 39th President of Mexico (d. 1928)
• 1886 – José Abad Santos, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (d. 1942)
• 1888 – José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian lawyer and poet (d. 1928)
• 1893 – Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director (d. 1964)
• 1895 – Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956)
• 1896 – André Breton, French poet and author (d. 1966)
• 1897 – Alma Rubens, American actress (d. 1931)
• 1899 – Lucio Fontana, Argentinian-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
• 1902 – Kay Boyle, American novelist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1992)
• 1904 – Havank, Dutch journalist and author (d. 1964)
• 1904 – Elisabeth Welch, American-English singer and actress (d. 2003)
• 1911 – Merle Oberon, Indian-American actress (d. 1979)
• 1912 – Dorothy Janis, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1913 – Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (d. 2007)
• 1915 – John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (d. 2014)
• 1916 – Eddie Arcaro, American jockey and sportscaster (d. 1997)
• 1917 – Carson McCullers, American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and essayist, (d. 1967)
• 1920 – C. Z. Guest, American actress, fashion designer, and author (d. 2003)
• 1920 – Jaan Kross, Estonian author and poet (d. 2007)
• 1920 – George Rose, English actor and singer (d. 1988)
• 1922 – Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
• 1924 – David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player and theoretician (d. 2006)
• 1924 – Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987)
• 1926 – György Kurtág, Hungarian composer and academic
• 1927 – Philippe Boiry, French journalist (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Jacques Deray, French director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
• 1930 – John Frankenheimer, American director and producer (d. 2002)
• 1930 – Kasinathuni Viswanath, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1932 – Joseph P. Kerwin, American captain, physician, and astronaut
• 1935 – Dave Niehaus, American sportscaster (d. 2010)
• 1936 – Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
• 1936 – Frederick Seidel, American poet
• 1937 – Terry Carr, American author and educator (d. 1987)
• 1937 – Norm O'Neill, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2008)
• 1938 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (d. 1989)
• 1939 – Erin Pizzey, English activist and author, founded Refuge
• 1940 – Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006)
• 1940 – Smokey Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer (The Miracles)
• 1940 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1941 – David Gross, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1941 – Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge, English politician
• 1942 – Cyrus Chothia emeritus scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology
• 1942 – Paul Krause, American football player and politician
• 1942 – Howard Stringer, Welsh businessman
• 1942 – Will Provine, American biologist, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
• 1943 – Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter
• 1943 – Homer Hickam, American author and engineer
• 1943 – Tim Hunt, English biochemist and academic, Nobel laureate
• 1944 – Les Hinton, English-American journalist and businessman
• 1945 – Yuri Antonov, Uzbek-Russian singer-songwriter
• 1946 – Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist
• 1946 – Peter Hudson, Australian footballer and coach
• 1946 – Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist (d. 1974)
• 1947 – Jackie Curtis, American actress and playwright (d. 1985)
• 1947 – Tim Shadbolt, New Zealand businessman and politician, 42nd Mayor of Invercargill
• 1948 – Mark Andes, American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1948 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (d. 2002)
• 1948 – Tony Iommi, English guitarist and songwriter
• 1949 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (d. 1998)
• 1949 – Eddie Hardin, English singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2015)
• 1949 – William Messner-Loebs, American author and illustrator
• 1950 – Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
• 1950 – Andy Powell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1951 – Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani scholar and politician, founded Minhaj-ul-Quran
• 1952 – Ryū Murakami, Japanese novelist and filmmaker
• 1952 – Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican engineer and astronaut
• 1952 – Amy Tan, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer.
• 1952 – Danilo Türk, Slovene academic and politician, 3rd President of Slovenia
• 1953 – Corrado Barazzutti, Italian tennis player
• 1953 – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 52nd President of Argentina
• 1953 – Massimo Troisi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
• 1954 – Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2011)
• 1954 – Francis Buchholz, German bass player
• 1954 – Michael Gira, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1955 – Jeff Daniels, American actor and playwright
• 1956 – Kathleen Beller, American actress
• 1956 – Peter Holsapple, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1956 – Dave Wakeling, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1957 – Falco, Austrian singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
• 1957 – Dave Stewart, American baseball player and coach
• 1957 – Ray Winstone, English actor
• 1958 – Tommy Cairo, American wrestler
• 1958 – Helen Fielding, English author and screenwriter
• 1959 – Roger Goodell, American businessman
• 1960 – Prince Andrew, Duke of York
• 1960 – John Paul, Jr., American race car driver
• 1961 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (d. 1998)
• 1962 – Hana Mandlíková, Czech-Australian tennis player and coach
• 1963 – Seal, English singer-songwriter
• 1963 – Laurell K. Hamilton, American author
• 1963 – Jessica Tuck, American actress
• 1964 – Doug Aldrich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1964 – Jonathan Lethem, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer.
• 1965 – Leroy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1965 – Jon Fishman, American drummer
• 1965 – Clark Hunt, American businessman
• 1966 – Justine Bateman, American actress and producer
• 1966 – Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player and coach
• 1966 – Eduardo Xol, American designer and author
• 1967 – Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican-American actor, director, and producer
• 1968 – Frank Watkins, American bass player (d. 2015)
• 1968 – Prince Markie Dee, American rapper and actor
• 1969 – Burton C. Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1969 – Helena Guergis, Canadian businesswoman and politician
• 1970 – Joacim Cans, Swedish singer-songwriter
• 1971 – Miguel Batista, Dominican baseball player and poet
• 1971 – Jeff Kinney, American author and illustrator
• 1972 – Francine Fournier, American wrestler and manager
• 1974 – Danny Doring, American wrestler
• 1975 – Daniel Adair, Canadian drummer and producer
• 1975 – Daewon Song, South Korean-American skateboarder, co-founded Almost Skateboards
• 1977 – Ola Salo, Swedish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
• 1977 – Andrew Ross Sorkin, American journalist and author
• 1977 – Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer and manager
• 1978 – Ben Gummer, English scholar and politician
• 1978 – Immortal Technique, Peruvian-American rapper
• 1979 – Steve Cherundolo, American soccer player and manager
• 1980 – Dwight Freeney, American football player
• 1980 – David Gandy, English model
• 1980 – Ma Lin, Chinese table tennis player
• 1980 – Mike Miller, American basketball player
• 1981 – Tye Dillinger, Canadian wrestler
• 1981 – Beth Ditto, American singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Nicky Shorey, English footballer
• 1983 – Kotoōshū Katsunori, Bulgarian sumo wrestler
• 1983 – Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
• 1983 – Ryan Whitney, American ice hockey player
• 1984 – Chris Richardson, American singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Haylie Duff, American actress and singer
• 1985 – Arielle Kebbel, American model and actress
• 1985 – Sławomir Peszko, Polish footballer
• 1986 – Marta, Brazilian footballer
• 1986 – Kyle Chipchura, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1986 – Björn Gustafsson, Swedish comedian and actor
• 1986 – Maria Mena, Norwegian singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Michael Schwimer, American baseball player
• 1988 – Shawn Matthias, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1988 – Seth Morrison, American guitarist
• 1991 – Trevor Bayne, American race car driver
• 1992 – Sander Pärn, Estonian race car driver
• 1992 – Jelena Simić, Bosnian tennis player
• 1993 – Mauro Icardi, Argentinian footballer
• 1993 – Victoria Justice, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1994 – Tiina Trutsi, Estonian footballer
• 1998 – Katharina Gerlach, German tennis player
• 2001 – David Mazouz, American actor

Deaths

• 197 – Clodius Albinus, Roman usurper (b. 150)
• 1133 – Irene Doukaina, Byzantine wife of Alexios I Komnenos (b. 1066)
• 1491 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (b. 1460)
• 1553 – Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511)
• 1605 – Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (b. 1550)
• 1602 – Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur (b. 1558)
• 1622 – Henry Savile, English scholar and politician (b. 1549)
• 1672 – Charles Chauncy, English-American minister, theologian, and academic (b. 1592)
• 1709 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shogun (b. 1646)
• 1716 – Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (b. 1634)
• 1789 – Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and politician, 7th Governor of Delaware (b. 1738)
• 1799 – Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (b. 1733)
• 1806 – Elizabeth Carter, English poet and translator (b. 1717)
• 1837 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (b. 1813)
• 1837 – Thomas Burgess, English bishop and philosopher (b. 1756)
• 1887 – Multatuli, Dutch-German author and civil servant (b. 1820)
• 1897 – Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician and academic (b. 1815)
• 1915 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian philosopher and politician (b. 1866)
• 1916 – Ernst Mach, Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (b. 1838)
• 1927 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (b. 1847)
• 1936 – Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (b. 1879)
• 1942 – Frank Abbandando, American gangster (b. 1910)
• 1945 – John Basilone, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1916)
• 1951 – André Gide, French novelist, essayist, and dramatist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
• 1952 – Knut Hamsun, Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
• 1953 – Richard Rushall, British businessman (b. 1864)
• 1957 – Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (b. 1871)
• 1959 – Willard Miller, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1877)
• 1962 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the Pap smear (b. 1883)
• 1969 – Madge Blake, American actress (b. 1899)
• 1972 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (b. 1898)
• 1972 – Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1938)
• 1973 – Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (b. 1892)
• 1977 – Anthony Crosland, English captain and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b. 1918)
• 1977 – Mike González, Cuban baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
• 1980 – Bon Scott, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
• 1983 – Alice White, American actress (b. 1904)
• 1986 – Adolfo Celi, Italian actor and director (b. 1922)
• 1988 – André Frédéric Cournand, French-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
• 1992 – Tojo Yamamoto, American wrestler and manager (b. 1927)
• 1994 – Derek Jarman, English director and set designer (b. 1942)
• 1996 – Charlie Finley, American businessman (b. 1918)
• 1997 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (b. 1908)
• 1997 – Deng Xiaoping, Chinese politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (b. 1904)
• 1998 – Grandpa Jones, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1913)
• 1999 – Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric (b. 1943)
• 2000 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-New Zealand painter and illustrator (b. 1928)
• 2001 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (b. 1913)
• 2001 – Charles Trenet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
• 2002 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender LGBT activist (b. 1951)
• 2003 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)
• 2007 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian dancer and director, founded the National Ballet of Canada (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Yegor Letov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1964)
• 2008 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress and singer (b. 1945)
• 2009 – Kelly Groucutt, English singer and bass player (b. 1945)
• 2011 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Ruth Barcan Marcus, American philosopher and logician (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Jaroslav Velinský, Czech author and songwriter (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Vitaly Vorotnikov, Russian politician, 27th Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (b. 1914)
• 2013 – Park Chul-soo, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
• 2013 – Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Eugene Whelan, Canadian farmer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1924)
• 2014 – Kresten Bjerre, Danish footballer and manager (b. 1946)
• 2014 – Dale Gardner, American captain and astronaut (b. 1948)
• 2014 – Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Betty Lou Bredemus, American actress and coach (b. 1934)
• 2015 – Harold Johnson, American boxer (b. 1928)
• 2015 – Nirad Mohapatra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1947)
• 2015 – Harris Wittels, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1984)
• 2016 – Umberto Eco, Italian philosopher and author (b. 1932)
• 2016 – Harper Lee, American author (b. 1926)
• 2016 – Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Barbatus of Benevento
  • Conrad of Piacenza
  • Lucy Yi Zhenmei (one of Martyrs of Guizhou)
  • February 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Armed Forces Day (Mexico)
• Brâncuși Day (Romania)
• Commemoration of Vasil Levski (Bulgaria)
• Flag Day (Turkmenistan)
• Shivaji Jayanti (Maharashtra, India)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada