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). [edit] 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 explodes 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, and it is renamed New York.
- 1807 – In Alabama, Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason 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 Texas' annexation by the United States.
- 1847 – The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.
- 1852 – The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity is founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
- 1861 – Serfdom is abolished in Russia.
- 1864 – Knights of Pythias are founded in Washington, D.C. by Justus H. Rathbone.
- 1878 – The phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison.
- 1884 – The Enigma tornado outbreak occurs.
- 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.
- 1942 – World War II: nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin killing 243 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 formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
- 1963 – The publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique launches the reawakening of the Feminist Movement in the United States as women's organizations and consciousness-raising groups spread.
- 1972 – The Asama-Sansō hostage standoff begins in Japan.
- 1976 – Executive Order 9066 was rescinded by President Gerald R. Ford's Proclamation 4417
- 1976 – The 1st Congress of the Communist Youth of Greece starts.
- 1978 – Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport, in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking situation, 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 – Artificial heart recipient William J. Schroeder becomes the first such patient to leave hospital.
- 1985 – Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148.
- 1986 – Akkaraipattu massacre, massacre of 80 Tamil farm workers by the Sri Lankan Army in the eastern province of Sri Lanka.
- 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for 10 of those years.
- 1999 – President Bill Clinton issues a posthumous pardon for U.S. Army Lt. Henry Ossian Flipper.
- 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".
- 2007 – Three Salvadoran deputies to the Central American Parliament and their driver are murdered in Guatemala.
[edit] 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)
- 1869 – Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian poet and writer (d. 1923)
- 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)
- 1888 – Aurora Quezon, First Lady of the Philippines (d. 1949)
- 1893 – Sir Cedric Hardwicke, British actor (d. 1964)
- 1895 – Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956)
- 1895 – Diego Mazquiarán, Spanish matador ( d. 1940 )
- 1896 – André Breton, French poet (d. 1966)
- 1897 – Alma Rubens, American actress (d. 1931)
- 1899 – Yury Olesha, Russian novelist (d. 1960)
- 1902 – Kay Boyle, American writer (d. 1992)
- 1904 – Havank, Dutch writer (d. 1964)
- 1910 – Dorothy Janis, American silent film actress.
- 1911 – Merle Oberon, British actress (d. 1979)
- 1912 – Saul Chaplin, American composer (d. 1997)
- 1913 – Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, pretender to the Brazilian throne (d. 2007)
- 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 (d. 2007)
- 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)
- 1932 – Joseph P. Kerwin, NASA astronaut
- 1934 – Carole Eastman, American screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1935 – Dave Niehaus, American sportscaster
- 1936 – Sam Myers, American musician and songwriter (d. 2006)
- 1936 – Marin Sorescu, Romanian writer and novelist (d. 1997)
- 1937 – Robert Walker Jr., American blues guitarist
- 1938 – René Muñoz, Cuban actor, screenwriter of telenovelas and the cinema of Mexico (d. 2000)
- 1939 – Gwen Taylor, English actress
- 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 – Big John Studd, American professional wrestler (d. 1995)
- 1948 – Tony Iommi, English guitarist (Black Sabbath)
- 1949 – Dan Bunten, American software developer (d. 1998)
- 1949 – William Messner-Loebs, American comics writer
- 1950 – Andy Powell, British musician
- 1951 – Stephen Nichols, American actor
- 1951 – Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (Db), Pakistani Islamic Sufi Scholar
- 1952 – Amy Tan, American novelist
- 1952 – Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican astronaut
- 1953 – Massimo Troisi, Italian actor (d. 1994)
- 1953 – Cristina Elisabet Fernández – President of Argentina
- 1954 – Socrates (footballer), Brazilian footballer
- 1955 – Jeff Daniels, American actor
- 1956 – Kathleen Beller, American actress
- 1956 – Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, Nobel laureate
- 1956 – Dave Wakeling, English musician (The (English) Beat, General Public)
- 1957 – Falco, Austrian singer (d. 1998)
- 1957 – Lorianne Crook, Television Personality
- 1957 – Ray Winstone, British actor
- 1958 – Helen Fielding, English writer
- 1960 – Andrew, Duke of York
- 1960 – Leslie Ash, English actress
- 1961 – Benoît Chamoux, French mountaineer (d. 1995)
- 1961 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (d. 1998)
- 1961 – Andy Wallace, English race car driver
- 1962 – Hana Mandlíková, Czech tennis player
- 1962 – John Laroche, American orchid poacher
- 1963 – Laurell K. Hamilton, American writer
- 1963 – Seal, English singer
- 1963 – Jessica Tuck, American actress
- 1964 – Dmitri Lipskerov, Russian writer
- 1964 – Sonu Walia, Indian actress
- 1964 – Doug Aldrich, American musician (Whitesnake)
- 1965 – Cathy Lane, English Swimmer
- 1965 – Leroy, American musician (Smash Mouth)
- 1965 – Jon Fishman, American musician (Phish)
- 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-born American violinist
- 1971 – Lisa McCune, Australian actress
- 1972 – Francine, American professional wrestler
- 1974 – Danny Doring, American professional wrestler
- 1975 – Daniel Adair, Canadian Drummer (Nickelback)
- 1975 – Mikko Kavén, Finnish footballer
- 1975 – Katja Schuurman, Dutch actress and singer
- 1975 – Daewon Song, Korean professional skateboarder
- 1976 – Jahidi White, American basketball player
- 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
- 1979 – Steve Cherundolo, American soccer player
- 1980 – Neleh Dennis, American Survivor contestant
- 1980 – Dwight Freeney, American football player
- 1980 – Mike Miller, American basketball player
- 1980 – Ma Lin, Chinese table tennis player
- 1981 – Ronnie Arniell, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1981 – Beth Ditto, American singer (The Gossip)
- 1981 – Gil Reyes, American boxer
- 1981 – Nicky Shorey, English footballer
- 1981 – Vitas, Russian singer
- 1981 – Kyle Martino, American soccer player
- 1981 – Daniel Letterle, American Actor and Singer
- 1983 – Assunta De Rossi, Filipino actress
- 1983 – Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer/actress
- 1983 – Ryan Whitney, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Chris Richardson, American Idol finalist
- 1985 – Haylie Duff, American singer/actress
- 1985 – Arielle Kebbel, American actress
- 1986 – Kyle Chipchura, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Reon Kadena, Japanese model/actress
- 1986 – Henri Karjalainen, Finnish racing driver
- 1986 – Maria Mena, Norwegian singer
- 1986 – Jayde Nicole, Canadian model
- 1986 – Marta, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Björn Gustafsson, Swedish comedian
- 1988 – Miyu Irino, Japanese voice actor
- 1989 – Luke Pasqualino, English actor
- 1992 – Taylor Lautner, American actor
- 1993 – Victoria Justice, American actress
- 1993 – Empress Schuck, Filipino actress
[edit] 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)
- 1837 – Thomas Burgess, English author, philosopher, Bishop of Saint David's and Bishop of Salisbury (b. 1756)
- 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 – 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)
- 1970 – Christoforos Nezer, Greek actor (b. 1887)
- 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 singer (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)
- 1992 – Tojo Yamamoto, American professional wrestler (b. 1927)
- 1994 – Derek Jarman, British film director (b. 1942)
- 1996 – Antonio Creus, Spanish racecar driver (b. 1924)
- 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 – 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)
- 2008 – Lydia Shum, Hong Kong comedian and actress (b. 1945)
- 2008 – Yegor Letov, Russian song writer and singer (b. 1964)
- 2009 – Kelly Groucutt, Bass guitarist and singer for the band Electric Light Orchestra (b.1945)
- 2009 – Miika Tenkula, Finnish guitarist for the band Sentenced (b.1974)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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