February 19
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 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.
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, DC by Justus H. Rathbone.
1878 - The phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison.
1881 - Kansas becomes the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
1915 - World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli begins. Plans for mutiny in the British Indian army, the Ghadar Conspiracy, are uncovered in India.
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, is formed.
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 on formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
1972 - The Asama-Sanso hostage standoff begins in Japan.
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.
1985 - The first episode of the well-known British soap opera EastEnders is broadcast.
1986 - The Soviet Union launches the Mir space station.
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.
2008 - Toshiba announces its formal recall of its HD DVD video formatting, ending the format war between it and Sony's Blu-Ray Disc
Births
1473 - Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish 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)
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)
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)
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)
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
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, British guitarist of 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 - Argentinian politician
1954 - Socrates, Brazilian footballer
1955 - Jeff Daniels, American actor
1956 - Kathleen Beller, American actress
1956 - Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, Nobel laureate
1956 - Dave Wakeling, English musician (English Beat, General Public)
1957 - Falco, Austrian singer (d. 1998)
1957 - Ray Winstone, British actor
1958 - Helen Fielding, English writer
1960 - Andrew, Duke of York
1960 - Leslie Ash, English actress
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
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
1971 - Lisa McCune, Australian actress
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
1979 - Steve Cherundolo, American soccer player
1980 - Neleh Dennis, American Survivor contestant
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 - Daniel Letterle, American Actor and Singer
1983 - Assunta De Rossi, Filipino actress
1983 - Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer/actress
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 - Marta, Brazilian footballer
1993 - Victoria Justice, American Actress notably for her roles in The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody, and as Lola Martinez in Nickelodeon show Zoey 101
Deaths
197 - Clodius Albinus, Roman governor of Britain
440 - Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian monk, theologian and linguist (b. 361/362)
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 - 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 - 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)
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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