Today September 19th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
335 – Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I.
1356 – In the Battle of Poitiers, the English defeat the French.
1676 – Jamestown is burned to the ground by the forces of Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon s Rebellion.
1692 – Giles Corey is pressed to death after refusing to plead in the Salem witch trials.
1777 – First Battle of Saratoga/Battle of Freeman s Farm/Battle of Bemis Heights.
1778 – The Continental Congress passes the first budget of the United States.
1796 – George Washington s farewell address is printed across America as an open letter to the public.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Iuka – Union troops under General William Rosecrans defeat a Confederate force commanded by General Sterling Price.
1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Chickamauga.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: the Siege of Paris begins, which will result on January 28, 1871 in the surrender of Paris and a decisive Prussian victory.
1870 – Having invaded the Papal States a week earlier, the Italian Army lays siege to Rome, entering the city the next day, after which the Pope described himself as a Prisoner in the Vatican.
1893 – Women s suffrage: in New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 is consented to by the governor giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote.
1900 – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid commit their first robbery together.
1926 – The San Siro is inaugurated with a match between AC Milan and Inter.
1934 – Bruno Hauptmann is arrested for the kidnap and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr..
1940 – Witold Pilecki is voluntarily captured and sent to Auschwitz in order to smuggle out information and start a resistance.
1942 – Holocaust in Brody, western Ukraine: About 2,500 Brody Jews are deported by the German Gestapo to the extermination camp in Belzec.
1944 – Armistice between Finland and Soviet Union is signed. (End of the Continuation War).
1945 – Lord Haw Haw (William Joyce) is sentenced to death in London.
1946 – The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich.
1952 – The United States bars Charlie Chaplin from re-entering the country after a trip to England.
1957 – First American underground nuclear bomb test.
1959 – Nikita Khrushchev is barred from visiting Disneyland.
1961 – Betty and Barney Hill claim that they saw a mysterious craft in the sky and that it tried to abduct them.
1963 – Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. is founded at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
1970 – The first Glastonbury Festival is held at Michael Eavis s farm in Glastonbury, United Kingdom.
1972 – A parcel bomb sent to Israeli Embassy in London kills one diplomat.
1973 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has his investiture.
1976 – Turkish Airlines Boeing 727 hits the Taurus Mountains, outskirt of Karatepe, Osmaniye, Turkey, killing all 155 passengers and crew.
1983 – Saint Kitts and Nevis gains its independence.
1985 – A strong earthquake kills thousands and destroys about 400 buildings in Mexico City.
1985 – Tipper Gore and other political wives form the Parents Music Resource Center as Frank Zappa and other musicians testify at U.S. Congressional hearings on obscenity in rock music.
1988 – Greg Louganis suffers a head injury while qualifying for the Seoul Olympics. He goes on to win two Gold medals.
1989 – A terrorist bomb explodes UTA Flight 772 in mid-air above the Tùnùrù Desert, Niger, killing 171.
1991 – Ötzi the Iceman is discovered by German tourists.
1995 – The Washington Post and The New York Times publish the Unabomber s manifesto.
1997 – Guelb El-Kebir massacre in Algeria; 53 killed.
2006 – The Thai military stages a coup in Bangkok. The Constitution is revoked and martial law is declared.
Births
86 – Antoninus Pius, Roman Emperor (d. 161)
866 – Leo VI, Byzantine Emperor (d. 912)
1377 – Albert IV, Duke of Austria (d. 1404)
1551 – King Henry III of France (d. 1589)
1714 – Charles Humphreys, American delegate to the Continental Congress (d. 1786)
1737 – Charles Carroll of Carrollton, American signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Senator (d. 1832)
1749 – Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, French mathematician (d. 1822)
1754 – John Ross Key, commissioned officer in the Continental Army, judge, lawyer and the father of Francis Scott Key (d. 1821)
1759 – William Kirby, English entomologist (d. 1850)
1778 – Henry Peter Brougham, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1868)
1796 – Hartley Coleridge, English poet (d. 1849)
1799 – René Caillé, French explorer (d. 1838)
1802 – Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian lawyer and Regent-President (d. 1894)
1803 – Maria Anna of Savoy, Empress of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia (d. 1884)
1811 – Orson Pratt, American religious leader (d. 1881)
1828 – Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1880)
1882 – Christopher Stone, first disc jockey in the United Kingdom (d. 1965)
1887 – Lovie Austin, American jazz pianist (d. 1972)
1887 – Lynne Overman, American actor (d. 1943)
1888 – J. W. Alexander, American mathematician (d. 1971)
1889 – Sadie Delany, American physician and author (d. 1999)
1898 – Giuseppe Saragat, president of the Italian Republic (d. 1988)
1901 – Joe Pasternak, Hungarian-born film producer (d. 1991)
1905 – Leon Jaworski, American Watergate scandal special prosecutor (d. 1982)
1907 – Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr., American Supreme Court Justice (d. 1998)
1908 – Tatsuo Shimabuku, founder of Isshinryu Karate (d. 1975)
1908 – Robert Lecourt, French politician and president of the European Court of Justice (d. 2004)
1908 – Mika Waltari, Finnish novelist (d. 1979)
1909 – Ferry Porsche, Austrian automobile pioneer (d. 1998)
1910 – Margaret Lindsay, American actress (d. 1981)
1911 – Sir William Golding, English writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
1912 – Kurt Sanderling, German conductor
1913 – Frances Farmer, American actress (d. 1970)
1915 – Germán Valdés, Mexican actor, singer and comedian (d. 1973)
1920 – Roger Angell, American sports writer
1921 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator & writer (d. 1997)
1922 – Damon Knight, American writer (d. 2002)
1922 – Emil Zátopek, Czech athlete (d. 2000)
1926 – Masatoshi Koshiba, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1926 – James Lipton, American actor, writer and host of Inside the Actors Studio
1926 – Duke Snider, baseball player
1927 – Rosemary Harris, English actress
1927 – William Hickey, American actor (d. 1997)
1928 – Adam West, American actor
1930 – Antonio Margheriti, Italian filmmaker (d. 2002)
1931 – Brook Benton, American singer (d. 1988)
1931 – Jean-Claude Carrière, French screenwriter and actor
1933 – David McCallum, Scottish actor
1934 – Brian Epstein, English musical group manager (The Beatles) (d. 1967)
1935 – Benjamin Hacker, American naval aviator (d. 2003)
1935 – Nick Massi, American singer (The Four Seasons) (d. 2000)
1936 – Al Oerter, American athlete (d. 2007)
1937 – Abner Haynes, American football player
1940 – Anna Karen, South African-born British actress
1940 – Bill Medley, American singer and songwriter (The Righteous Brothers)
1940 – Ed Westfall, Canadian ice hockey player
1940 – Paul Williams, American composer
1941 – Umberto Bossi, Italian politician
1941 – Mama Cass Elliot, American musician (d. 1974)
1942 – Freda Payne, American singer and actress
1943 – Joe Morgan, baseball player
1944 – Anders Björck, Swedish politician
1944 – Jean Succar Kuri, Lebanese-born Mexican businessman
1945 – Randolph Mantooth, American actor
1946 – Brian Henton, English racing driver
1947 – Lol Creme, English musician (10cc, Godley & Creme)
1948 – Jeremy Irons, English actor
1948 – Mihai Timofti, director, actor, & musician from Moldova-Chisinau
1949 – Sally Potter, English film director and screenwriter
1949 – Barry Scheck, American lawyer, co-founder Innocence Project
1949 – Twiggy, English model
1950 – Joan Lunden, American journalist and television host
1951 – Daniel Lanois, Canadian record producer
1952 – Bernard de Dryver, Belgian racing driver
1952 – Gunnar Hökmark, Swedish politician
1952 – Nile Rodgers, American musician and composer
1955 – Richard Burmer, American composer and musician (d. 2006)
1955 – Rex Smith, American singer and actor
1956 – Juan Manuel Fangio II, Argentine racing driver
1956 – Charlie Reliford, baseball umpire
1958 – Kevin Hooks, American actor and director
1958 – Azumah Nelson, Ghanaian boxer
1958 – Lita Ford, American singer
1960 – Loïc Bigois, French engineer
1962 – Cheri Oteri, American actress and comedian
1962 – Ken Rosenthal, American sportswriter
1963 – Jarvis Cocker, English musician (Pulp)
1963 – David Seaman, English footballer
1964 – Patrick Marber, British playwright
1964 – Bob Papa, American sportscaster
1964 – Trisha Yearwood, American singer
1965 – Alexandra Vandernoot, Belgian actress
1965 – Sabine Paturel, French singer
1966 – Soledad O Brien, American journalist
1966 – Eric Robert Rudolph, American criminal
1966 – Yoshihiro Takayama, Japanese professional wrestler
1967 – Jim Abbott, baseball player
1967 – Stéphane Crête, Quebec actor
1967 – Alexander Karelin, Russian wrestler
1969 – Alkinoos Ioannidis, Greek-Cypriot singer and composer
1969 – Tapio Wilska, Finnish singer
1970 – Dan Bylsma, National Hockey League player
1970 – Gilbert Dionne, National Hockey League player
1970 – Takanori Nishikawa, Japanese pop/rock singer
1970 – Victor Williams, American actor
1971 – Sanaa Lathan, American actress
1973 – Nick Colgan, Irish footballer
1973 – Cristiano da Matta, Brazilian racing car driver
1973 – Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Australian actor
1974 – Jimmy Fallon, American actor and comedian
1974 – Victoria Silvstedt, Swedish model
1976 – Raja Bell, American basketball player
1976 – Alison Sweeney, American actress
1976 – Jim Ward, American musician (At the Drive-In, Sparta)
1976 – Jessica York, television personality
1976 – Jan Hlavác, Czech ice hockey player
1977 – Akash Chopra, Indian cricketer
1978 – Michelle Alves, Brazilian supermodel
1978 – Nick Johnson, baseball player
1978 – Nigel Mitchell, Quizmania and Capital Disney presenter
1978 – Jorge López Montaña, Spanish footballer
1979 – Dannielle Brent, British actress
1979 – Joel Houston
1979 – Noémie Lenoir, French supermodel and actress
1980 – Sara Quin, Canadian singer/songwriter (Tegan and Sara)
1980 – Tegan Quin, Canadian singer/songwriter (Tegan and Sara)
1981 – Scott Baker, American baseball player
1981 – Damiano Cunego, Italian cyclist
1981 – Rick DiPietro, American ice hockey player
1982 – Eleni Daniilidou, Greek tennis player
1982 – Jordan Parise, American ice hockey player
1982 – Columbus Short, American actor and choreographer
1982 – Nicole Voss, American model
1983 – Joey Devine, American baseball player
1983 – Charlie Haeger, American baseball player
1983 – Matt Wiman, American mixed martial artist
1984 – Eamon, American pop singer
1984 – Kevin Zegers, Canadian actor
1986 – Gerald Ciolek, German cyclist
1986 – Ken Gushi, Japanese racing driver
1986 – Peter Vack, American voice actor
1987 – Danielle Panabaker, American actress
1990 – Saki Fukuda, Japanese actress
1991 – Demelza Reveley, Australian model
1994 – Alex Etel, British actor
Deaths
690 – Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 602)
1339 – Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan (b. 1288)
1356 – Killed at the Battle of Poitiers:
Peter I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1311)
Walter VI of Brienne, Constable of France (b. 1304)
1668 – William Waller, English soldier
1692 – Giles Corey, American farmer killed in the Salem Witch Trials
1693 – Janez Vajkard Valvasor, Slovenian polymath (b. 1641)
1710 – Ole Rømer, Danish astronomer (b. 1644)
1843 – Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis, French scientist (b. 1792)
1868 – William Sprague, American minister and politician from (b. 1809)
1881 – James Garfield, 20th President of the United States (b. 1831)
1893 – Alexander Tilloch Galt, Canadian politician, a father of Canadian Confederation (b. 1817)
1905 – Thomas John Barnardo, Irish philanthropist (b. 1845)
1906 – Maria Georgina Grey, British writer and founder of the Girls Day School Trust (b. 1816)
1924 – Alick Bannerman, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
1927 – Michael Peter Ancher, Danish painter (b. 1849)
1935 – Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, Russian rocket scientist (b. 1857)
1936 – Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, Indian musician (b. 1860)
1938 – Pauline Frederick, American actress (b. 1883)
1942 – Condé Nast, American publisher (b. 1873)
1944 – Guy Gibson, British aviator, awarded Victoria Cross (b. 1918)
1949 – Will Cuppy, American humorist (b. 1884)
1949 – George Shiels, Irish dramatist (b. 1886)
1949 – Nikolaos Skalkottas, Greek composer (b. 1901)
1955 – John D. Dingell, Sr., U.S. Congressman from Michigan (b. 1894)
1967 – Zinaida Serebriakova, Russian painter (b. 1884)
1967 – Monica Proietti, Canadian criminal (b. 1940)
1968 – Chester Carlson, American inventor (b. 1906)
1968 – Red Foley, American singer (b. 1910)
1969 – Rex Ingram, American actor (b. 1895)
1972 – Robert Casadesus, French pianist (b. 1899)
1973 – Gram Parsons, American musician (b. 1946)
1978 – Étienne Gilson, French philosopher and historian (b. 1884)
1985 – Italo Calvino, Italian writer (b. 1923)
1987 – Einar Gerhardsen, Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1897)
1989 – Willie Steele, American Olympic gold medalist (b. 1923)
1990 – Hermes Pan, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1910)
1995 – Orville Redenbacher, American botanist and businessman (b. 1907)
1997 – Rich Mullins, American singer (b. 1955)
2000 – Anthony Robert Klitz, British artist (b. 1917)
2002 – Robert Guéï, ruler of Côte d Ivoire (b. 1941)
2002 – Duncan Hallas, prominent member of the Trotskyist movement in Great Britain.
2003 – Slim Dusty, Australian singer (b. 1927)
2004 – Eddie Adams, American photographer (b. 1933)
2004 – Árpád Bogsch, Hungarian-born American civil servant (b. 1919)
2004 – Skeeter Davis, American singer (b. 1931)
2004 – Ellis Marsalis, Sr., American businessman, musician, and activist
2006 – Elizabeth Allen, American actress (b. 1929)
2006 – Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (b. 1950)
2006 – Chuck Rio, American singer and saxophonist (The Champs) (b. 1929)
2006 – Hugh Kawharu, New Zealander Ngati Whatua Maori chief (b. 1927)
2006 – Martha Holmes, American photographer (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances
In ancient Greece, the sixth day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the procession to Eleusis began at Kerameikos in Athens.
RC Saints – Saint Januarius.
Also see September 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
Church of England – Theodore of Tarsus.
Chile – Armed Forces Day.
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Independence Day (from Great Britain, 1983).
International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Goeric of Metz – French bishop and saint
