February 19th archived daily history

Today February 19th in history click read more below to view detail events, deaths, births, Holidays and observances, and video clips in hisotry. Please comments, last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009

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.
1986 – Akkaraipattu massacre, massacre of 80 Tamil farm workers by the Sri Lankan Army in the eastern province of Sri Lanka.
1988 – The Winter Olympics held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
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
1947 – Tony Iommi, English musician
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 – 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 (The (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
1964 – Doug Aldrich, American musician (Whitesnake)
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 – 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 – Marta, Brazilian footballer
1993 – Victoria Justice, American actress

Deaths
197 – Clodius Albinus, Roman governor of Britain
440 – Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian monk, theologian and linguist
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 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)
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)