February 19

Historic Events

2021

Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, a 19-year-old protester, becomes the first known casualty of anti-coup protests that formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. ›

2020

Nine people are killed in two domestic terrorist shootings in Hanau, Hesse, Germany. ›

2012

Forty-four people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico. ›

2011

The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artifacts found in one location, begins in Singapore. ›

2006

A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, kills 65 miners. ›

2003

An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275. ›

2002

NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system. ›

1989

Flying Tiger Line Flight 066 crashes into a hill near Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Malaysia, killing four. ›

1988

A Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner operating as AVAir Flight 3378 crashes in Cary, North Carolina, killing 12. ›

1986

Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka. ›

1985

William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital. ›

1985

A Boeing 727 operating as Iberia Flight 610 crashes Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148; it is the deadliest accident to occur in Iberia's history and the deadliest to occur in Basque County. ›

1985

China Airlines Flight 006 experiences an aircraft upset over the Pacific Ocean, injuring 24. ›

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. ›

1976

Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford's Proclamation 4417. ›

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, all Catholics, attempt a coup against the military junta of the Buddhist Nguyễn Khánh. ›

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. ›

1960

China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket. ›

1959

The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960. ›

1954

Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. ›

1949

Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University. ›

1948

The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta. ›

1945

World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima. ›

1943

World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins. ›

1942

World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps. ›

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. ›

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. ›

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. ›

1884

More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. ›

1878

Thomas Edison patents the phonograph. ›

1847

The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party. ›

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. ›

1836

King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the province of South Australia. ›

1819

British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands. ›

1807

Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama, and confined to Fort Stoddert. ›

1726

The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia. ›

1714

Great Northern War: The battle of Napue between Sweden and Russia is fought in Isokyrö, Ostrobothnia. ›

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. ›

1649

The Second Battle of Guararapes takes place, effectively ending Dutch colonization efforts in Brazil. ›

1600

The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America. ›

1594

Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592. ›

607

Pope Boniface III is consecrated in Rome. ›

356

The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan idols in the Roman Empire. ›

197

Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. ›