June 19

Historic Events

2020

Animal rights advocate Regan Russell is run over and killed by a transport truck outside of a pig slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ontario. ›

2018

The 10,000,000th United States Patent is issued. ›

2018

Antwon Rose II is fatally shot in East Pittsburgh by East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld after being involved in a near-fatal drive-by shooting. ›

2012

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange requests asylum in London's Ecuadorian Embassy for fear of extradition to the US after publication of previously classified documents including footage of civilian killings by the US army; he will remain there until 2019. ›

2009

Mass riots involving over 10,000 people and 10,000 police officers break out in Shishou, China, over the dubious circumstances surrounding the death of a local chef. ›

2009

War in North-West Pakistan: The Pakistani Armed Forces open Operation Rah-e-Nijat against the Taliban and other Islamist rebels in the South Waziristan area of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. ›

2007

The al-Khilani Mosque bombing in Baghdad leaves 78 people dead and another 218 injured. ›

2005

Following a series of Michelin tire failures during the United States Grand Prix weekend at Indianapolis, and without an agreement being reached, 14 cars from seven teams in Michelin tires withdraw after completing the formation lap, leaving only six cars from three teams on Bridgestone tires to race. ›

1991

The last Soviet army units in Hungary are withdrawn. ›

1990

The current international law defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, is ratified for the first time by Norway. ›

1990

The Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic is founded in Moscow. ›

1988

Pope John Paul II canonizes 117 Vietnamese Martyrs. ›

1987

Basque separatist group ETA commits one of its most violent attacks, in which a bomb is set off in a supermarket, Hipercor, killing 21 and injuring 45. ›

1987

Aeroflot Flight N-528 crashes at Berdiansk Airport in present-day Ukraine, killing eight people. ›

1982

The People's Armed Police is de facto founded; it is officially established 10 months later on April 5, 1983. ›

1978

Garfield's first comic strip, originally published locally as Jon in 1976, goes into nationwide syndication. ›

1965

Nguyễn Cao Kỳ becomes Prime Minister of South Vietnam at the head of a military junta; General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu becomes the figurehead chief of state. ›

1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is approved after surviving an 83-day filibuster in the United States Senate. ›

1961

Kuwait declares independence from the United Kingdom. ›

1960

Charlotte Motor Speedway holds its first NASCAR race, the inaugural World 600. ›

1953

Cold War: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed at Sing Sing, in New York. ›

1947

Pan Am Flight 121 crashes in the Syrian Desert near Mayadin, Syria, killing 15 and injuring 21. ›

1945

The Smoke Tragedy leaves 355 workers dead in the underground copper mine of El Teniente, Chile. ›

1943

The Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL merge for one season due to player shortages caused by World War II. ›

1934

The Communications Act of 1934 establishes the United States' Federal Communications Commission (FCC). ›

1926

King Roger, an opera about Roger II of Sicily by Karol Szymanowski, is premiered at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw. ›

1921

The village of Knockcroghery, Ireland, is burned by British forces. ›

1913

Natives Land Act, 1913 in South Africa implemented. ›

1910

The first Father's Day is celebrated in Spokane, Washington. ›

1903

Benito Mussolini, at the time a radical Socialist, is arrested by Bern police for advocating a violent general strike. ›

1875

The Herzegovinian rebellion against the Ottoman Empire begins. ›

1867

Maximilian I of the Second Mexican Empire is executed by a firing squad in Querétaro, Querétaro. ›

1865

Over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in Galveston, Texas, United States, are officially informed of their freedom. The anniversary was officially celebrated in Texas and other states as Juneteenth. On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth officially became a federal holiday in the United States. ›

1862

President Abraham Lincoln signs the Territorial Slavery Act of 1862, which prohibits slavery in all current and future United States territories. ›

1850

Princess Louise of the Netherlands marries Crown Prince Karl of Sweden–Norway. ›

1846

The first officially recorded, organized baseball game is played under Alexander Cartwright's rules on Hoboken, New Jersey's Elysian Fields with the New York Base Ball Club defeating the Knickerbockers 23–1. Cartwright umpired. ›

1821

Decisive defeat of the Filiki Eteria by the Ottomans at Drăgășani (in Wallachia). ›

1816

Battle of Seven Oaks between North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. ›

1811

The Carlton House Fête is held in London to celebrate the establishment of the Regency era. ›

1800

War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Höchstädt results in a French victory over Austria. ›

1791

The first New Church place of worship the Birmingham New Jerusalem Temple was dedicated on the 19th day of June, 1791, in Birmingham, England. The auspiciousness of this date was noted at the time. ›

1785

The Boston King's Chapel adopts James Freeman's revised prayer book, without the Nicene Creed, establishing it as the first Unitarian congregation in the United States. ›

1718

At least 73,000 people die in the 1718 Tongwei–Gansu earthquake due to landslides in the Qing dynasty. ›

1586

English colonists leave Roanoke Island, after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in North America. ›

1306

The Earl of Pembroke's army defeats Bruce's Scottish army at the Battle of Methven. ›

978

Byzantine forces loyal to emperor Basil II under Bardas Phokas the Younger defeat rebel forces under Bardas Skleros in the battle of Pankaleia (approximate date). ›

325

The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea. ›