July 19

Historic Events

2018

The Knesset passes the controversial Nationality Bill, which defines the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. ›

2014

Gunmen in Egypt's western desert province of New Valley Governorate attack a military checkpoint, killing at least 21 soldiers. Egypt reportedly declares a state of emergency on its border with Sudan. ›

2012

Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) capture the city of Kobanî without resistance, starting the Rojava conflict in Northeast Syria. ›

2011

Guinean President Alpha Condé survives an attempted assassination and coup d'état at his residence in Conakry. ›

1997

The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army resumes a ceasefire to end their 25-year paramilitary campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland. ›

1994

Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901 is destroyed by a bomb after takeoff from Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport in Colón, Panama, killing 21. ›

1992

A car bomb kills Judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his escort. ›

1989

United Airlines Flight 232 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 111. ›

1985

The Val di Stava dam collapses killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy. ›

1983

The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published. ›

1982

In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University of Beirut, is kidnapped. ›

1981

In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French President François Mitterrand reveals the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing the Soviet Union had been stealing American technological research and development. ›

1980

Opening of the Summer Olympics in Moscow. ›

1979

The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua. ›

1979

The oil tanker SS Atlantic Empress collides with another oil tanker, causing the largest ever ship-borne oil spill. ›

1977

The world's first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 12:41 a.m. Eastern time (ET). ›

1976

Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created. ›

1972

Dhofar Rebellion: British SAS units help the Omani government against Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman rebels in the Battle of Mirbat. ›

1969

Chappaquiddick incident: U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne. ›

1967

Piedmont Airlines Flight 22, a Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727-22 and a twin-engine Cessna 310 collided over Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA. Both aircraft were destroyed and all passengers and crew were killed, including John T. McNaughton, an advisor to Robert McNamara. ›

1964

Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam. ›

1963

Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 meters (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention. ›

1961

Tunisia imposes a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte; the French would capture the entire town four days later. ›

1957

The largely autobiographical novel The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold by Evelyn Waugh was published. ›

1952

Opening of the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. ›

1947

Prime Minister of the shadow Burmese government, Bogyoke Aung San and eight others are assassinated. ›

1947

Korean politician Lyuh Woon-hyung is assassinated. ›

1943

World War II: Rome is heavily bombed by more than 500 Allied aircraft, inflicting thousands of casualties. ›

1942

World War II: The Second Happy Time of Hitler's submarines comes to an end, as the increasingly effective American convoy system compels them to return to the central Atlantic. ›

1940

World War II: Battle of Cape Spada: The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties. ›

1940

Field Marshal Ceremony: First occasion in World War II that Adolf Hitler appoints field marshals due to military achievements. ›

1940

World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army. ›

1936

Spanish Civil War: The CNT and UGT call a general strike in Spain – mobilizing workers' militias against the Nationalist forces. People's Olympiad of Barcelona cancelled. ›

1934

The rigid airship USS Macon surprised the USS Houston near Clipperton Island with a mail delivery for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, demonstrating its potential for tracking ships at sea. ›

1916

World War I: Battle of Fromelles: British and Australian troops attack German trenches as part of the Battle of the Somme. ›

1903

Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France. ›

1900

The first line of the Paris Metro opens for operation. ›

1870

Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia. ›

1864

Taiping Rebellion: Third Battle of Nanking: The Qing dynasty finally defeats the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. ›

1863

American Civil War: Morgan's Raid: At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River. ›

1848

Women's rights: A two-day Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York. ›

1845

Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan begins early in the morning and is subdued that afternoon. The fire kills four firefighters and 26 civilians and destroys 345 buildings. ›

1843

Brunel's steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull and screw propeller, becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world. ›

1832

The British Medical Association is founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary. ›

1821

Coronation of George IV of the United Kingdom. ›

1817

Unsuccessful in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi for the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton Schäffer is forced to admit defeat and leave Kauaʻi. ›

1733

The Ottoman army defeats the Iranian army under Nader Shah in the battle of Baghdad. ›

1702

Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow. ›

1701

Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England. ›

1588

Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel. ›

1553

The attempt to install Lady Jane Grey as Queen of England collapses after only nine days. ›

1545

The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology. ›

1544

Italian War of 1542–46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins. ›

1333

Wars of Scottish Independence: The English win a decisive victory over the Scots in the battle of Halidon Hill. ›

998

Arab–Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: Fatimids defeat a Byzantine army near Apamea. ›

939

Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas. ›

803

Bardanes Tourkos is proclaimed emperor by rebellious Byzantine troops. ›

711

Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic. ›

484

Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital. ›

64

The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city. ›