February 19

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February 19 in recent years
2009 (Thursday)
2008 (Tuesday)
2007 (Monday)
2006 (Sunday)
2005 (Saturday)
2004 (Thursday)
2003 (Wednesday)
2002 (Tuesday)
2001 (Monday)
2000 (Saturday)

February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 315 days remaining until the end of the year (316 in leap years).

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.
• 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