What happened today in history
December
What happened on December 19
On December 19 history recorded 51 notable events. 160 people who left a mark were born on this day, and 91 died. Here is the full almanac.
- 51events
- 160births
- 91deaths
- 8observances
Highlights
Highlights
1154Henry II (depicted) was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
Henry II was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. During his reign he controlled England, limited parts of Wales and Ireland, and much of France, an area that was later called the Angevin Empire, and also held power over Scotland for a time and t
1776Thomas Paine published the first in a series of pamphlets entitled The American Crisis, opening with the line: "These are the times that try men's souls."
Thomas Paine was an English-born American Founding Father, inventor, political philosopher, and statesman. His pamphlets Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis (1776–1783) framed the Patriot argument for independence from Great Britain at the outset of th
1828Nullification crisis: American vice president John C. Calhoun's South Carolina Exposition and Protest, written to protest the Tariff of Abominations, was presented to the South Carolina House of Representatives.
The nullification crisis was a sectional political crisis in the United States in 1832 and 1833, during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, that involved a confrontation between the state of South Carolina and the federal government. It occurred after South Caro
December 19
On this day
VII century
- 653
653Pope Martin I, having been abducted by Byzantine authorities from Rome for his opposition to Monothelitism, is tried in Constantinople.
XII century
XV century
XVI century
XVII century
- 1606
1606The ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery depart England carrying settlers who founded, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States. - 1675
1675The Great Swamp Fight, a pivotal battle in King Philip's War, gives the English settlers a bitterly won victory. - 1688
1688Glorious Revolution: Williamite forces defeat Jacobites at Battle of Reading, forcing James II to flee England.
XVIII century
- 1776
1776Thomas Paine publishes one of a series of pamphlets in The Pennsylvania Journal entitled "The American Crisis". - 1777
1777American Revolutionary War: George Washington's Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. - 1783
1783William Pitt the Younger becomes the youngest Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at 24. - 1793
1793War of the First Coalition: The Siege of Toulon ends when Napoleon's French artillery forces the British to abandon the city, securing southern France from invasion. - 1796
1796French Revolutionary Wars: Two British frigates under Commodore Horatio Nelson and two Spanish frigates under Commodore Don Jacobo Stuart engage in battle off the coast of Murcia.
XIX century
- 1828
1828Vice President of the United States John C. Calhoun sparks the Nullification Crisis when he anonymously publishes the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, protesting the Tariff of 1828. - 1900
1900Hopetoun Blunder: The first Governor-General of Australia John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, appoints Sir William Lyne premier of the new state of New South Wales, but he is unable to persuade other colonial politicians to join his government and is forced to resign. - 1900
1900French parliament votes amnesty for all involved in scandalous army treason trial known as Dreyfus affair.
XX century
- 1907
1907Two hundred thirty-nine coal miners die in the Darr Mine Disaster in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania. - 1912
1912William Van Schaick, captain of the steamship General Slocum which caught fire and killed over one thousand people, is pardoned by U.S. President William Howard Taft after 3+1⁄2 years in Sing Sing prison. - 1920
1920King Constantine I is restored as King of the Hellenes after the death of his son Alexander of Greece and a plebiscite. - 1924
1924The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost is sold in London, England. - 1924
1924German serial killer Fritz Haarmann is sentenced to death for a series of murders. - 1927
1927Three Indian revolutionaries, Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh and Ashfaqulla Khan, are executed by the British Raj for participation in the Kakori conspiracy. - 1929
1929The Indian National Congress promulgates the Purna Swaraj (the Declaration of the Independence of India). - 1932
1932BBC World Service begins broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service. - 1940
1940Risto Ryti, the Prime Minister of Finland, is elected President of the Republic of Finland in a presidential election, which is exceptionally held by the 1937 electoral college. - 1941
1941World War II: Adolf Hitler appoints himself as head of the Oberkommando des Heeres. - 1941
1941World War II: Limpet mines placed by Italian divers heavily damage HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbour. - 1945
1945John Amery, British Fascist, is executed at the age of 33 by the British Government for treason. - 1946
1946Start of the First Indochina War. - 1956
1956Irish-born physician John Bodkin Adams is arrested in connection with the suspicious deaths of more than 160 patients. Eventually he is convicted only of minor charges. - 1961
1961India annexes Daman and Diu, part of Portuguese India. - 1967
1967Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia, is officially presumed dead. - 1972
1972Apollo program: The last crewed lunar flight, Apollo 17, carrying Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth. - 1974
1974Nelson Rockefeller is sworn in as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford under the provisions of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. - 1977
1977The Ms 5.8 Bob–Tangol earthquake strikes Kerman Province in Iran, destroying villages and killing 665 people. - 1981
1981Sixteen lives are lost when the Penlee lifeboat goes to the aid of the stricken coaster Union Star in heavy seas. - 1983
1983The original FIFA World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, is stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. - 1984
1984The Sino-British Joint Declaration, stating that China would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and the United Kingdom would restore Hong Kong to China with effect from July 1, 1997, is signed in Beijing by Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher. - 1985
1985Aeroflot Flight 101/435 is hijacked to China by its first officer. - 1986
1986Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, releases Andrei Sakharov and his wife from exile in Gorky. - 1995
1995The United States Government restores federal recognition to the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Native American tribe. - 1997
1997SilkAir Flight 185 crashes into the Musi River, near Palembang in Indonesia, killing 104. - 1998
1998President Bill Clinton is impeached by the United States House of Representatives, becoming the second president of the United States to be impeached. - 1999
1999Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-103, the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
XXI century
- 2001
2001Argentine economic crisis: December riots: Riots erupt in Buenos Aires, Argentina. - 2005
2005Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 crashes into the Government Cut channel immediately after takeoff from Miami Seaplane Base, killing 20. - 2005
2005A passenger train from Sucha Beskidzka to Żywiec in Poland loses its brakes while on a steep downhill part of the route. It is stopped in a controlled collision in Świnna by a train travelling in opposite direction. 2 drivers and 6 passengers are injured. - 2012
2012Park Geun-hye is elected the first female president of South Korea. - 2013
2013Spacecraft Gaia is launched by the European Space Agency. - 2016
2016Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov is assassinated while at an art exhibition in Ankara. The assassin, Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, is shot and killed by a Turkish guard. - 2016
2016A vehicular attack in Berlin, Germany, kills 12 and injures 56 people at a Christmas market.
Best known
Born on December 19
Best known
Died on December 19
966Sancho I of León
King of León (956–958, 960–966)
1091Adelaide of Susa
Marchioness of Turin from 1034 to 1091
1111Al-Ghazali
Sunni Muslim polymath (c. 1058–1111)
1327Agnes of France, Duchess of Burgundy
Duchess consort of Burgundy from 1279 to 1306
1370Pope Urban V
Head of the Catholic Church from 1362 to 1370
1385Bernabò Visconti
Medieval Italian statesman
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day: Lillian Trasher (Episcopal Church)
- Christian feast day: O Radix
- Christian feast day: Pope Anastasius I
- Christian feast day: Pope Urban V
- Christian feast day: December 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Christian feast day: Saint Nicholas Day
- Goa Liberation Day (Goa, India)
- National Heroes and Heroines Day (Anguilla)
Frequently asked questions
What happened on December 19?
51 documented historical events happened on December 19, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: Henry II (depicted) was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey, London. On the same day, in another year: Thomas Paine published the first in a series of pamphlets entitled The American Crisis, opening with the line: "These are the times that try men's souls." On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.
Who was born on December 19?
160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on December 19, including Kevan Gosper, Al Kaline, Pratibha Patil. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.
Who died on December 19?
91 people with a Wikipedia article died on December 19, including Sancho I of León, Adelaide of Susa, Al-Ghazali. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.
What is celebrated on December 19?
8 observances are celebrated on December 19 around the world: Christian feast day: Lillian Trasher (Episcopal Church), Christian feast day: O Radix, Christian feast day: Pope Anastasius I, Christian feast day: Pope Urban V, Christian feast day: December 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics), Christian feast day: Saint Nicholas Day. The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.
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Source: Wikipedia · Calendar